July 26–August 26, 2018
Edinburgh Art Festival, the only major annual festival dedicated to the visual arts within the UK, is a month-long, city-wide celebration bringing together an unrivalled programme of exhibitions, off-site projects and special events.
Programmed in partnership with Edinburgh’s leading galleries, museums and artist-run spaces, this year Edinburgh Art Festival features over 45 exhibitions across more than 40 venues, combining ambitious presentations of Scottish and international contemporary art with landmark art historical survey shows. Alongside this, the Festival presents the 2018 Commissions Programme, with new projects and performances shown outside the formal gallery context; the Pop Up programme of specially produced exhibitions, events and performances in unusual spaces across the city; and tours, workshops and talks from some of the world’s leading artists and curators.
Highlights of the 2018 Partner Programme
Major presentations by female artists including Tacita Dean at Fruitmarket Gallery; Phyllida Barlow and Joana Vasconcelos at Jupiter Artland; Lucy Skaer at Talbot Rice Gallery; Victoria Crowe at both the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and The Scottish Gallery; Gunnie Moberg and Margaret Tait at Stills; and Jenny Saville at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.
Significant reappraisals of 20th century Scottish artists such as Edwin G. Lucas at City Art Centre; Assemblage at The Fine Art Society in Edinburgh; John Bellany: The Wild Days at Open Eye Gallery; and Modern Masters VIII at The Scottish Gallery.
Large-scale art historical and survey shows including Canaletto & the Art of Venice at The Queen’s Gallery; Rembrandt: Britain’s Discovery of the Master at the Scottish National Gallery; Raqib Shaw: Reinventing the Old Masters and Emil Nolde: Colour is Life at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art; Art of Glass at the National Museum of Scotland; and LIBERTY Art Fashion & Prints at Dovecot Gallery.
Group exhibitions featuring leading international artists such as Jacob’s Ladder at Ingleby Gallery’s new Glasite space and a major retrospective exhibition over two floors of City Art Centre celebrating the Travelling Gallery at 40.
Newly commissioned work exploring the power of place, community and environment including work by Ravi Agarwal at Edinburgh Printmakers; Hemispheric Phases at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, featuring work by Birthe Jorgensen, Santiago Poggio and Scott Rogers; Ollie Dook’s Of Landscape Immersion at Jupiter Artland; and the inaugural work in Rhubaba’s Standard Bearers series of flag artworks by Rabiya Choudhry.
The best of the city’s fresh talent will be on display amongst shows like DOZEN at The Number Shop; Robert Powell: Between The Lost Places at The Fine Art Society at Edinburgh; new work from postgraduate students in a special Edinburgh Art Festival exhibition at Edinburgh College of Art; and Melanie Gilligan’s 15-part dystopian video installation, A Common Sense.
Commissions Programme
For, in your tongue I cannot hide: 100 Jailed Poets, a multi-channel sound installation by renowned Indian artist, Shilpa Gupta, giving voice to poets who have been jailed throughout the centuries. Co-commissioned with YARAT Contemporary Art Space, Baku.
Sympathetic Magick, socially-engaged street performances across the city, devised by Glasgow-based Ruth Ewan in collaboration with Marxist magician Ian Saville.
Triptych, a major new film installation in Trinity Apse and series of accompanying orchestral performances by Ross Birrell and David Harding, exploring the thresholds between music and politics, displacement and migration.
No Easy Answers, an experimental moving image installation by Adam Lewis Jacob inspired by J G Ballard’s Kingdom Come.
A dedicated showcase for emerging talent, Platform: 2018, selected by Jonathan Owen and Hanna Tuulikki, featuring work by Renèe Helèna Browne, Annie Crabtree, Isobel Lutz-Smith and Rae-Yen Song at City Art Centre.
Events and Pop Up Exhibitions
The Festival’s wide ranging events and pop up exhibitions programme includes; Keynote Lecture by Elmgreen & Dragset; Bill Viola’s video installation Three Women; an exhibition by Hans K Clausen & Kjersti Sletteland at the University of Edinburgh’s Anatomical Museum; and a new video work and sound performances by Kate McMillan. For details of the full events and pop-up programme visit: edinburghartfestival.com.
For more information, contact: alice [at] reesandco.com
Supported by Creative Scotland; City of Edinburgh Council; Scottish Government Festivals Expo Fund; EventScotland.
