Weather’s art attack leaves Gormley statues drowned

DROWNED: Fast flowing waters knocked two of Gormley's statues over

By Michael MacLeod

STATUES which were supposed to survive 1,000 years have been wiped out by the Scottish weather just four weeks after being installed.

Six eerie iron statues of humans were sited knee-deep in Edinburgh’s Water of Leith in the name of art last month.

But two of Angel of the North creator Antony Gormley’s “6 Times” figurines were pushed over by the surging high tide following heavy rain earlier this week.

Parts of Scotland were deluged by almost a month’s rainfall in just 10 hours, leaving rivers and burns swollen close to bursting point.

Council goes up for library ‘Oscar’

By Cara Sulieman

A SCOTTISH council is being applauded for their scheme to encourage troubled kids to start reading.

Edinburgh City Council are one of the runner ups for the Libraries Change Lives Award – a prestigious accolade that is described as the ‘library Oscar’.

It is their determination to encourage children in care to start reading that has brought them the honour.

The Edinburgh Reading Champion project wants to get vulnerable young people reading for pleasure by having a dedicated member of staff who talks to them about books and their benefit.

Scottish government pledges £1 million to Scottish Fringe performers

By Oliver Farrimond

SCOTTISH artists at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival received a massive boost yesterday as the Scottish Government pledged £1 million to showcase their work.

The fund, which is spread over the next two years, will help Scots performers develop and showcase their work at the world-famous festival this August.

The Edinburgh Festival Expo Fund will promote the work of talented Scots performers through the “Made in Scotland” programme to an international Fringe audience.

The fund also provides for artists to tour their performances internationally following a successful run during the Fringe.

Mike Russell, Culture Minister, said: “Expo is about recognising exceptional creative talent that exists in Scotland and giving it an international platform to excel on.

Edinburgh International Film Festival programme launched

By Oliver Farrimond

A STAR-STUDDED programme for the Edinburgh International Film Festival was officially unveiled yesterday at the Capital’s Filmhouse cinema.

Festival patrons Tilda Swinton, Seamus McGarvey and Sir Sean Connery will also return for the event, which runs from 17-28 June.

No fewer than 23 films will have their world premieres at the renowned festival, which will include a special showcase on the work of celebrated Scottish film-makers Peter MacDougall and John Mackenzie.

Scots audiences can look forward to a number of Scottish feature films being screened, including a new film from “Hallam Foe” director David Mackenzie, titled “Spread”.

Models strut their stuff at launch of Edinburgh College of Art fashion show

By Oliver Farrimond

EDINBURGH fashion students showcased their years work yesterday in a glamorous fashion show at the Edinburgh College of Art.

Hundreds gathered to watch the event, which featured professional models strutting their stuff in a variety of luxurious fabrics and elaborate costumes.

The show represents the culmination of a year’s hard work for many students, and for some it is the final show of their degree.

Many will hope to go on to a successful career in one of the fashion industry’s “big four” cities of Milan, London, Paris and New York City.

The show runs from Wednesday 6th May until the 9th, and is widely regarded as a key date in the Capital’s cultural calendar.

Among the collections was an exclusive range of Scottish fabrics from the Borders-based Lochcarron of Scotland.

Models show off designer threads in Edinburgh’s Harvey Nicks

By Oliver Farrimond and Rebecca Jamieson

SCOTLAND’S hottest young fashion designers saw their work go on display yesterday at Edinburgh’s boutique Harvey Nichols store.

In a preview for the Edinburgh College of Art’s annual fashion show, models strutted their stuff down the aisles showing off the collections of the College’s graduating students.

Inspiration for the outfits on show range from British youth culture to the Victorian circus – and dreary April showers did not prevent the models from taking to the streets to show off their threads.

Malcolm Burkinshaw, head of fashion at ECA, said: “This is an exciting opportunity not only for our students, but for anyone who wants to see what’s new this season.

“We treat our students as innovators – their ideas are very original and I think that sets them apart from the crowd.

“Edinburgh College of Art graduates are thought of as very high calibre, and many go on to have successful careers both in Scotland and elsewhere.”

Malcolm, 34, added: “Fashion is everywhere – not just in our clothes.

“It’s hugely important as a statement of who we are, and that’s who our students are designing for.”

Four professional models were on hand to parade the outfits, which belong to a collection going on show at the Edinburgh College of Art fashion show in May.

The fashion show runs from Wednesday 6th May until the 9th, and is widely regarded as an un-missable date in the Capital’s cultural calendar.

Fashion student Sarah Martin, 21, said that she was proud to see her work go on display.

She said: “The fashion show is a great opportunity for us to show what we’ve been working on all year.

“It may be surprising to hear but all the fashion students are close friends, and it’s going to be very exciting to see everyone’s finished collections.”

New exhibition at Scots modern art gallery opens doors

By Oliver Farrimond

A nationwide exhibition of priceless contemporary art opened it’s doors for the first time at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

Throughout 2009, 18 museums and galleries across the UK will be showing over 30 Artist Rooms from the collection created by dealer and collector Anthony d’Offay.

Acquired by Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland in February 2008, this is the first time a national collection has been shared and shown simultaneously across the UK.

Famous and provocative works by artists such as Damien Hirst will go on display to the public until November of this year starting this Saturday.

Lucy Askew, curator, said: “This is a tremendous and unprecedented opportunity for the people of Scotland to see the works of some of the most important contemporary artists.

“We’re also very lucky to have some of Damien Hirst’s most famous early pieces – this exhibition represents a great opportunity for contemporary art to reach a younger audience.”

David Tennant’s Hamlet to hit screens in 2009

By Oliver Farrimond

DAVID Tennant’s acclaimed portrayal of Hamlet is set to be immortalised on film.

Tennant’s performance – hailed by critics as the “greatest of his generation”- is to be made into a feature-length screen production by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The Doctor Who star will reprise his role after suffering a painful back injury only a few weeks into the play’s production at the Novello theatre.

The injury limited him to just 11 performances in the title role, leaving understudy Edward Bennett to fill in for the remaining dates.

The RSC have not ruled out a cinema release – a move that will delight fans who missed out on Tennant’s portrayal of the Danish Prince.

A spokesman for the RSC said: “It’s true that we’re looking to produce a screen version of Hamlet – we’d love to capture the play on film.

“We’re not sure exactly what form the production will take, we’d be silly to rule anything out at this stage.”

Tennant – who missed out on a prestigious Laurent Olivier award nomination due to his injury – is currently filming a Doctor Who special.

The current production has won several accolades and drawn high critical praise for the star-studded cast, including famous thesp Oliver Ford Davies and Star Trek star Patrick Stewart.

Mr Ford-Davies, who played Polonius in the production, said that the whole cast were hoping to return.

He said: “We are intending to film it over two or three weeks in June.

“It won’t be a full feature film as there isn’t time but it will certainly be more than just the filming of the stage.

“It will be fantastic to work together again.”

Although Tennant’s performances were cut short by a slipped disc, his return to the British stage was named the theatre event of the year, and following surgery he recovered in time to star in the final few dates.

The planned RSC production will be far from the first screen adaptation of Hamlet – the most famous of which is Disney’s The Lion King.

The play is widely regarded as Shakespeare’s finest work, and has been performed on stage for more than 400 years.

The title role of the vengeful Danish prince is one of the most difficult parts in acting – Daniel-Day Lewis famously dropped out the title role in 1989 after seeing the ghost of his own dead father appear on stage.

X Factor dance troupe have the sex factor

By Oliver Farrimond

SCOTLAND’S premier dance troupe X Factor are getting ready for one final fling before jetting off to the USA.

Their racy production has received rave reviews and features cross-dressing, suspenders and, of course, plenty of kilts.

Their show, called ‘Query’, is a joint production with an American company, and will be hitting the streets of New York City in two weeks.

Artistic director Alan Greig said audiences should expect to be challenged.

He said: “There’s something for everyone and we are very excited to be taking this across the water to New York.

“The American performers have really brought something very special to this production.”

Mr Greig, 46, is one of Scotland’s most celebrated dance producers and has seen his work performed to great acclaim for many years.

‘Query’ will be performed at the elegant George Street Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh before going on the road to Glasgow and then finally to the USA.

The performance – based on a Gore Vidal Novel – is a story told through dance of a man’s inner turmoil following a sex change.

American choreographer Gerald Casel said: “This is an exciting production which challenges notions of gender and sexuality.

“The performers and myself have really enjoyed bringing visually expressive dance to the people of Edinburgh.

“We’ve been here since December and we haven’t minded the weather one bit – it’s been beautiful.”

The 14+ show runs until Wednesday at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh.