Monday in Edinburgh – What’s On Today

POPism: Pop Art in the UK and the USA in the 1950s. Responding to the Artist Rooms: Roy Lichtenstein display at the Gallery of Modern Art, Dr Jonathan Blackwood, Grays School of Art, looks at the roots and development of pop art in the UK and the USA, considering artists such as Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Ed Ruscha, Claus Oldenburg, ‘Pee Wee’, Andy Warhol, Richard Hamilton, Peter Blake, Pauline Boty and Lichtenstein himself. 12.45-1.30pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed.

Gilmerton Community Centre Information Drop-In Session: NHS Community Development Worker Emma Nugent invites you to come along, find out more about local services and share your ideas for any new activities you would like to see in the area. 12 noon-3pm, Gilmerton Community Centre, 4 Drum Street. Also on 10th, 12th, 15th and 17th June 2015 – times vary, please check the Centre’s Facebook page for details or call 0131 664 2335.

Lunchtime Concert: Elverum Danekor, Elverum, Norway. Conductor Arne Mosengen. 12.15pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free.

Cafe Histoire: L’epuration (1944-53). L’epuration or ‘the French legal purge’ is one of the darkest episodes of the French post-World War II period, affecting every single class of French society. Patrick Landri will explain the causes of ‘l’epuration’ and why the French historian Jacques Marseille said ‘To all those still condemning the so-called ‘resistancialism’ and screaming against the lack of justice during the purge, let me remind you that equity and reason didn’t have their place in these circumstances’. Please note that this talk will be in French. 5.30-7pm, Institut francais d’Ecosse, 13 Randolph Crescent. £8 (members £5): to book please call 0131 225 5366.

Open Eye Gallery: New Exhibitions. (1) Rachel Ross: Keepsake – intricate paintings featuring calculated compositions that encapsulate personal histories through memorabilia. The placement of objects is personal and suggestive of time, arranged in a way with which only the owner can identify, yet it prompts reflection on how individual memories resurface and are selected and ordered. (2) David Schofield: New Work. Schofield’s work toys with everyday locations, disrupting narratives with surreal elements. (3) Willie Rodger RSA RGI. Scotland’s pre-eminent and renowned relief printmaker produces wood and lino cuts without the use of a press; this exhibition showcases a broad selection of Rodger’s strongest and most desirable prints. 10am-6pm Monday to Friday, 10am-4pm Saturdays, Open Eye Gallery, Abercromby Place. All three exhibitions end 24th June 2015.

Blackwell’s Edinburgh Children’s Book Group: if you are aged 8 to 11 years and have a love of books and biscuits, join this free group to enjoy a friendly hour of fiction of all kinds. Come and discover more books to treasure! Currently reading JRR Tolkein’s The Hobbit. 6-7pm, Blackwell’s, South Bridge. To join please just email your details to childrens.edinburgh@blackwell.co.uk.

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom June Meeting: come along and help plan future events. 6.15pm, Engender Office, 1a Haddington Place. Women only: non-members welcome.

Picturehouses Culture Shock: bringing you the best in cult and genre films. Today’s film is the British-American musical adventure fantasy Labyrinth (U): ‘Freaky pink things with detachable limbs, a fox that rides a sheepdog, a bog of eternal stench and an MC Escher inspired finale’. Directed by Jim Henson and starring David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly and a cast of puppets from Henson’s Creature Shop. 9pm, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be booked in person, by calling the Box Office on 0871 902 5723 or online here.

Spark Greyfriars: Edinburgh Academy Chamber Choir, 2014 winner of Barnardo’s National Choir Competition, will perform Britten Rejoice in the Lamb, Walton Jubilate Deo, Ireland Greater Love and Peter Gregson Psalm 19 (premiere). Director: Angus Tully, organist: Philip Coad. 7.30pm, Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place. Tickets cost £10/£5 and may be purchased from The Queen’s Hall Box Office in person, by calling 0131 668 2019 or online here.

New Town & Broughton Community Council: 7.30pm, Drummond Room, Broughton St Mary’s Church, Bellevue Crescent. All local residents welcome. If you have an issue that you would like to raise at the meeting, please let the Community Council know in advance by using the form here.

Dirty Negatives: Wasting Time in Conversation. An installation of new prints and photography work about film and nightlife culture, by the collaborative duo Elizaveta Maltseva and Tara Kathleen Stewart. Private view tonight 6pm, then during normal opening hours, Woodland Creatures, 260 Leith Walk. Ends 8th July 2015.

Tricolour: the monthly night showcasing three different poetry and spoken word talents. Three different voices, three different styles, three different takes on life. Tonight’s performers are Max Scratchman, MacGillivray and Suky Goodfellow. 6.30pm, National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge. Free but booking is required and may be made online here or by calling 0131 623 3734.

Folk Night: live folk music. 7.30pm, Old Chain Pier, Trinity Crescent, Newhaven.

Language Cafe: 7-10pm tonight and every Monday, Victoria, 265 Leith Walk.