Art News: Leith School Of Art celebrate 25th anniversary; new photography exhibition on John Byrne's King's Theatre mural

LEITH SCHOOL OF ART CELEBRATES 25 YEAR ANNIVERSARY WITH MAJOR EXHIBITION
Situated to the north of Edinburgh's city centre, the portside district of Leith has continued to see itself as separate and distinct from the well-heeled suburbs and immaculate tenements of the capital, despite being incorporated into the city officially in 1920. Small wonder, then, that in 1989, founders Mark and Lottie Cheverton decided to set up Leith's very own Art School in a former Lutheran church as an alternative to the mainstream art colleges and schools, subsequently carving out a reputation both at home and abroad as a place where students could learn, progress, and think outside the sometimes rigid confines of academic art practice. 

25 years on, Leith School of Art is planning to celebrate the anniversary of its founding with a retrospective exhibition at Edinburgh's Dovecot Gallery, featuring work by 20 specially-selected former students, including Toby Paterson (winner of the coveted Becks Futures award), Tommy Grace (who went on to found art-rock collective Django Django), Owen Normand (a BP Portrait Artist award winner), textile artist Jane Keith, time-based artist Pernille Spence, and filmmaker Jamie Stone.

Ludic Bricolage Litho and Screenprinted collage, by Toby Paterson

Leith School of Art often found itself providing a much-needed alternative to traditional education for young artists, including Toby Paterson, who transferred there from a private school in Glasgow in 1990. "The best thing my art teacher ever did was suggest I should leave," he remembers. "He’d heard of Leith School of Art and suggested we should take a look. It was a first class preparation for the future and built the foundations for what I have done since. I remember thinking that I had never done so much or worked so hard in a single year, it was totally immersive. There was this intensity and an emphasis on practical skills which was very beneficial to me. But it was never at the expense of reasoning. The balance between reason and action has really influenced me."

While Paterson was a student at LSA, founders Mark and Lottie Cheverton were tragically killed in a car crash, putting the future of the school in jeopardy. Luckily, their friend and fellow artist Philip Archer (himself a former student of LSA) took over as Principal, and has remained in the role ever since. "The School has grown incredibly over the years," says Archer, looking back on his tenure as Principal. "This exhibition is a way to celebrate its success. It now enjoys a national and international reputation for excellence. This has been achieved while staying true to Mark and Lottie’s original vision of a School outside the mainstream that would not just teach art but take a holistic approach to developing the whole person... when we think back over the decades there have been so many who have gone on to enjoy flourishing careers." 

The exhibition opens on 2 May and runs until 31 May at Edinburgh's Dovecot Studios, and is free to enter. For more details of the exhibition, check the LSA website. A highlight, on 14 May, is a discussion featuring former student and Oscar-winning animator Nick Park of Aardman Animation, in conversation with broadcaster Sally Magnusson.

EVENT: JOHN BYRNE'S KING'S THEATRE DOME MURAL - NEW PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION
The King's Theatre in Edinburgh was opened in 1906, and has played host to countless touring productions, concerts and events over the years. Last year, the building was closed for a little over a month for the realisation of a stunning new art project, masterminded by Glaswegian artist, playwright and raconteur John Byrne. 

The 42-metre high dome above the main auditorium became the new site for a gigantic and elaborate mural designed by Byrne, and transferred painstakingly onto the dome's surface by Kevin Leary and a team of six artists. Watch a breathtaking time-lapse of the process of transforming the King's Theatre dome above. 

The whole process was captured by photographer Ron O'Donnell, and now the King's are preparing a special display of his photographs, launching the exhibition on 8 May with a Q&A session with Byrne, O'Donnell and theatre director Michael Emans, currently directing Byrne's version of Chekhov's Uncle Varick at the theatre. To buy tickets, and for more info, visit the King's Theatre site.

WATCH: PETER CAPALDI HOSTS NEW DOCUMENTARY ON SURREAL ART
Co-produced by by Tate and Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts, this new short documentary sees actor Peter Capaldi – soon to be seen taking up the mantle of Doctor Who, and famous as profanity specialist Malcolm Tucker from The Thick Of It – looking into the history of surreal art. 

Unlock Art: Exploring the Surreal sees Capaldi examining the links between psychoanalytic theory and ideas about the subconscious, looking at key works by the great surrealist painters Joan Miró, Max Ernst and Salvador Dalí. Capaldi discusses the far-reaching impact of surrealism, and how its aesthetic influenced everything from music and film, to advertising and politics. A further six films in the series, featuring presenters such as Alan Cumming, Jemima Kirke, Dawn O'Porter and rock band The Kills, can be viewed here.

IRISH ARTIST ELAINE BYRNE WINS INTERNATIONAL ARTE LAGUNA PRIZE
Dublin-based artist Elaine Byrne has been confirmed as the winner of the 8th annual Arte Laguna Prize. The sculptor was commended by the jury for her work on Raum, which "combines modernist architectural references with a personal approach, with the memories of lived experiences."

Elaine Byrne, Raum, 2013. Courtesy of Elaine Byrne and the Laguna Arte Prize

Winners in other categories include painter Bianca de Gier (Netherlands), photographer Victoria Campillo (Spain), video and performance artist Apiyo Amolo (Kenya), and virtual artists Émilie Brout & Maxime Marion (France). A video of the opening night and awards ceremony can be seen here. Full details of this year's winning artists, and examples of their work, can be seen on the Arte Laguna Prize website. The exhibition of the winners' work will be on show in Venice until 6 April.  

STREET LEVEL & HARBOUR ARTS: CALL-OUT FOR SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHERS FOR 'GOING THE DISTANCE'
Glasgow's Street Level Photoworks and the Harbour Arts Centre in Irvine are coming together to celebrate something very dear to the hearts of a great many Scottish people – they are putting together an exhibition showcasing the very best and most exciting examples of Scottish sports photography, exhibiting images which capture the drama, passion and excitement of sports events, professional athletes and players, and the fans who cheer them on. 

Scottish Cup Final 1982 by Keith Ingham (courtesy of Street Level Photoworks)

"Sport, like art, is a universal language," say the exhibition's organisers. "It is part of our everyday lives, and a feature of our society's diverse cultural life, involving people of all abilities and backgrounds." The new exhibition hopes to celebrate both "the exceptional and the commonplace" in Scottish sporting life.

The organisers have this week put out a call for submissions from any Scotland-based photographer whose work was produced in Scotland. The deadline for submissions is 4pm on 16 May. To have a chance of seeing your work featured in Going The Distance, which will open on 7 July at the Heritage Centre, Saltcoats and the Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine, download the application guidelines here.

EVENT: IT'S OUR PLAYGROUND PRESENT SCREEN PLAY @ SWG3 GALLERY, GLASGOW
It's Our Playground was set up in 2010 to provide an online home for works seen in exhibition, and documented using photography, HD film cameras, 3D models and other digital techniques. The premise behind the project is simple – to explore and showcase the online, digital 'after life' of exhibited works, once their site-specific lifespan has come to its natural end. Now, they have built an "experimental human-scale model" of their innovative website in Glasgow's SWG3 Gallery, which will be open to the public from 3-25 May (Wed-Sat, 12-6pm), with a preview this Friday (2 May, 7-9pm).

Anne de Vries - Katanga Bub (2011), courtesy of the artist and Gallery Martin Van Zomeren. Material: Mobile devices glued on a light box displaying a press image of the Katanga mines in the Kongo, rephotographed under water.

"Every artist now has to consider the ‘second life’ of his/her work," write the organisers. "Once the exhibition is over, the work goes back into storage while its documentation starts a career online... By using some controversial and subjective selection criteria such as the online virility of the image, its visual impact, the quality of the picture taken, Screen Play reveals a primordial aspect of contemporary art production today."

The exhibition features work by Kathryn Andrews, Brendan Anton Jaks, Eva Berendes, Simon Denny, Carson Fisk-Vittori, Patrick Hill, Tilman Hornig, Dan Rees, Philipp Timischl and Anne de Vries, who will collectively attempt to answer an intersting question: 'Obviously, nothing can replace the sensation of seeing a work in the flesh, but could its representation create something else, something you can’t get with the actual artwork?'

CALL-OUT: HOME @ THE BRIDEWELL STUDIOS, LIVERPOOL
Home is a major new exhibition coming to Liverpool's Bridewell Studios & Gallery from 16 May to 1 June. The exhibition will explore the myriad of different meanings that can be expressed using the word 'home' – a concept that means different things to different people, carrying individual and unique resonances contingent on nationality, history and identity.

The organisers are now putting out a general call-out for submissions on the theme. The brief is as follows: 'HOME – what does this word mean to you? Do you carry an object, a letter or photograph with you to keep you connected to that place when you are away from it?'

2D, 3D, time-based media, workshops and site-specific installations will all be considered for inclusion. The deadline for submission is 5 May, and there is a £4 fee for submission – find details of how to submit at the Bridewell Studios website.