art
Winds of change at The Botanics
Inverleith House gallery is to close. Was art sacrificed in a sharper focus on commerce and community at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh?
Hidden story behind Scotland’s art
‘Scotland invented Highlandism because its own culture had been ignored by London and suppressed by many leading Scots in the years after Union. Rejecting it is siding with Irvine Welsh’s Rent Boy in Trainspotting saying…
Brace yourself for Burns mit Beethoven
“But we are being untrue to the great man if we don’t acknowledge that his songs first appeared to his own public in this (posh) way. We ought to pause and appreciate them for what…
Standup and deliver: backstage gossip beyond the Fringe
Looking at the rapidly evolving comedy culture, Fay Young tiptoes behind the Fringe scenes to eavesdrop on backstage gossip between comedians Susan Morrison and Bruce Morton: ‘Well, that was a bit shit,’ remembers Bruce, recalling…
Scottish identity: the play’s the thing
“The play is a powerful reminder to outsiders to listen first and speak cautiously about what they think they know: culture and identity are constantly evolving, however much it might be more comforting if they…
EIF: greatest arts show on earth
The Edinburgh Festival is upon us again, a three-week spectacular that turns the Scottish capital into the biggest arts destination on the planet. It is in fact a number of different festivals, with the leading…
Mr Demarco, networking genius, art supremo
(Richard) “Demarco has long seen it as his role to ensure Scotland maintained its connections with Europe, having originally been inspired by the divisions that scarred the continent following World War II…He sought to highlight…
Zaha Hadid’s radical geometries
Zaha Hadid’s untimely death deprives architecture of one its most belligerent, brilliant and fascinating talents at the height of her powers.
‘That bloody poster’: exploring Austerity Nostalgia
It’s now some seven years since the notorious ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ sign appeared. Owen Hatherley’s The Ministry of Nostalgia is a witty, exasperated and ferociously well-read exploration of the ‘Austerity Nostalgia’ phenomenon and…
Crafting, feasting, fighting: the Celts
The National Museum of Scotland opens its monumental exhibition on the art and identity of the Celts this week. Lots of wonderful, almost unimaginable artifices. But who were the Celts? They didn’t leave any written…
Creativity and courage: Scottish women’s art
The exhibition on modern Scottish women artists at Modern 2 Edinburgh opens our eyes to a huge range of technique, subject – and genius – by these talented women over 80 years to 1965 and…