Edinburgh Art Festival Curators’ Tours – Kwang Young Chun: Aggregations. Dovecot Gallery’s Exhibition Curator Kate Grenyer tours the Aggregations exhibition and talks about the inspiration behind the Korean artist’s mulberry paper assemblages. 11am, Dovecot Studios, Infirmary Street. Free and unticketed.
Edinburgh Book Fringe starts today! Daily events – all of them free (donations appreciated) for two weeks at Word Power Books, Edinburgh’s independent radical bookshop. For tonight’s opening event campaigning comedian Mark Thomas discusses 100 Acts of Minor Dissent, his brilliant account of one year spent living provocatively. 7.30pm, Word Power Books, West Nicolson Street. All welcome! No booking required, but arrive promptly as space is limited.
Record Breakers End of Challenge Parties! Come along and celebrate your reading over the summer. 11.30am for 5-8 years, 2.30pm for 9-12 years, Corstorphine Library, Kirk Loan. Booking is essential as places are limited: please contact the library on 0131 529 5506 or call in in advance and speak to the staff.
Ritzfrolic: an evening of poetry and discussion inspired by the sculptures of the late John Chamberlain and his use of puns, wordplay and poetic language in the naming of his works. Inverleith House and the Scottish Poetry Library present an evening of poetry and discussion with poet and Reader in English Literature (University of Glasgow), Jane Goldman and Alistair Rider, Lecturer in Modern Art (University of St Andrew’s). 6.30-9pm, Inverleith House, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Inverleith Row. Tickets cost £5/£4 (transaction fee applies) and may be obtained via eventbrite here. The RBGE’s exhibition of John Chamberlain’s sculptures continues until 5th October 2015.
North Edinburgh Arts: KITES! Come along to NEA’s workshop at the park and find out how to transform plastic bags into kites – and fly them! For all ages. 1-3pm, West Pilton Park, West Pilton Avenue. All welcome – for more information please contact NEA on 0131 315 2151. If you have any spare plastic bags, please drop them off at NEA reception in advance.
Festival of Politics 2015: a three-day programme of exhibitions, debates and films, featuring respected figures from the worlds of media, politics, academia and the arts. Exhibitions on display throughout the weekend look at the Anti-Apartheid movement, cartoonists’ interpretations of the independence debate (The Auld Acquaintance), sounds created by different areas of the Parliament and its inhabitants (Democratic Resonance 2013-2015), plus Michael Peto Photography – Politics in Focus, and the 2015 World Press Photography Awards. On Saturday the Festival Youth Cafe will offer free workshops in vlogging, performance poetry, film-making and cartooning, and a session with acclaimed author Cathy McPhail. On both Saturday and Sunday there will be free live music and performances in the Festival Cafe Bar, which will be serving drinks and Scottish delicacies. Today’s debates are Scotland and Slavery, What does your Commonwealth do for You? and The Democratic Challenge, and today’s film is 12 Years A Slave (15). Starts 4.30pm today, The Scottish Parliament, Holyrood; ends 9.30pm, Sunday 16th August 2015. For more information, details of all debates and films, and to book tickets, see the festival’s website here: ticket prices vary – all exhibitions are free, and the World Press Awards and Michael Peto exhibitions will remain open until 22nd August 2015 (10am-5pm Monday to Saturday only).
Edinburgh Art Festival Explorers Free Summer Art Workshops: for children in the age group P1-P4. 10.30am-4.30pm, Central Library, George IV Bridge. Booking is required and may be made by emailing alchemyarts@gmail.com or calling 07853 872 073.
St Mary’s Cathedral Tours: free tours of Scotland’s largest cathedral, a renowned masterpiece of Victorian Gothic architecture, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott. 2.15pm today and every Friday in August, St Mary’s Cathedral (meet inside West Door), Palmerston Place. Free. Also at 10am each Tuesday in August.
Riccio Gallery: Michael P Young, Diane Young and Rhona Petrie. A new exhibition of paintings and jewellery. Preview tonight 7-9pm, then 10am-4pm Monday to Saturday, Riccio Gallery, 17 South Street, Dalkeith. Ends 9th September 2015.
Maps for Family and Local History: find out how maps can help you with your research. Learn about the range of historical maps held by the National Library of Scotland and the information they provide; a tour of the Maps Reading Room will be included. 2pm, Maps Reading Room, 159 Causewayside. Booking is essential and may be made by calling 0131 623 3734 or online here. For more information about this workshop please email maps@nls.uk.
Blackwell’s Edinburgh and Mariscat Press Present Jackie Kay: the launch of a new pamphlet by one of Scotland’s most loved poets. Jackie Kay was born and brought up in Scotland; she writes poetry and fiction for adults and children. Jackie’s first poetry collection The Adoption Papers won the Forward Prize, a Saltire Award and a Scottish Arts Council Book Award, and she has won numerous awards for her writing since, including the MBE in 2006. 6.30pm, Blackwell’s, South Bridge. Free tickets may be obtained from the shop’s front desk, by calling 0131 622 8222, emailing events.edinburgh@blackwell.co.uk or via eventbrite here.
Rome in Fact and Fantasy: Dr James Lawson (University of Edinburgh) discusses artists’ depictions – and conjurings up – of the eternal city, focusing on David Roberts’ Sunset from the Convent of Sant’ Onofrio on the Janiculum (1856). 12.45-1.30pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed.
Phill Jupitus: Sketch Comic at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. The legendary stand-up, poet and sketchman returns for another three weeks of digital drawing, chat and mirth. Each morning Phill will select and sketch (on an iPad) a favourite of his from the gallery collection. Come and watch, chat with Phill and join in on your own iPad or sketchbook – make and share your own sketches. Phill’s work will be posted on Facebook and Twitter each day and you are encouraged to post yours too. Phill will be at a different gallery each week; today he moves to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. Wednesdays will be special Sketch Comic for Kids sessions, but grown-ups are still welcome to come along. On Thursday evenings Phill will host a special in-conversation event with a different special guest each time – see listing. 10am-12 noon today and every day until 20th August, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street. Free and unticketed.
Relics, Curiosities and Councillors: how Edinburgh got its museums. Nico Tyack delves into the depths of the City Corporation’s archives to uncover how Edinburgh got its own museum, funded by the people for the people. Expect outraged citizens, mysterious goings-on behind closed doors, magnaminous councillors and a sharpened blade or two, all set against the backdrop of glorious Huntly House. For adults. 10.30am, Museum of Edinburgh, Huntly House, 142 Canongate. Tickets cost £5/£3.50 and must be booked in advance via the Usher Hall Box Office, in person, by calling 0131 228 1155 or online here.
Michael Branagh: a new art exhibition. Launch tonight with refreshments, 7.30pm, Sofi’s, Henderson Street, then during usual opening hours.
