NEWS
Country Roads Turner Prize-winning artist Charlotte Prodger is representing Scotland at this year’s Venice Biennale with new fi lm, SaF05. Katharine Gemmell fi nds out more about the work as it heads out on a tour of rural Scotland
COMING UP
Since 2003, Scotland + Venice has given Scottish artists a place on the international stage at the prestigious Venice Biennale – one of the best visual arts festivals in the world. Supported by Creative Scotland, the National Galleries of Scotland and British Council Scotland, the partnership commissions a new and ambitious piece of work that is staged at the Biennale and then returns to tour Scotland.
This year, Charlotte Prodger, recipient of the 2018 Turner Prize, was commissioned for a major single- channel video artwork. This new piece, SaF05, is the last in the trilogy of videos that began with 2015’s Stoneymollan Trail and 2016’s Turner-winning BRIDGIT and was curated in partnership with curator Linsey Young and Alexia Holt, associate director and visual arts producer at Cove Park. It was at Cove Park, Scotland’s international residency centre near Helensburgh, where Prodger developed the concept for her Venice work. Holt says: ‘It’s a really amazing piece that deals with a lot of the key concerns and issues that Charlotte’s earlier works deal with. The idea of growing up in a rural location with a queer identity; how that relates to your environment, and the contexts of which you grow up. It’s a personal piece and it’s very rich as well – the more you see it, the more that’s revealed.’ Due to the medium of this year’s commission, for the very fi rst time, the 2019 work will tour Scotland at the exact same time as it is shown in Venice. ‘With Scotland + Venice, the work has always come back to Scotland,’ explains Holt. ‘That’s usually been the following year because, with sculptural work and those forms, you obviously can’t show the work
simultaneously. But with Charlotte’s work being video, it has meant that we had the opportunity to do something new for this particular version. It’s a lovely moment that we can allow international audiences to see Charlotte’s work with audiences at home as well.’ The Scottish tour of SaF05 begins in Helensburgh at the Tower Digital Arts Centre on Thursday 27 June and then continues to Glasgow Film Theatre (Wed 3 Jul), Campbeltown Picture House (Thu 25 Jul), Aros Community Cultural Centre, Skye (Thu 27 Aug), An Lanntair, Isle of Lewis (Fri 27 Sep), Mareel, Shetland (Thu 24 Oct) and fi nishes at the Belmont Filmhouse, Aberdeen (Thu 21 Nov). Holt says that the choice of a rural tour has signifi cance to the project as a whole: ‘The tour will travel to rural venues in areas that have a particular meaning and resonance for the artist; the screening in Aberdeen will link the programme to the region in which Charlotte grew up and the event in Glasgow will connect the tour to the city in which she now lives and works. The tour will also involve young artists and curators involved in the [Scotland + Venice] Professional Development Programme, providing an opportunity for these individuals to present Prodger’s work in their own home regions.’
After each screening, there will be a short ‘making of’ documentary shown that reveals the behind-the- scenes creation of the project and tour, as well as a talk with the curators and different participants involved in the Professional Development Programme. Tickets are free and available from individual venues.
For more information, visit scotlandandvenice. com or covepark.org
Catrin Finch
OBAN LIVE A two-day open air concert showcasing international acts in Oban, featuring Skerryvore, We Banjo 3, Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Lucy Spraggan and more. Mossfi eld Stadium, Oban, Fri 7 & Sat 8 Jun.
ARCHITECTURE FRINGE Throughout June, architecture in all its forms will be given a platform at this nationwide event that’s going into its fourth year. Expect exhibitions, talks, installations and community projects that focus on 2019’s ‘In Real Life’theme. See feature, page 54. Various locations, Scotland, Fri 7–Thu 23 Jun.
GLASGOW COMIC CON The comic gurus over at BHP Comics are gearing up to present their annual event that showcases sequential art to the city. They’ve got big names from the comic world lined up including Frank Quietly, Chip Zdarsly, Brian Stelfreeze and many more. Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Sat 29 Jun.
EAST NEUK FESTIVAL World-class, critically acclaimed music, art and literature converge on this busy corner of Fife. You can expect Belcea and Pavel Haas Quartets, piano legend Elisabeth Leonskaja, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and harpist Catrin Finch. Various venues, Fife, Wed 26–Sun 30 Jun.
DOUNE THE RABBIT HOLE The boutique music festival celebrates 10 years with a strong line-up of acts over the weekend including the Damned, Sister Sledge and the Wailers. The festival is both child and dog-friendly. See feature, page 40. Cardross Estate, Stirling, Fri 19–Sun 21 Jul.
1 Jun–31 Aug 2019 THE LIST 17