Thursday in Edinburgh – What’s On Today

Live Music Now: Aonach Mor. With accordion, fiddle, guitar, piano and voice, Aonach Mor draw on a wealth of traditional material whilst adding contemporary melodies to create an exciting blend of songs and tunes. The programme includes some specific references to the Remembering the Great War exhibition, including Pipe Tunes From The War (The Taking of Beaumont Hammel, Hogmanay Rejoicings, The Royal Scots and The Shell That Took The Billet), and Keep the Home Fires Burning. 6-6.30pm, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street. Free and unticketed.

Storytime: for 3-5 year olds. 10.30-11am today and every Thursday, Central Children’s Library, George IV Bridge.

Ecumenical Friends at St John’s: Carol Finlay – Mary Slessor and her legacy. 1pm, St John’s Church, Princes Street (please note different time and venue). All warmly welcome: bring your own packed lunch, tea and coffee are provided. £1.50 per person, These events are organised by Edinburgh City Centre Churches TOGETHER.

Books In Focus: Matisse’s Jazz. The Books In Focus series focuses on artists’ books held in the special collections of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. This session will look in detail at Henri Matisse’s livre d’artiste Jazz, which was published by Teriade in 1957. The book is a meditation on colour and what it is to be an artist by one of the most famous artists of the 20th century. 11.30am-12.30pm, Reading Room, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art TWO, Belford Road. Places are free but limited, and should be booked by calling 0131 624 6268 or emailing gmainfo@nationalgalleries.org.

Big Scream: screenings exclusively for parents and carers with babies under the age of 12 months. Membership of this club costs £5 and expires on your baby’s first birthday: it enables you to buy tickets for Big Scream screenings at Picturehouse members’ rates (babies admitted free). This week: Into The Woods (PG), 10am, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets can be booked online here or by calling the Box Office on 0871 902 5723.

Scotland-Russia Forum: sparkling Russian/English conversation over tea and cakes. Open to all, no booking required, just turn up – you will be warmly welcomed by the group. 11am today and the first Thursday of every month, Summerhall Cafe, Summerhall. No charge apart from the cost of any drinks or food you may wish to purchase. For more information see the Scotland-Russia forum’s website and Facebook page.

Scotland-Russia Forum: Professor Paul Dukes – The Urals: Russia’s Crucible. A Dashkova Open Seminar. 5.10pm, The Princess Dashkova Russian Centre, 14 Buccleuch Place.

Representing Muslims in Scotland and the North-East: a screening of The Last of the Dictionary Men and a Q & A session with filmmaker Tina Gharavi. Gharavi is a BAFTA-nominated filmmaker and screenwriter of Iranian heritage, whose films and documentaries have examined her own experiences travelling from her adopted home city of Newcastle to Tehran in Mother/Country (2001), recorded the history of Yemeni migration to South Shields in The Last of the Dictionary Men (2008), and documented the lasting impact of Muhammad Ali’s extraordinary visit to the Muslim communities in South Shields in The King of South Shields (2008). Her first full-length feature film, the BAFTA-nominated I Am Nasrine (2012) traced the arrival of two Iranian asylum seekers to Newcastle. 5.30pm, Project Room, 50 George Square, University of Edinburgh. Refreshments will be available after the talk. This is the last in a series of seminars with British Muslim writers. poets and filmmakers organised by PhD students Sybil Adam and Peter Cherry.

Edinburgh College of Art Thursday Research Seminars: Composite Formation – Freud’s Rome and the Phantasy of ‘Self-Analysis’. The seminar will be chaired by Professor Whitney Davis (UC Berkeley) and will be followed by drinks in the common room. 5.15pm, Lecture Room 1, Minto House, 20-22 Chambers Street. Free and open to all: no booking required.

A Family of Painters – The Faeds: an exhibition of 30 paintings by five members of the Faed family. One of the oldest and rarest of Scottish surnames and with its history firmly rooted in the picturesque landscape of Dumfries and Galloway, for over a decade the Faed name has been associated with the family of artists from the area. From portraits of Highland Marys and Robert Burns to scenes of rural and domestic life in Galloway and rolling countryside, the family covered many genres which did and still do appeal to many. 10am-6pm Monday to Friday, 11am-2pm Saturdays, Bourne Fine Art, 6 Dundas Street. Ends 11th April 2015.

World Book Day at the National Library: learn about the Library’s collections, services, exhibitions and events. Enjoy a tour of the public areas and behind the scenes. 10am, 11am, 12 noon, 2pm, 3pm or 4pm, National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge. Booking is required and can be made online here or by calling the Library on 0131 623 3734. Please inform the Library if you have any special access requirements. Free.

The Jonathan Mills Lectures: Performing the City. How do we respond to the intimate details of our surroundings? Our homes or streets? Our neighbourhoods and offices? Our urban or, decreasingly, our rural environments? In this lecture composer, festival director and Visiting Professor (University of Edinburgh) Jonathan Mills explores the idea of performance as a way in which we might want to inhabit our place  in the world. 12.30pm, Main Lecture Theatre E22, Edinburgh College of Art Main Building, Lauriston Place. Free and open to all.

Edinburgh College Creative Industries Open Days: an opportunity to speak to lecturers in Art & Design, Performing Arts, Broadcast Media & Photography, Music & Sound Production and Computing, see the cutting-edge facilities and try some fun,interactive activities. 3-6pm, Edinburgh College Granton Campus, 350 West Granton Road. See Edinburgh College’s website for more information and details regarding which subjects are offered at each campus.

Edinburgh Palette Figurative Painting and Drawing Workshops: a drop-in untutored group available to all, beginners and professionals. Some easels and drawing boards are available on a first come, first served basis. Male and female models are used. 9.45am-12.30pm today and every Thursday, Drawing Room, Studio 5.18, Fifth Floor, St Margaret’s House, 151 London Road. £6 per session. For more information please call Trina Bohan on 07783 398112, or just call in.

A Winter’s Oresteia. A chilling new adaptation by award-winning playwright James Beagon of an Ancient Greek classic; a chilling story of anger and revenge. For ages 14+: includes violence and some strong language. 7.30pm tonight and Friday, Summerhall, 1 Summerhall. Tickets cost £8/£6 and can be purchased online here or by calling the Box Office on 0131 560 1581.

Magne Furuholmen and Gaby Hartel in conversation: Peeling A Glass Onion, a new body of work by Norwegian visual artist and musician Magne Furuholmen at the Dovecot, forms the backdrop for this exchange with Berlin based freelance arts journalist, radio writer and translator Gaby Hartel. The making of Glass Onion tapestry in collaboration with Dovecot Tapestry Studio will also be discussed. 5-6pm, Dovecot Studios, Infirmary Street. Tickets cost £6/£5 and can be purchased via eventbrite here. Peeling A Glass Onion opens at Dovecot tomorrow.

The Travelling Gallery: Design In Motion. The Travelling Gallery’s spring 2015 tour is a collaboration with the new V & A Dundee, taking exhibits, designers and the V & A Dundee team across the country, connecting communities with Scotland’s design heritage and raising awareness of the talent in Scotland’s present-day design industries, inspiring creativity along the way. The exhibition concept, brought to life by DJCAD-trained Gabrielle Underwood, will showcase seven innovative designers currently working with digital technology to push the boundaries of their discipline within games, product, jewellery, fashion, textiles and built heritage. 10am-5pm, George Street (between North Castle Street and Frederick Street); please note access may be restricted at certain times owing to visiting groups. Also at same times on Friday 6th at Edinburgh Napier University Colinton Campus, Colinton Road and on Friday 13th March at Edinburgh College, West Granton Road. For more information please contact The Travelling Gallery via City Art Centre, 2 Market Street, EH1 1DE, 0131 529 3930 or travellinggallery@edinburgh.gov.uk.

Mayfield Salisbury Thursday Club: A Vet’s Life in Kenya, with George Smith. 2-4pm, Upper Hall, Mayfield Salisbury Parish Church, 18 West Mayfield. Visitors of any age very welcome: tea 50p, annual membership £3. For more information please contact Florence Smith on 0131 663 1234.

Game Changers: what is the future of game design? V & A Game Designer Sophia George, Lucky Frame founder Yann Seznec and the National Theatre of Scotland’s Philippa Tomlin will discuss their inspirations, award-winning projects and their aspirations for the future of game design. The evening will be chaired by Chris Wilson of Abertay University. For ages 14+ only. 6.30-8pm (doors open 6.15pm), Auditorium (entry via Lothian St), National Museum of Scotland. This event is in partnership with V & A Museum of Design Dundee and will include an opportunity to visit the Design in Motion Travelling Gallery, which will be open to the public 6-8pm. Free but booking is required: tickets may be booked online here or obtained from NMS’s reception desk.

Kitten On The Keys: jam session – bring along any instrument you choose and jam away with like-minded musicians, with a focus on getting everyone involved and experimenting with music. 7pm, Boda Bar, 229 Leith Walk.