Author Archives: SummerhallTV

Burns Unbroke

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25 January – 10 March 2018
Summerhall

Burns Unbroke is a new contemporary multi-arts festival offering diverse creative responses to Robert Burns. Featuring over 30 visual artists, an Alternative Burns Night, a Flyting competition, a tailor made programme of music as well as children’s performance and workshops as well as a series of Whisky Masterclasses with Arran Whisky.

The title of Burns Unbroke was inspired by the epigram which prefixed Robert Burns’s first publication in 1786.

The simple Bard, unbroke by rules of art,
He pours the wild effusions of the heart;
And if inspir’d ’tis Nature’s pow’rs inspire;
Her’s all the melting thrill, and her’s the kindling fire.

Morven Macrae : A Stitch and Line

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Sat 20 Jan 2018 – Sat 17 Feb 2018

Summerhall
Venue: Basement Gallery I
An Exploration of Line by Garvald Edinburgh Artists

A line joins two points- what happens between these two points is where the creativity occurs.

Following on from last years’ successful show at Summerhall, Garvald Edinburgh are delighted to present an exhibition of work by 9 artists each exploring line in their own unique way. Presenting work on paper and canvas and in textiles and ceramics we invite you to draw your own lines between the diverse artworks created by the artists.

Moving on from the origins of traditional sewing the artists from the Weaving and Textiles studios explore the stitched line in a variety of creative ways. Each artist has found a process which suits them and shows their individuality in mark making.

Nicholas Trayner’s intricate embroidered and ceramic depictions of plant life feel alive and still growing whilst Nathan Logan’s colourful cities bustle with layers of built up swatches of fabric. Kirsteen Bailey exhibits an intimate series of hand-stitched abstract meanderings inspired by water and are distinctly different to Callum Smiths geometric pieces which he created whilst free-styling on the sewing machine. Sammie Garvie’s rich felt works almost glow, hinting at jewelled worlds and hidden gardens.

The artists from the Art and Design Studio show works which complement the textiles and ceramics pieces. James Alison uses his stitch-like drawn line to create a series of fantastical bird drawings whilst Nathan Reid creates slightly disconcerting views in his linear depictions of Edinburgh. Nils McDiarmid’s colourful canvasses show his skilled use of line to create plane and form whilst Tracy McGovern, fresh from exhibiting at Hidden Door Festival, uses her confident line to bring more Good Old Scottish Folk to life in ceramics.

Kate Nolan : Lacuna

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LACUNA is a new photographic and audio/visual installation evoking contemporary experiences in the border village of Pettigo, County Donegal. Flowing through the centre of the village the River Termon marks the physical border between County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland and County Fermanagh, in Northern Ireland.

Three bridges span the river – and at places where it narrows, often, without realising, you can step across into another country. LACUNA responds to the idea of the border as a ‘landless’ land or a cavity in understanding. Drawn to “in-between” places, artist Kate Nolan collaborated with the young people of Pettigo to explore the notion of the border as a place in flux. The exhibition weaves together still and moving images, recorded stories and a commissioned score by Gavin O’Brien to evoke the tangible and intangible, natural and constructed nature of the border. The diffusion of the physical border in recent years means that for young people there has been minimal impact on physical movement.

The prospect of the introduction of an international border between the EU and the UK with Brexit gives rise to new uncertainties about the future. Kate Nolan’s LACUNA project was supported by the Arts Council Visual Arts Bursary and made possible by the support of the people of Pettigo.

Scottish PEN : Are we still Charlie?

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A month after the horrific shootings that took place in the offices of Parisian satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, Scottish PEN invited panelists Joyce McMillan (journalist and critic), Greg Moodie (cartoonist) and Alan Bissett (author and playwright) to the Red Lecture Theatre at Summerhall to discuss censorship, self-censorship and freedom of expression. Scottish PEN’s president Drew Campbell chaired the conversation.

 

Eric Hildrew : Collective

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It’s all change for Collective this week as we say goodbye to our temporary gallery unit. Since the first exhibitions by Karen Cunningham and Goldin+Senneby in the winter of 2013, the cabin has been the setting for many memorable exhibitions and events.

The Collective team are now taking up residence on the City Observatory site before we open it to the public next year.

Whilst there is plenty of building work still going on, we have reached a number of exciting milestones in our construction and restoration project. All the buildings are now sealed from the elements with new glazing and roofs are wind and water-tight. Sometimes framing a view can enhance it. The floor-to-ceiling windows in our new restaurant overlooking the city and the Firth of Forth now augment what was already a jaw-dropping panorama.

In the City Observatory and Transit House traditional lath and plaster has been applied and is slowly drying out. Our team of apprentices from St Mary’s Cathedral have completed their restoration of the original stonework and in the next few weeks the scaffolding cloaking the Observatory will be removed. We can’t wait to share the site with you and will keep you posted on our opening date.

Jacob Kerray : The Great White Hope

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Sat 18 Nov 2017 – Sun 14 Jan 2018
Summerhall
Venue: Corner Gallery

Firstly I would like to thank the good people at HUBLOT and the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino.

*Tears in my eyes*.

Well, Tony (Schiavone) before I start talking about the Art: At a point in time when the nation needs a national hero, I’m gonna start it out tonight in Los Angeles, California and most importantly H.O.L.L.Y.W.O.O.D, as much as I don’t like you people being part of our business, I’m gonna turn on you ton­ight like you’ve never been turned on before you little perros.

Now, I’ve heard about my challengers, they are great athletes, competitors but in the words of many: “They are not Jacob Kerray” and not ready to be Jacob Kerray. Not nearly ready to be dressed in custom made from head to toe! Versace all over! They are not ready to challenge the Golden Stallion! Not ready to wear a 5000 dollar tie and 10000 dollar alligator shoes! And to say Tony, what time is it? Well, well Jacob, there are so many diamonds around your HUBLOT we can’t tell what time it is! They are not ready for my kind of life. Not ready to get out of my private jet airplane and hear all the women say “OOhoo! There goes Jacob Kerray Professional Artist” Oh and ladies, I’ll be staying at the Marriott Hotel tonight Room 293. Woooo™.

Now to you people of Edinburgh, you dared to not buy all my paintings and acknowledge me as the bona fide genius and certified stud that I am! For that my friend you have aroused a great lion in Jacob Kerray, you made it clear to me that I must beat you.
Now the whole world knows I live in the BIG house in the BIG side of town and I’ve got a BIG BIG yacht! So don’t worry about having to leave the country when I embarrass you, you can all be my gardeners, I’ve got a BIG BIG garden and you can use those intellects to push my lawn mower.

To be The Man you have to beat The Man and right here, right now, I am THE MAN. Woooo™.

New works by Glasgow based artist Jacob Kerray.

Anna O’Sullivan : The Way Things Go: An Homage

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12 August – 15 October 2017
Butler Gallery, Kilkenny

The Butler Gallery, in association with Kilkenny Arts Festival, presents the influential film The Way Things Go (1987), by world-renowned Swiss artists Peter Fischli (b.1952) and David Weiss (1946-2012). This thirty-minute film was shot in a stark warehouse where automobile tires, garbage bags, and plastic water jugs take centre stage, rolling, twisting, and exploding in what seems to be an unstoppable chain of motion, both simple and complex. The film displays a forensic attention to detail, wherein Fischli and Weiss’s devotion to detritus injects a burst of humour into the seriousness of the art world.

In honour of the 30th anniversary of the making of The Way Things Go, a group of artists has been commissioned to make a new work in homage to this important film. These include Aideen Barry, Hannah Fitz, Atsushi Kaga, Nevan Lahart, Jonathan Mayhew and Caroline McCarthy. Also included is work by artists who have a particular sympathy with, or relationship to, The Way Things Go. These include works by Maggie Madden, Isabel Nolan and Liam O’Callaghan. All of these artists have acknowledged the importance and influence of the work of Fischli and Weiss on their individual art practice, and have created works in a variety of media that pays tribute to one of the truly inventive and memorable works of art produced in the late-twentieth century.

With thanks to the Arts Council for essential annual funding and to the OPW and the Department of Social Protection. Thanks are extended to the additional exhibition supporters: Kilkenny Arts Festival, Pro Helvetia the Swiss Arts Council, OPW and Kilkenny County Council Festival and Events Assistance Scheme 2017.

Nick Barley : Edinburgh International Book Festival 2015

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Director Nick Barley introduces this year’s festival programme, which features over 700 events for adults and children, and includes writers from over 55 countries. Particular highlights include a selection of authors from Mexico, picked by Mexican visual artist Gabriel Orozco, stories from the Innu tribes of Northern Canada, a series of big launches from major names, and a large international programme for children and young people.

Find out more about the programme here. Tickets go on sale on the 23rd June 2015.  The festival takes place in Charlotte Square Gardens from the 15th to the 31st August 2015.

Doglife

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Following on from the critically acclaimed Doubting Thomas, Jeremy Weller (winner of six Fringe First awards) and Grassmarket Projects return with part two of a devised trilogy with Thomas McCrudden: a former gangland enforcer who struggles to change from a violent past to a more hopeful future. With a cast of untrained actors, the play focuses on Thomas’ attempts to love and to be loved. We see many of the women in his life on stage: his mother, ex-partners, ex-wife and daughter, along with many of his victims from whom he desperately seeks forgiveness.

Lee Gershuny – Reflections of a Constant Monk

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A modern monk as he, or sometimes she, makes a pilgrimage across central Scotland and explores the mysteries of life and love. Reflections of a Constant Monk is a joyful and highly original show that combines performance, music and poetry. It takes audiences on a quest to discover a little more about themselves and their place in the universe.

The monk comes from the imagination of award-winning Scottish-based New York playwright and poet Lee Gershuny. It is presented by Edinburgh’s Elements World Theatre and the performers are all aged 50 to 70.

The sense of fluidity, not least in gender, marks out Reflections of a Constant Monk as being very much a contemporary piece of work. Yet there’s a timelessness in the questions it addresses like whether life has purpose, why bullies get away with trampling the weak and why we always seem to be on the brink of catastrophes of our own making. Gentle and funny, poignant and intelligently observed, Reflections of a Constant Monk is full of parables, insights and questions but refreshingly free of firm conclusions.

Gershuny is joined on stage by an accomplished cast consisting of Robin Mason, music composer and director, James Bryce on keyboards and Peter Galinsky on clarinet.

Bennie Reilly : Small Pieces of Precarious Life

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1 September to 8 October 2017
Dunamaise Arts Centre, Church Street, Portlaoise, County Laois

Bennie Reilly presents Small Pieces of Precarious Life at Dunamaise Arts Centre, Church Street, Portlaoise,County Laois.
Working from an accumulation of collected objects and images, Bennie Reilly presents an exhibition of oil painting and sculptural bricolage.
Guiding a cacophony of shapes and tones into orbits, she orchestrates the noises of her collection into both dulcet and atonal forms.
The exhibition is influenced by the exotic, esoteric ‘cabinets of curiosity’ and the aspect of precariousness in nature and art.

Stephen Kelman : Man On Fire

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Ali Millar interviews Stephen Kelman on Day-One of the 2015 Edinburgh International Book Festival. Kelman’s new novel ‘Man On Fire’ is based on the story of a real-life masochist who specialises in feats of extreme endurance.

Born in Luton in 1976, Kelman has worked in a warehouse, as a care-worker and in marketing and local government. His debut novel, ‘Pigeon English’ addresses young gang violence in London ‘with energy, humour and compassion’ (Guardian), and was shortlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize, the Desmond Elliott Prize and the Guardian First Book Award.

Burns Unbroke : Ross Fleming

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Burns Unbroke is a new contemporary multi-arts festival, offering new interpretations of the work of Robert Burns. The project‘s innovative visual arts programme features over 30 visual artists and includes newly commissioned work by four Scottish based artists. The focused programme of events includes an Alternative Burns Night, spoken word performances, children’s performances and a tailor made programme of music.
Burns Unbroke opens on 25 January 2018 and the visual art will be on display in 11 galleries for six weeks. The majority of performance events will be focused around the opening weekend.
burnsunbroke.co.uk

William Hammond : Cork Folk Festival

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Thursday, September 28th, 2017 to Sunday, October 1st, 2017

An annual event since 1979 the Cork Folk Festival brings a feast of folk events of all kinds to more than 40 venues around the city and county.
There is something for every taste and interest – from set to sean nós dancing, bluegrass to cajun music and singers clubs to singer songwriters. Many of the events are free. A pub trail map is available which allows you to skip from place to place and take in several acts in a single evening.

There is a strong focus on local styles of music, especially the traditional music of Sliabh Luachra and Cúil Aodha, regions of Co Cork famous for their distinctive playing and singing style.
The event opens each year with a big event in Grand Parade, with musicians, dancers and a crowd of up to 10000 people – the theme varies annually, but it will always be a real spectacle for sure.

Julian Baggini : Freedom Regained

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How much personal responsibility do we have for our actions? Does free will truly exist? Drawing on conclusions from his new book, ‘Freedom Regained’, writer Julian Baggini considers these questions with Ali Millar, at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Julian Baggini is a writer and philosopher with small thoughts about big subjects and big thoughts about small subjects, all taking place in person or on his website, www.microphilosophy.net.

 

Burns Unbroke : Ciara Dunne

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Burns Unbroke is a new contemporary multi-arts festival, offering new interpretations of the work of Robert Burns. The project‘s innovative visual arts programme features over 30 visual artists and includes newly commissioned work by four Scottish based artists. The focused programme of events includes an Alternative Burns Night, spoken word performances, children’s performances and a tailor made programme of music.
Burns Unbroke opens on 25 January 2018 and the visual art will be on display in 11 galleries for six weeks. The majority of performance events will be focused around the opening weekend.
burnsunbroke.co.uk

Burns Unbroke : David Mach

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Burns Unbroke : David Mach
Burns Unbroke is a new contemporary multi-arts festival, offering new interpretations of the work of Robert Burns. The project‘s innovative visual arts programme features over 30 visual artists and includes newly commissioned work by four Scottish based artists. The focused programme of events includes an Alternative Burns Night, spoken word performances, children’s performances and a tailor made programme of music.
Burns Unbroke opens on 25 January 2018 and the visual art will be on display in 11 galleries for six weeks. The majority of performance events will be focused around the opening weekend.
burnsunbroke.co.uk

Lynn Foster Fitzgerald and Émer O Laoghaire : Seeing comes before words

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Sun 10 Sept – Fri 6 Oct
Court House Arts

Lynne Foster Fitzgerald

Lynne Foster Fitzgerald lives and works in Wicklow. Trained at IADTL and DIT (2006), her solo shows have addressed the possibility of psychological transformation through the act of painting.

In this collaboration Lynne’s love of and deep connection with materials is expressed through the recycling of studio detritus and found objects.

Émer O Laoghaire

Born in Dublin and living in Co. Wicklow for almost 20 years, Émer O Laoghaire started painting in 2014 using found materials such as discarded sails and household paints.

Émer has had no formal training apart from a workshop in NCAD on colour mixing. Now working on canvas and linen grounds and using acrylics and powdered pigments, Émer’s artwork reflects her interest in the dynamics of colour, the ongoing tension between light and dark, and the gradations of tone between the two.

Burns Unbroke : Ross Fleming

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Burns Unbroke is a new contemporary multi-arts festival, offering new interpretations of the work of Robert Burns. The project‘s innovative visual arts programme features over 30 visual artists and includes newly commissioned work by four Scottish based artists. The focused programme of events includes an Alternative Burns Night, spoken word performances, children’s performances and a tailor made programme of music.
Burns Unbroke opens on 25 January 2018 and the visual art will be on display in 11 galleries for six weeks. The majority of performance events will be focused around the opening weekend.
burnsunbroke.co.uk

Marie Hanlon : Lines Tell lies

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9 September to 26 October 2017

The Source Arts Centre, Cathedral Street,Thurles, County Tipperary

In this exhibition Marie Hanlon presents small sculptures, wall works and a moving image piece. Lines Tell Lies initially attempts to persuade the viewer to accept realities which do not exist. Line is employed as a transforming and provocative element in works which are concerned with the act of seeing and ideas of perception.

The impetus for the exhibition came from a previous work called Cornerspace in which 39 still images of corners and items placed in corners are linked in an unfolding video montage. The slow-moving sequence mixes fictitious constructs made of studio props, with real places. The idea here was not not to fully disguise the fiction but rather to set in motion a dreamlike sequence of suggestion and association. Rhona Clarke’s electronic sounds for Cornerspace are devised to evoke texture, spatial illusion and mystery. Aural echoing and reverberation mirror the unfolding imagery as it seeks to transcend its limitations. What is suggested is sometimes more real than what is actually there.

The ideas, materials and props from Cornerspace became the starting point for the other pieces in the exhibition. Using glass, perspex, pencils, nails, staples etc. the works are concerned with skewing reality, distorting scale, proposing associations and so on. The viewer is asked to believe that air has solid form and that illusion has real substance. Reality blurs into fiction through means which are playful and intriguing; lines deceive the eye and all is not what it seems. An interval of time exists between the first moment of looking and the true realization of what is actually there. This short span allows a shift from looking to seeing, from seeing to perceiving.

Dorthe Nors : Karate Chop/Minna Needs Rehearsal Space

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Ali Millar in an illuminating interview with Danish novelist and short-story writer Dorthe Nors at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Nors has burst onto the UK literary scene with a heady cocktail of short stories, ‘Karate Chop’, translated from the Danish by Martin Aitken, combined into one volume with a highly original, playful novella, ‘Minna Needs Rehearsal Space’, which was translated by Misha Hoekstra.

Burns Unbroke : Calum Colvin

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Burns Unbroke is a new contemporary multi-arts festival, offering new interpretations of the work of Robert Burns. The project‘s innovative visual arts programme features over 30 visual artists and includes newly commissioned work by four Scottish based artists. The focused programme of events includes an Alternative Burns Night, spoken word performances, children’s performances and a tailor made programme of music.
Burns Unbroke opens on 25 January 2018 and the visual art will be on display in 11 galleries for six weeks. The majority of performance events will be focused around the opening weekend.
burnsunbroke.co.uk

Burns Unbroke : David Mach

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Burns Unbroke : David Mach
Burns Unbroke is a new contemporary multi-arts festival, offering new interpretations of the work of Robert Burns. The project‘s innovative visual arts programme features over 30 visual artists and includes newly commissioned work by four Scottish based artists. The focused programme of events includes an Alternative Burns Night, spoken word performances, children’s performances and a tailor made programme of music.
Burns Unbroke opens on 25 January 2018 and the visual art will be on display in 11 galleries for six weeks. The majority of performance events will be focused around the opening weekend.
burnsunbroke.co.uk

Seamus McCormack : Jealous Wall

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Date: Friday 1st September – Sunday 15th October 2017
Luan Gallery, Athlone, Co. Westmeath

Luan Gallery is thrilled to announce its autumn 2017 exhibition entitled: Jealous Wall.

Curated by visual artist and curator Séamus McCormack, a London based Mullingar native, the exhibition features work by Miranda Blennerhassett, Niall de Buitléar, Janine Davidson, Adam Gibney and David Eager Maher.

The exhibition borrows its title from an architectural construction ‘The Jealous Wall’ which was built in the midlands of Ireland in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, c.1760. Using concepts, ideas and themes that the structure, its history and form suggest, the exhibition brings together artists’ practices exploring the baroque, illusion, memory, site and architecture. It features a range of works in various media including installation, video, sculpture and drawing.

Curator, Séamus McCormack says:
‘The unique history behind ‘The Jealous Wall’ tells the sordid tale of a family squabble, in which Robert Rochfort, resentful of his brother, built the structure in order to conceal the view of his neighboring sibling’s dwelling. The construction became both a physical and metaphorical barrier between the two men and now remains a pertinent symbol and the source of inspiration for bringing the work of these artists together’.

Jealous Wall will launch on Friday 01st September at 6pm with a wine reception to which all are welcome and will continue until14th October 2017. Mayor of Athlone, Cllr Aengus ORourke will speak at the exhibition opening.

Luan Gallery is delighted to welcome schools and groups for talks and tours throughout the exhibition run. Guided tours are free of cost and available on request to all

Luan Gallery is open Tuesday – Saturday from 11.00 – 17.00 and Sundays 12.00 – 17.00. The gallery is closed on Mondays.

Nicholas Parsons : Tale of the Century

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One of the most beloved figures in British comedy, Nicholas Parsons came to the nation’s attention with Sale of the Century, a 1970s teatime quiz show. He further endeared himself to audiences through his legendary work on Just a Minute where he’s bantered with the likes of Ross Noble and Graham Norton. His majestic career and dapper wardrobe will be among the talking points here.

https://www.edbookfest.co.uk

Burns Unbroke : Ciara Dunne

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Burns Unbroke is a new contemporary multi-arts festival, offering new interpretations of the work of Robert Burns. The project‘s innovative visual arts programme features over 30 visual artists and includes newly commissioned work by four Scottish based artists. The focused programme of events includes an Alternative Burns Night, spoken word performances, children’s performances and a tailor made programme of music.
Burns Unbroke opens on 25 January 2018 and the visual art will be on display in 11 galleries for six weeks. The majority of performance events will be focused around the opening weekend.
burnsunbroke.co.uk

Burns Unbroke : Calum Colvin

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Burns Unbroke is a new contemporary multi-arts festival, offering new interpretations of the work of Robert Burns. The project‘s innovative visual arts programme features over 30 visual artists and includes newly commissioned work by four Scottish based artists. The focused programme of events includes an Alternative Burns Night, spoken word performances, children’s performances and a tailor made programme of music.
Burns Unbroke opens on 25 January 2018 and the visual art will be on display in 11 galleries for six weeks. The majority of performance events will be focused around the opening weekend.
burnsunbroke.co.uk

Sean Molloy : Simulations

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31 Aug 2017 – 13 Oct 2017
Solstice Arts Centre, Railway Street, Navan, Meath

‘Simulations’, an exhibition of new paintings by Seán Molloy at Solstice Arts Centre, involves the construction of a series of capriccio-inspired landscape works that make tangential references to ancient topographical features associated with the county of Meath. While encompassing some of the more identifiable characteristics of this landscape (rich pastoral scenery, idyllic trees in full leaf, the picturesque remains of castles and follies), Molloy also introduces a set of anachronistic elements to these pictures that serve to both counteract and reinforce traditional approaches to documenting a sense of place. These elements take the form of features drawn from architectural archives, Dutch ‘Golden Age’ landscapes and over-painted abstract designs and optical devices.

The resulting oil paintings on canvas and panel are carefully considered compilations, amalgamations of landscapes half-remembered from the real world and various versions of it that exist in representational Western art. Curated by Sabina Mac Mahon, the exhibition is accompanied by two workshops in drawing and watercolour lead by Seán Molloy on Saturday 9 September 2017.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Seán Molloy studied at the University of Brighton and Glasgow School of Art before graduating from the National College of Art & Design, Dublin with a BA in Fine Art (Painting) in 2011 and an MFA in 2013. Recent exhibitions include Pallas Projects 20 Year Benefit Auction, City Assembly House, Dublin (2016); Neo Pentimenti, Ashford Gallery, RHA, Dublin; Disrupting Reality, Spectrum Artists’ Studios, Belfast (2015); and the RHA Annual Exhibition (2013-17). Molloy’s work is included in the collections of Fingal County Council, de Blacam & Meagher Architects, AXA Insurance and the State Art / OPW Collection. He lives and works in Dublin. seanmolloy.ie