What’s On In Edinburgh this week - The Edinburgh Reporter

MONDAY 26 MAY 2014

Looking Glass Books – First Time Solo; Iain Maloney launches his debut novel, the story of four RAF men preparing for war ‘in a world where moral absolutes are being discarded daily and the certainties of the old order are crumbling.’ 6.30pm, Looking Glass Books, 36 Simpson’s Loan. To book your free place RSVP to info@freightbooks.co.uk

Edible Gardening – Seasonal Advice: drop in to the Royal Botanic Garden to find out how to grow your own food, and take a look around the productive garden with the Edible Garden Project team. 1-3pm, Demonstration Garden, free, all ages, no booking required.

Golden Hare Books – monthly book group. This month’s book is Kirsty Logan‘s The Rental Heart & Other Stories. Free wine and refreshments available. 6.30pm, 102 West Bow. Call 0131 629 1396 or see website for details.

Call for submissions: the 2014 Edinburgh Macmillan Art Exhibition, Inspired!, will take place 14-17 August at Bonhams, Queen Street. Artists receive a minimum of 50% from sales, with all profits going to help people affected by cancer in Scotland. Deadline for submissions is 20th June 2014. For details and application forms visit www.macmillanartshow.org. The organisers are especially keen to see the work of artists new to the show.

Figuring Fergusson: Kerry Watson, Gallery of Modern Art Librarian, discusses responses to John Duncan Fergusson’s life & work by current students from Glasgow School of Art’s Department of Painting & Printmaking. 12.45-1.30pm, The Studio, Modern Art One, free & unticketed.

TUESDAY 27 MAY 2014

Leith Folk Club: Mean Mary & Frank James. 7.30pm for 8pm, Victoria Park House Hotel, Ferry Rd. £7, tickets available on the door. Information on website or call booking line: 07502 024852

Collective Gallery, City Observatory: Conversation of Monuments – an installation and public research project to realise a new monument for the city. Artist Laura Yuile will be in the gallery every day 3-5pm to engage visitors in conversation and conduct focus groups and interviews with them. Today until 29th June 2014; gallery open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-5pm. More information on website or call 0131 556 1264.

National Library of Scotland Play-reading Group: who would you like to be? No performance, no public audience, no experience necessary. 6-8pm, NLS, George IV Bridge. Free, no need to book. Contact Reader in Residence Kate Hendry at k.hendry@nls.uk for further information.

Lunchtime Concert: Hallby Dane Choir from Eskilstuna, Sweden. 12.15pm , St Giles Cathedral, Royal Mile.

Blackwell’s Edinburgh presents Richard Clubley: Scotland’s Islands, a Special Kind of Freedom. Richard Clubley shares the sense of freedom he finds in the Scottish islands as he discovers their individual character, beauty and diversity. ‘A book for islomanes to savour in sips.’ 6.30-7.30pm, Blackwell’s, South Bridge. Tickets are free and can be obtained from the shop’s front desk or by calling 0131 622 8218.

Uncovering Fergusson: Senior Curator Alice Strang tells the stories involved in tracking down and installing the more than 100 paintings and sculptures in the Fergusson exhibition lent from private and public UK collections. 12.45-1.30pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free but tickets must be obtained in advance from the information desk at the National Gallery.

Crystallography Matters! Celebrating the 2014 International Year of Crystallography. This week Dr Emrys Phillips from the British Geological Survey will talk about ‘Nature’s Stained Glass – Using Crystallography to reveal the processes which have shaped our planet.’ 6.30pm, Cairns Lecture Theatre, Summerhall. A University of Edinburgh event. Free tickets must be booked via eventbrite.

Leith Interventions: students from the University of Edinburgh’s MSc in Advanced Sustainable Design investigate the development of Leith into a more sustainable area, focusing on sites around Leith Links. Opening event 5.30-7.30pm, Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street. Exhibition continues until Thursday 29th May 2014.

WEDNESDAY 28 MAY 2014

Lunchtime Concert: Piano Speak with Will Pickvance. Popular off -the-cuff concert of piano improvisation and repartee. 12.15pm, St Giles Cathedral, Royal Mile

The Great Tapestry of Scotland & Scottish Identity: a talk by Alistair Moffat. Part of the Soul of Scotland Lecture Series. 7.30-9pm St Andrew’s & St George’s West Church, George Street. Free but please register via eventbrite.

Titian in Ten: a ten minute pop-up talk giving an exclusive insight as staff from across the galleries offer different perspectives on Titian’s masterpieces. 2pm, free and unticketed, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound.

Powell & Mehrpouya: The Palace of Forgetting: new works – an exhibition encompassing new & traditional media, which focuses on the construction & manipulation of knowledge and its relation to questions of power & control. Opens today and continues to 21st June 2014, Weds-Sunday 10am-5.30pm at Warburton Gallery, 1 India Buildings: www.warburtongallery.com

THURSDAY 29 MAY 2014

Blackwell’s Edinburgh presents Head for the Edge, Keep Walking – Kate Tough’s much awaited new novel. ‘What does it take to stay sane in this life? And why does it look easier for everyone else?’ 6.30-7.30pm. Blackwell’s South Bridge. Free tickets available from the shop’s front desk or by calling 0131 622 8218.

An Evening with Tony Singh: the award-winning chef, who forms one half of the Incredible Spice Men, introduces his new book, Tasty, and offers some samples of the delicious recipes inside. 6pm, Waterstones West End, 128 Princes Street. Tickets £4 (£3 for Waterstones card holders), must be purchased from the shop, tel: 0131 226 2666.

Live Music Now: Wildings. A varied selection of original and traditional tunes and songs for fiddle, flute, whistles, voice & piano. Free and unticketed. 6-6.30pm, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street.

Edinburgh College of Art Postgraduate Research Festival – Digital Media Studio Project, Installation and Event. Presented by students from MSc courses in Sound Design, Design & Digital Media, and Acoustics & Music Technology. Performances include ‘Piece for Viola & Electronics’, ‘Brain Drain’ & ‘Exploring Sonic Structures.’ 7-10pm, Wee Red Bar, ECA Lauriston Place.

Art Meets Medical Research: Launch of exhibition of works by three artists from the Art, Space & Nature Masters Programme at Edinburgh College of Art, following residencies at the Queen’s Medical Research Institute. 4pm, Mary Kinross Room, College of Medicine & Veterinary Science, 47 Little France Crescent.

FRIDAY 30 MAY 2014

Guid Crack: Think on Your Feet. Storyteller Lindsey Gibb leads an evening of improvised stories. 7.30-10pm, upstairs at the Waverley Bar, 3-5 St Mary’s Street. Contact Scottish Storytelling Centre for more information.

Lunchtime Concert: Lynne Bulmer plays flute. 12.15pm St Giles Cathedral, Royal Mile.

Informal Concert: Nokken Skolekor from Norway. 3pm, St Giles Cathedral, Royal Mile.

Talbot Rice Gallery, University of Edinburgh, Old College, South Bridge. Preview night for new exhibitions: Jason Dee, Pursuit of a Shadow ‘a captivating expose of the underlying changes in our relationship to moving images’ ‘a fascinating a timely dialogue with the history of cinema.’ and Hand-made Cinema, the work of Norman McLaren ‘celebrating the fluid – almost alchemical – creative processes of this experimental filmmaker and musician.’ 6-8pm, for more information contact the gallery on 0131 650 2210.

Edinburgh College of Art Postgraduate Research Festival: Designs for (the failure of) an Institution – PhD by Design Exhibition & Reception. An exhibition of work produced as part of a recently completed PhD in Architecture by Design. 6-8pm, Matthew Architecture Gallery, Minto House, 20-22 Chambers Street.

SATURDAY 31 MAY 2014

6@bonnington group exhibition: Patriothall Gallery, off Henderson Place, Stockbridge. Today until 8th June, times vary – see website or call 0131 226 7126

Talbot Rice Gallery, University of Edinburgh, Old College, South Bridge – new exhibitions: Jason Dee, Pursuit of a Shadow and Norman McLaren, Hand-made cinema. Today until 5th July 2014. See website or call 0131 650 2210 for further details. Free.

Talbot Rice Gallery: artist’s talk. Jason Dee discusses his new exhibition, Pursuit of a Shadow (see above), with John Calcutt. 11am, free, bookings must be made via eventbrite.

Lunchtime Concert: St George’s Singers from Poynton, Cheshire. 12.15pm, St Giles Cathedral, Royal Mile.

Doubtfire Gallery: new exhibition of paintings by Linda Park. 10am-5pm, Monday to Saturday, 3 South East Circus Place, tel: 0131 225 6540

Informal Concert: Boler Mannskor from Norway. 3pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, Royal Mile.

The Hidden Library – special events for families, from babies to grandparents, at the National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge. Storytelling, tours, comic book workshop and lots more, some drop-in events, some bookable – all FREE. For programme, booking & contact details click here.

Summer Fair & Teddy Toddle – The Sick Kids Friends Foundation. 12noon-4pm, Meadowbank Sports Centre, London Road. For more information and contact details, click here.

3 Harbours Arts Festival starts today in Cockenzie, Port Seton & Prestonpans. Art, crafts, exhibitions, events, music & lots more. See www.3harbours.co.uk for details. Continues until 8th June 2014 (not all venues open midweek.)

East Neuk Open Studios continues this weekend in Cellardyke, Crail, St Monan’s & Pittenweem. See www.eastneukopenstudios.org for details.

SUNDAY 1 JUNE 2014

The Serenity Cafe, 8 Jackson’s Entry, off Holyrood Rd, hosts the Surgeons’ Hall Museum‘s exhibition: Words & Deeds, Weapons & Wounding. Today to 30th June 2014.

Art Maker – join the Art Maker Club and make your own masterpieces with artists Tessa Asquith-Lamb and Louise Fraser. Ages 4-12. 2-4pm, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free drop-in session.

The Glasshouses at the Royal Botanic Garden, Inverleith Row are open today for the charity Scotland’s Gardens. 10am-5.30pm, £5, concessions £4, children under 16 free, no advanced booking needed. Proceeds are shared between various charities.