Scottish Art Events and Exhibitions: July 2022

Three new commissions at Collective consider the social and cultural histories of the gallery’s current site at Edinburgh's City Observatory.  Annette Krauss has worked with Collective over several years to produce A Matter of Precedents, which examines the Observatory as site of ‘common good’ and ‘collective property’. The second commission, The Beast by Ruth Ewan, is a ‘surreal animated morality tale’ focusing on a retelling of the life of Scottish-American steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. The final commission at Collective is Camara Taylor’s backwash, which invokes a conversation with Scotland’s myriad waterways using video and mixed media, drawing on an array of historical paraphernalia. Taylor’s and Krauss’s exhibitions continue until 4 September, with Ruth Ewan’s open until 8 September. 

Embassy Gallery presents Annuale, a grassroots festival of contemporary art that takes place from 8-15 July across Edinburgh and online. The Annuale will launch with a night of performance art at The Wee Red Bar. Also in Edinburgh, Fruitmarket presents Daniel Silver’s exhibition Looking – a body of new works on paper and an array of ceramic vessels and figures that spans the gallery and its new Warehouse space. 

At the CCA in Glasgow, Scott Caruth’s and Alexander Hetherington’s exhibition Seen and Not Seen navigates questions of visibility, queer identity and knowledge production. The show continues until 16 July. While at the CCA, also check out the annual Glasgow Zine Fest (2-3 Jul), which this year focuses on the theme of ‘collective autonomy’. Meanwhile, at The Gallery of Modern Art, Clara Ursitti’s exhibition Amik spans the geographies of Canada and Scotland, focusing on histories of trade and exchange, taking the form of found objects, films and sound works.

Towards the end of July, the two-day Sufi Festival (23-24 Jul) features exhibitions by Peter Sanders, Ӧmer Saruhanlioglu and Nadia Djavansir, all taking place at Tramway, Glasgow.