Art News and Opportunities: September 2018

So, you survived it all? Whether you immersed yourself in the world’s largest cultural festival in the capital last month, or decided it was oversaturation and hid under your bed, August always seems to be a time when there’s too much to do, see and be a part of in the visual art world. So take a deep breath; the streets are finally decluttered of children who are now imprisoned in schools and the roads are clear for some brilliant art opportunities this September.

Exhibition Highlights

In Edinburgh, some festival exhibits continue through the month. The Fruitmarket Gallery's incredible exhibition of work by renowned experimental film artist Tacita Dean is on until the end of September. And in the Talbot Rice Gallery, they host sculptor Lucy Skaer until mid-October. Both galleries offer free tours of the exhibitions, with the Talbot Rice Gallery even including free curator tours of Skaer’s work every Thursday lunchtime.

The DCA have not one, but two exhibitions kicking off on 8 September: the first, from Spanish artist Santiago Sierra, is the UK premiere of an immersive photographic and sound installation documenting the process and performance of planting the universal symbol of the anarchist movement – the black flag – at the two most extreme points on Earth: the North and South Poles. The second is Mike Kelley’s remarkable Mobile Homestead film trilogy, made between 2010 and 2011 in the artist’s hometown of Detroit. In 2015 Kelley’s Mobile Homestead – a facsimile of his childhood home constructed on the back of a trailer – made its maiden voyage from the grounds of The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit to the ‘mother ship’, his original home in the suburbs of the city. See the DCA website for myriad opportunites and events to engage with the work.

While in Glasgow artist, Samara Scott has created her most ambitious exhibition to date in the form of a large site-specific installation in response to Tramway’s main gallery. A vast, transparent membrane has been smeared and impregnated with various materials sourced from around Glasgow, creating a patina that will cure, decay, shift and evolve over time until late October. Also on display until October is the culmination of a year’s worth of work: Jamie Crewe added to their piece Pastoral Drama every day for 365 days. Through chronological filming of intricate drawings, speckled clay, and encrusted plasticine, Crewe reflects upon the evolution of narratives, (inter-) personal change, and the imperatives of invisibility.

Awards, Funding and Calls for Entries

A unique and potentially inspirational opportunity is being brought to visual artists from The Scottish Wildlife Trust in the form of a self-funded residency which offers artists the chance to spend up to six weeks researching and creating work in the wild and remote hills, moorlands and woods of Rahoy Hills Reserve. Deadline: 3 Oct

Edinburgh’s Embassy Gallery have announced a programme kicking off in October 2018 with a curriculum based around six intensive weekend gatherings: GRADJOB invites graduates from the last two years to apply. Deadline: 24 Sept

For artists working in moving image, Alchemy Film Festival have once again opened the doors for submissions, and they celebrate a breathtakingly diverse range of filmwork, making for an open invitation to the widest range of artistic practices. Deadline: 30 Nov

Spilt Milk, a social enterprise based in Edinburgh whose mission is to promote the work of artists who are mothers as well as to support mothers in the local community through artist-led activities, are excitingly looking for artist members. Deadline: 1 Dec