Arcadia Scotland

Art and Culture

The Artist and the Sea: Throughout January, City Art Centre
Images of the sea by generations of Scottish artists, drawn from the Centre's collection.

A Quiet Star: Alice Meredith Williams: 4 January, Scottish National Gallery, 12:45pm
Described in her obituary in The Scotsman as 'an undoubted genius', Alice Meredith Williams A.R.B.S. was an architectural sculptor who produced two of Scotland’s most striking war memorials. A friend wrote: 'There was a peculiar spiritual quality in all her work, combined with a convincing realism.' Trained in Liverpool and Paris, she came to Edinburgh with her husband, the artist Morris Meredith Williams with whom she had a close professional as well as personal relationship. In this talk, Phyllida Shaw, great-niece of Morris Meredith Williams, uses unpublished correspondence to describe the day-to-day working life of this remarkable artist.

The Silversmith's Art: Made in Britain Today: Throughout January, National Museum of Scotland
Exhibition celebrating the country's longstanding creativity and skill with silver.

W Gordon Smith Award: Beginning 12 January, Dovecot Studio
Successful entries for the award named after the writer, filmmaker and arts/theatre critic W Gordon Smith, incidentally refuting the idea that nobody ever put up a monument to a critic. 

Another Minimalism: Art after California Light and Space: Throughout January, Fruitmarket Gallery
A look at the work of minimalist artists of the current generation who are influenced by the Californian Light and Space artists of the 60s and 70s. Featured artists include Uta Barth, Larry Bell, Carol Bove, Sarah Braman, Tacita Dean, Olafur Eliasson, Sam Falls, Jeppe Hein, Robert Irwin, Ann Veronica Janssens, Spencer Finch and James Welling.

Arthur Melville: Through 17 January, Royal Scottish Academy
A comprehensive survey of the work of the Victorian painter (1858–1904), whose work was influenced by his travels in Persia, Egypt and the Ottoman Empire and who went on to be a major influence on the Glasgow Boys.

Music, Comedy and Dance

Scot:Lands: 1 January, Old College, 12:30pm

Celebrate New Year's Day across the Old Town, with this series of events from some of Scotland's top artists and musicians. There's plenty of music, art and theatre to go around with 11 curated 'Lands' to be discovered on foot around Edinburgh’s Old Town. The lineup includes RM Hubbert, Emma Pollock, Miaoux Miaoux, Blazin’ Fiddles, Adam Holmes and Rachel Sermanni, a diverse art and music fusion from Skye’s Atlas Arts, and a presentation of Dalziel + Scullion’s installation ‘Tumadh is Turas: Immersion & Journey’ live-soundtracked by the Aidan O’Rourke trio. There will also be dance, film, a kids’ area and a closing ceilidh at the National Museum of Scotland.

Scottish Opera: The Devil Inside: 29 and 30 January, King's Theatre, 7:15pm
A new opera from writer Louise Welsh and composer Stuart MacRae, based on Robert Louis Stevenson's story The Bottle Imp. James finds a magical bottle that can grant his heart's desire, with certain conditions; he uses it to get all he ever dreamed of, but it all begins to go wrong. Rachel Kelly, Nicholas Sharratt and Steven Page star, with conductor Michael Rafferty and director Matthew Richardson.

Burns Night Special: 24 January, The Stand, 8:30pm
Robbie Burns was funny, right? So toast the bard in a manner he'd have fully appreciated: a night of beautiful, filthy comedy.

James Yorkston, The Pictish Trail, Withered Hand: The Song Writing Circle Tour: 23 January, Summerhall, 8pm

Three Scottish singer-songwriters join forces for The Song Writing Circle Tour. They avoid any awkward headliner issues by having all three artists on stage throughout.

Stuart McHardy and John Greig: Songs of the Jacobites: 21 January, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 6pm
From the 17th to the late 18th-century, the Jacobite cause was thorn in the flesh of successive British governments. Over two hundred years later many of their songs are still sung and others are still being written. Crochallan (John Greig and Stuart McHardy) take you on a musical journey of over two and hundred and thirty years that, it would seem, is not yet over.

Lectures, Sports and Local Festivals

Penguin Festival: Through 6 January, Edinburgh Zoo
Celebrate penguins in all their flippy flappy glory with this festival dedicated to the wee creatures. There's everything from an exhibition from German artist Ottmar Hörl to film screenings and a light display.

Royal Observatory Edinburgh Public Astronomy Evenings: Through 29 January, 8pm
Visit the Royal Observatory Edinburgh for a guided tour of the historical Victorian Telescope Dome and the night sky. There's stargazing (weather dependent) or inside activities to teach you more about the night sky. Booking is essential.