The Martha Rosler Library @ Stills

For those of you not already in the know, The Stills Gallery in Edinburgh is currently hosting the rather unique The Martha Rosler Library exhibition. The best way to describe it is as an interactive installation, but even this term doesn’t really do it justice, as for this show the exhibition space of Stills has literally been turned into a library. Don’t worry, the receptionist won’t tell you to ‘shhhhh’; the bookshelves that fill the gallery space are not your standard library fare, and they are definitely not organised in accordance to the Dewey Decimal System. Instead they are 7,700 of artist Rosler’s own collection.

Born and bred in Brooklyn, New York, Martha Rosler’s work covers video, installation and performance, and deals with everyday life and social issues, often with a lean towards the female experience. The Martha Rosler Library began travelling in 2005, and has arrived in Edinburgh via Berlin and Paris. To coincide with the exhibition, Stills is hosting a series of nine events through October and November, the aim being to provide greater insight into the exhibit; and here’s the best part - most of them are free. Events start on the 15th of October, with an informal evening discussion exploring the use of collage in art (a technique Rosler is renowned for using) while the 20th of October brings a reading group, discussing ‘The Poetics of Space’ by Gaston Bachelard. It’s open to anyone and if you don’t have a copy you’ll find it in the Library somewhere, or you can get the relevant sections free from Stills.

Other events include a discussion about Rosler’s work presented by Alistair Rider, teaching fellow in Modern and Contemporary Art at St. Andrews University, a talk by Alex Law, senior sociology lecturer at Abertay University, on Henri Lefebvre, a major influence on Rosler’s work and a ‘mini-symposium,’ on artists’ use of books, to mention a few. The latter event also presents new work by artists Edwin Janssen and Tracy Mackenna, produced partly in response to the Library.

After the exhibition closes, Stills is holding two events with Rosler herself. The first, on the 13th of November, is a discussion between Rosler and others, on the issues relating to feminism in modern art; this one will cost you a fiver, but does look set to be a pretty stimulating discussion. Or you can wait and catch the artist again the next day for free as she hosts a lecture about her own work, a unique experience for any student of contemporary art.

Finally, to mark the end of the exhibition Stills will also be holding an auction of all the furniture purchased to house the library for its stay in Edinburgh, on Saturday the 15th of November. Bookcases, tables, chairs, they’ve all got to go, so even if you get nothing else at all from the exhibition, you may just get a cheap piece of furniture with a good story attached.