This Week in Scottish Art: 13-19 Dec

Tue 13 Dec: Militant Curating at Transmission

Glasgow's Transmission gallery hosts Militant Curating, a screening of Storming Sarajevo and a workshop organised by the Radical Film Archive. The Radical Film Archive has been conducting research on the role of an archive beyond its position as a mode of surveillance for those in power.

In lieu of the world’s current, relatively dismal, state, they have chosen to put theory into practice by hosting workshops hoping to pen answers concerning militant curation and proposing reinventions for archives’ traditional purpose as annals of collective history. There will also be free truffles at the event, which takes place from 6-9pm. Admission is unticketed and free for all to attend.

Wed 14 Dec: Collective Gallery and Sketchy Beats Café

Head to Collective Gallery at 3pm for a free, drop-in tour of their current exhibition W.W.W. (Whole World Working). Siobhan Carroll, Head of Programme at the gallery, leads this week's tour.

Sketchy Beats Café is hosting Life Drawing: Egon Schiele II from 7-9pm tonight. This session marks the last in a series of themed sessions at Sketchy Beats beginning with another Egon Schiele session. The initiative will return in January according to their usual schedule every Wednesday from 7-9pm, but with a change of venue to Summerhall. Spaces are limited so book in advance here via Eventbrite, or get a ticket at the door for £5.

There will be guidance provided by Topaz if you are new to life drawing as well as a set of materials to borrow and buy, but you are encouraged to bring your own. Join for a relaxed evening of drawing, imbibing – the café will remain open during the event to provide hot drinks and nibbles, but there’s also an unlimited BYOB corkage fee of £2 – and soothing tunes.   

Fri 16 Dec: Transmission

Head back to Transmission gallery at the end of the week for All Natural Relief, a series of curated screenings by Vince Tillotson from 6-9pm. The films promise a soothing and relaxing evening, perfect to reinvigorate you before the weekend arrives. The programme includes Classified Digits by Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader, The Self-Cleaning House by Lily Benson, Please Relax Now by Vika Kirchenbauer, and The Blue Tape by Kathy Acker and Alan Sondheim. Attendance is open to all, free and unticketed.

Sat 17 Dec: bakery 47, Tramway and The Pipe Factory

bakery 47 at 76 Victoria Road is hosting a Spoon Carving Workshop this afternoon from 4-7pm. Hot drinks and baked treats guarantee a festive atmosphere, providing the perfect setting for attendees to learn basic carving skills to carve their spoon. So, come along to treat yourself to the gift of a lifelong skill or make a prized personalised creation for a loved one! Blank wooden spoons freshly cut from a sustainable source, equipment, and necessary tools will all be provided in the ticket price of £40 available online here.

Tramway presents Continued in Images, a workshop for attendees aged 16 and above inspired by Margaret Tait’s Colour Poems from 1pm. Tait’s Colour Poems are a series of poems by Scottish poet and filmmaker, which began in words and proceeded in image form.

Lines of text describing landscapes will be chosen at the start of the workshop. Conversation about how the texts may become represented as images will follow. The workshop will also focus on planning aspects of filmmaking particularly drawing out storyboards for a film project arranging sound and scene divisions. Tickets for the event cost £5 or £3 concession rate, please book them in advance here.

On Saturday evening, The Second Coming – an exhibition of new work by Andrew Sim – previews at The Pipe Factory from 6-8pm. The show will stay open till the 30th of December.

Sun 18 Dec: CCA and Embassy

UNFIX Festival: ReBirth! Is taking place at the CCA all day, from noon. UNFIX is a festival of film, dance and performance alongside scheduled workshops and debates aiming to clarify the ways we live our live our lives in this moment in time. Themes of sustainability, birth and death are contemplated in works presented by artists and activists hoping to encourage a communal renewal in cultural, social, environmental, economic and psychic terms.

In a post-Brexit, Trump-led world ravaged by fear, terrorism, ecological disaster and unjust human rights laws, what do we do? Maybe this Sunday will bolster ample courage to move forward with handy antidotes of hope and renewal to widespread doom and gloom. View the full programme of events on the festival webpage here. All events are open to all ages, but children must be accompanied by an adult. Guarantee entry into all events throughout the day by booking a day pass for £12 or £8 concession rate, (additional £1 booking fee), online here or at the CCA box office, (call 0141 352 4900).

Also, Sunday is the last day to see Touch my Ego (please) at Embassy gallery in Edinburgh, with work by Olivia Norris and Jesse Rivers and Edinburgh Leisure. Visit between the hours of 12 and 6pm.

Mon 19 Dec: Kelvingrove Art Gallery

Why not head to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum today to see new exhibition Fragile Art, which opened on Saturday and will remain on display till June next year. The exhibition includes Alick Tipoti’s work ‘Turtle Tracks’, a linocut illustrating all the threats faced by green back turtles during their lifecycle, particularly young hatchlings which are easy prey for birds and fish and struggle to survive at sea and on beaches. The exhibition is open during the museum’s regular visiting hours, 10am to 5pm. You can also visit Czech decorative artist and painter Alphonse Mucha’s stunning exhibition In Quest of Beauty also on display during the same hours (tickets £5, £3 concession).