July 25–August 25, 2019
Edinburgh Art Festival is the major platform for the visual arts during Edinburgh’s world-famous August festival season.
Featuring premieres of ambitious new work from internationally renowned artists, major survey shows and retrospectives, world-class contemporary art and exciting emerging talent, our 16th edition, programmed in partnership with galleries, museums and artist-run spaces across the city, launches on July 25 and runs until August 25.
2019 Programme Highlights
World premieres of ambitious new work to include: Real Music by Samson Young at Talbot Rice Gallery; Gateway by Joana Vasconcelos at Jupiter Artland; Night Walk for Edinburgh by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller from The Fruitmarket Gallery; Caroline Achaintre at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop; and as part of the annual festival Commissions Programme, new projects by Nathan Coley, Alfredo Jaar, Rosalind Nashashibi, Corin Sworn and Sriwhana Spong at sites across the city, exploring Stories for an Uncertain World.
Two exciting new contemporary art venues host their first festival exhibitions in their renovated historic spaces, with Deer Dancer by Hanna Tuulikki and group show A Machine for Making Authenticity at Edinburgh Printmakers’ new home on the site of an old rubber factory; and Migratory Motor Complex by James Richards at Collective’s reimagined city observatory.
Major presentations of leading contemporary artists including: Anya Gallaccio in Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art’s NOW series; Dovecot Studios presenting Grayson Perry: Julie Cope’s Grand Tour; and My Own Private Bauhaus by David Batchelor at Ingleby.
Some of the most influential 20th century photographers’, including Cindy Sherman: Early Works, 1975-80 at Stills: Centre for Photography; ARTIST ROOMS: Self Evidence – Photographs by Woodman, Arbus and Mapplethorpe at Scottish National Portrait Gallery; alongside new film work from Yulia Kovanova at Edinburgh College of Art and Helen McCrorie at Collective.
Major international surveys and retrospectives on Bridget Riley, and Cut and Paste: 400 Years of Collage, both presented by National Galleries of Scotland; Trisha Brown: Time, Space, Gravity at Jupiter Artland; Russia: Royalty & the Romanovs at The Queen’s Gallery; Wild and Majestic: Romantic Visions of Scotland at National Museum of Scotland; and John Busby: Silent Landscape at The Open Eye Gallery.
The next generation of talent including Lucy Wayman, and Adam Benmakhlouf at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop; Mary Hurrell at Jupiter Artland; Double Disaster (Closing Down) by Yokollection at Edinburgh College of Art; group show All That the Rain Promises and More… at Arusha Gallery; and the festival’s annual showcase of early career artists, Platform: 2019, including Anna Danielewicz, Joanne Dawson, Harry Maberly and Suds McKenna.
In portraiture, the first major retrospective of work by Victoria Crowe at City Art Centre; group exhibition Intimate, and Writing Heads from sculptor Nicole Farhi at The Fine Art Society; Ever After by Derrick Guild at The Scottish Gallery, and The Long Look from Audrey Grant and Norman McBeath at Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
Pop up exhibitions across the city include Alec Finlay in the Travelling Gallery bus, Snæbjörnsdóttir/Wilson at St Mary’s Cathedral and Amanda Baron at Wilhelmina Barns Graham Trust.
A lively events programme runs throughout, with talks from internationally acclaimed artists including Keynote Lecture from Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller; weekly curated evening culture crawls of the festival programme; tours, and workshops, performances and storytelling.
For details of the full programme: edinburghartfestival.com
The press preview will take place on July 24.
For more information: kate [at] thecornershoppr.com
Supported by Creative Scotland; City of Edinburgh Council; Scottish Government; EventScotland.
