Old Town Acoustic Festival: a full day of acoustic, showcasing local artists. Aspiring song writers are invited to come and perform at an open mic session from 3-7pm, after which Bannermans Live Hall will host sets from Tom Coyne, Annie Booth, Ekobirds, Maisie Hutt and Bleys Dunlop. For over 18s only. 3pm onwards, Bannermans Bar, 212 Cowgate. Tickets cost £5 and are available from Tickets Scotland here (transaction fee applies).
Queen Margaret University Degree Show: ten short films made by QMU’s Film & Media students, covering a diverse range of subjects and genres. The documentaries profile an award winning artist, take you on a musical journey to the streets of Morocco and show you how to build an Earthship; the dramas feature characters dealing with the effects of grief, poverty, illness…and junk mail. 8.30pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be purchased in person, by calling the Box Office on 0131 228 2688 or online here: prices vary.
Opening Lecture: The Brilliant and Eccentric M Jean-Etienne Liotard (1702-1789). Mary-Ann Stevens, art historian and curator, will introduce the work of the Genevois artist. Travelling across Europe to Constantinople, patronised by rulers, aristocrats and the professional middle class, Liotard was internationally acclaimed for his mastery of pastel and his unflinching observation of reality, which he brought to his portraits, genre scenes and exceptional trompe-l’oeil compositions. 6-7pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed. The Jean-Etienne Liotard exhibition opened at the National Gallery on 4th July 2015.
Live Music Now: Erskine String Quartet. One of Scotland’s leading string groups will play the ‘Biscay’ Quartet (1913), a musical portrait of the South of France by Scottish composer JB McEwen, and Thomas Alexander Erskine’s Quartet in A Major. 6-6.30pm, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed.
Play a Library Game with Carson and Miller: the artists present their current collaboration with the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Archive, ‘Archive Games’ in the Keiller Library. Drop-in and play along! 10.30am-12.30pm, Keiller Library, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art TWO, Belford Road. Free and unticketed.
Portrait Gallery Curator’s Talk: Lee Miller and Picasso. A chance to discuss the current exhibition with Dr Anne Lydon, NGS International Curator of Photography. 5.30-6pm, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street. Free and unticketed.
The Drawing Room – July: informal, artist-led drawing sessions developed by contemporary artists and reflecting concerns within each artist’s work. The sessions seek to examine the range of possibilities within contemporary drawing practice. All materials are supplied and no experience is necessary. 5.30-6.45pm, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art ONE, Belford Road. Free but booking is required: please call the Education Department on 0131 624 6410 or email education@nationalgalleries.org.
Spotlight on Photography: A Victorian Sensation. Curator Dr Alison Morrison Low will introduce the pioneers of photography and discuss the influence of this Victorian craze on photography today. For ages 14+. 2-3pm, Auditorium, Level One, National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street. Free but booking is required and may be made in person at the reception desk, by calling 0300 123 6789 or online here.
Portraiture. Bragela Hornel invites you to try out a range of fun portraiture, taking inspiration from pictures in the gallery; learn all about expression and how to create your own unique self-portrait. 2.30-4pm, City Art Centre, 2 Market Street. £4 per person: advance booking is essential and must be made via the Usher Hall Box Office, Lothian Road, in person, by calling 0131 228 1155 or online here. Please note that these workshops are for families working together: all children must be accompanied by at least one paying adult, and children must not be booked into workshops alone.
Pop-Up Cities: Lauren Wayland invites you to choose from a selection of famous Edinburgh landmarks to make your own pop-up city in a card. You might choose the Scott Monument, Edinburgh Castle or even Greyfriars Bobby! 2.30-4pm, Museum of Edinburgh, 142 Canongate. £4 per person: advance booking is essential and must be made via the Usher Hall Box Office, Lothian Road, in person, by calling 0131 228 1155 or online here. Please note that these workshops are for families working together: all children must be accompanied by at least one paying adult, and children must not be booked into workshops alone.
Cafe Voices: (In)humanity. Join storyteller Sarah Agnew for stories of courage in the face of persecution, execution and war. ‘We tell stories to keep moving from fear towards love, from inhumanity towards humanity’. This is the Centre’s monthly storytelling session, with an open-floor section for storytellers to tell their own tales. 7pm, Storytelling Court, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Tickets cost £5 and are available from the Box Office in person, by calling 0131 556 9579 or online here.
Golden Hare Books Presents Cathy Rentzenbrink: The Last Act of Love. The author launches her new ‘powerful, timely and incredibly moving’ memoir, in conversation with Peggy Hughes. In the summer of 1990, Cathy’s brother Matty was knocked down by a car on his way home from a night out…Cathy and her parents willed him to survive. They did not know then that there are many and various fates worse than death. ‘A triumph of love’ (Matt Haig), ‘This lovely, painful, tender books speaks for anyone who has suffered loss…’ (Deborah Moggach). 7pm, St Stephen’s Centre, St Stephen Street. Free tickets may be booked via eventbrite here.
Derek Smith Blues Duo: a night of acoustic blues. 9pm, Old Chain Pier, Trinity Crescent.
