🪩 Edinburgh Culture Minute: 3-9 January 2024
Musicians team up for Palestine, local assembly for creative climate action, funded SXSW places open + 28 new arts jobs and opps at the book fest, museum and more
Welcome to the 27th edition of the Culture Minute, a weekly round-up of Edinburgh’s local creative news, events, jobs and opportunities. It’s for paying subscribers only, so thank you for supporting this and cheers to everyone who contributed!
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🎵 Some of the city’s top DJs and artists are teaming up for a live music night raising money for the Medical Aid for Palestine charity. Hosted by OK Pal Records and Lost In Leith, the 20 January line-up includes:
⮑ Arusa Qureshi: Edinburgh writer, journalist, DJ and Music Programme Manager at Summerhall. Arusa is the current Editor of Fest and former Editor of The List, writing mostly about music, most recently Flip the Script – a book about women in UK hip hop, published by 404 Ink.
⮑ Both Hands: A new electronic synth-pop band comprised of Hailey Beavis and Brian Pokora.
⮑ Also performing are Shears and Faith Elliot. Tickets and full line-up details for the Lost In Leith event are here.
📻 EHFM returns on Monday 8 January after a well-earned winter break. Local stars of the station shared their broadcasting highlights from last year and 2023 staff picks here.
🌎 A new series of environmental-focused events in Edinburgh aims to bring together people from the arts and culture sector to ‘use its imagination and influencing power for a more sustainable Scotland.’ The Creative Carbon Scotland charity invites people working or volunteering in the climate or environmental sector, the arts, screen, creative industries, museums, heritage and libraries to a free ‘local assembly for creative climate action’ in the Greyfriars Charteris Centre on 1 February. - More details here.
⮑ For an example of the kind of work CCS supports, check out this case study on how Edinburgh Art Festival and artist Ellie Harrison collaborated on a piece visualising the carbon impact of all 3,988 journeys Ellie made over her 17-year career as a self-employed ‘professional artist’.
🖼 The National Galleries of Scotland celebrates the return of its keenly awaited annual display, Turner in January, showing for free until the end of the month. - North Edinburgh News.
⮑ There’s a preview of the exhibition in this video by The List.
🎞 The Cameo cinema’s January Screen Arts Schedule includes live musicals, opera and theatre shows from the Royal Opera House, National Theatre and Metropolitan Opera. - More details here.
🎨 Summerhall Arts exhibitions will reopen on Thursday this week. ‘FORM’ is a season of work by contemporary female sculptors, showing until 25 February.
🎶 BBC Radio Scotland DJ Vic Galloway shares his 25 Scottish music acts to watch in 2024, including a handful of Edinburgh artists.
🎹 Local synth hero Simon Kirby, inventor of the Cybraphon, will be performing a free short live set to celebrate the launch of his new album on Friday at Umbrella Vinyl in Tollcross. Simon says:
“I'm aiming to improvise a peaceful and hopeful sound world to help us all cope with the start of 2024!”
🎭 What's on Edinburgh's Stages this week?
Here’s what’s happening this week in local theatres, courtesy of Thom Dibdin of All Edinburgh Theatre:
“Happy New Year to one and all! Sad to report that not a lot is happening on Edinburgh's stages for this first week of the year. But what there is, is of the very highest quality.
“Opening on Friday, Scottish Ballet's Cinders at the Festival Theatre (ends Sat 20 Jan, tickets), breaths new life into the old format, with male and female dancers playing the title role in alternating performances.
“Meanwhile, Wicked continues at the Playhouse (ends Sat 14 Jan, tickets). The five star production is as splendid as it ever was, with its resonances about the nature of othering having become all the more relevant over the last years. Sadly, for those without briefs, most performances this week have only single tickets remaining and none in the stalls.” - See this week’s full theatre listings here.
🤝 Networking, jobs and funding opportunities:
It may the first week of the new year, but there is lots of movement in the local creative sectors. If you want to make a move, now’s the time. Here are 28 open local creative opportunities and jobs: