Culture
Arts champions take their message to Holyrood
Leading lights of Scotland’s contemporary art scene head to Parliament this week to champion the positive impact of visual art in our communities – and to present every MSP with a specially commissioned original print by artist Ruth Ewan. The initiative is part of the Art in Action campaign being run by Scottish Contemporary Art…
Read MoreGearing up for Royal National Mod in Glasgow
Glasgow’s George Square will play host to a sensational party featuring names from across the Scottish Gaelic music scene to mark the opening of the Royal National Mod – and everyone’s invited! Scots Trad-rock band Mànran will headline the free opening ceremony concert on Friday, 11 October, with Scotland’s 33-strong Gaelic Eurovision choir Alba as…
Read MoreUnfilmed script for Alien 3 coming to Scots theatre
A new Scottish production of an unfilmed script for cult favourite Alien 3 promises to be out of this world. A collaboration between a Glasgow based theatre company and national horror events specialists, Alien 3: The Unfilmed Script is a play that will bring theatre and sci-fi fans together for a unique experience. Alien 3…
Read MoreA chance to explore Gaelic heritage and culture
Volunteer-led sessions are part of Historic Environment Scotland’s Gaelic volunteer programme Visitors to the Blackhouse in Arnol, on the Isle of Lewis, run by HES, can now enjoy free sessions to explore Gaelic heritage and culture related to the historic site. Local volunteers, who have researched and created the content as part of HES’ Gaelic…
Read MoreScotland’s 19th century rebels with a cause
The Scottish Radicals demanding a better deal in 1820 were brutally suppressed by government forces. But many of their ideals and aims are still part of the political debate today. Most people never notice it, but attached to the bottom of Stirling Tolbooth is a small plaque. It is modest and unassuming but it commemorates…
Read More50 shades of brown at Dovecot Studios
Dovecot Studios is a contemporary tapestry studio housed in a renovated Victorian swimming pool in the capital. As well as some highly skilled and experienced weavers they have recently reinstated an apprenticeship programme to pass on skills to a new generation of craftsmen and women. Naomi Robertson is the studio manager and master weaver at…
Read MoreThe debt to pleasure of the Merry Widow
The late Queen Mother’s great-great-great-grandmother, the fabulously wealthy Mary Eleanor Bowes, endured kidnapping, notoriety and lashings of scandal in a life that was lived to the full. With its pink sandstone walls and greyroofed turrets Glamis Castle looks like a fairytale palace. But the 14th-century castle in Angus, childhood home of the late Queen Mother,…
Read MoreCrime and punishment – 10 infamous Scots trials
Some of Scotland’s most infamous criminals have fallen foul of the law and ended up in the dock in ten of the country’s most remarkable and high-profile trials. Here, we highlight 10 of them. 1. William Burke (1828) Most people are familiar with the story of Burke and Hare, who murdered 16 people in order…
Read MoreCulture, music, language and storytelling
The opening of Aberdeenshire’s Across the Grain festival is almost upon us, showcasing some of the nation’s best known cultural institutions on the opening weekend alone. The National Theatre of Scotland will premiere a new film in Huntly and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland will choreograph solo, duets and group dance work for Banff residents,…
Read More‘Lost’ Peploe at Bonhams Scottish art sale
A newly discovered painting by the Scottish colourist painter Samuel Peploe is among the leading works in Bonhams Scottish Art Sale in Edinburgh next month. The painting was first owned by Mme Marie Marguerite Soulie, who was married to the English novelist and playwright Arnold Bennett from 1917-1921. Its whereabouts have been unknown to scholars…
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