Scottish Art Events & Exhibitions: October 2024

At The Cooper Gallery in Dundee, the fourth iteration of the five-part project The Ignorant Art School: Five Sit-ins towards Creative Emancipation opens (18 Oct-1 Feb). Curated by Sophia Hao, this iteration is inspired by Dundee’s history of powerful working class women’s culture. 

Also in Dundee, at Lifespace Science Art Research Gallery, Katherine Fay Allan’s exhibition Gastromancy runs 9 October-17 November. Allan’s film, which features performances from Saoirse Amira Anis, Maria Sappho and Hannah Draper, explores the high rates of gastrointestinal illnesses in Scotland through the lens of local mythologies.

In Edinburgh, exhibitions by Gabrielle Goliath and Guadalupe Maravilla both open on 25 October at Talbot Rice. Johannesburg-based Goliath’s exhibition Personal Accounts will address the global normativity of patriarchal violence. Maravilla’s exhibition Piedras de Fuego (Fire Stones) will bring together the artist’s remarkable personal journey and teachings from healers and shamans from around the world. 

Tarik Kiswanson, The Rupture, 2024. Photo: Jens Gerber

In Glasgow, The Common Guild inaugurates its new Florence Street gallery with an exhibition by Tarik Kiswanson. The Rupture (5 Oct-30 Nov), articulates legacies of war, displacement and trauma from the position of a second-generation immigrant. Debjani Banerjee’s solo show Jalsaghar at CCA which explores British-Bengali culture, identity and heritage, is also open to the public until 30 November. 

At Platform, artist duo Beth Shapeero & Fraser Taylor present Scribbling/Scrabbling (until 11 Jan), a giant canvas artwork which spans an 18-metre wall of the gallery, which will be displayed alongside a selection of smaller archival works. 

On 26-27 October, art lovers (and buyers) will be treated to the fifth rendition of the Art Car Boot Sale, organised by Patricia Fleming and taking place at Tramway. Over the weekend, visitors will be able to buy works by Scotland-based artists at great prices.