What's On Scotland 29 Feb-7 Mar: Under the Olive Tree & more

Under the Olive Tree

Saturdays have become days of concerted solidarity, awareness and protests in aid of the Palestinian people, and that’s the case this Saturday evening at Summerhall for Under the Olive Tree. It's a fundraiser hosted by Palestinian solidarity group Sumud that brings together a variety of musicians, poets and artists to perform, offering sounds of resistance in the name of raising more money for those in need in Gaza.

Described as an exhibition of sounds and words, Under the Olive Tree will feature music, poetry and art that carve out moments of resistance. The lineup includes musicians Bashir Saade, Tarik Beshir and Aidan O’Rourke. There’s poetry and spoken word from Courtney Stoddart, Janette Ayachi, Noon Salah Eldin and Aisha Husain. And there’s a dabke performance from ZarifAtToul-AsSamer and a DJ set by Edinburgh-based duo DJ Shahrazadi (pictured).

Summerhall, Edinburgh. 2 Mar, 6.30pm

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Advertisement | Martin Boyce: Before Behind Between Above Below

Fruitmarket, Edinburgh. 2 Mar-9 Jun

Martin Boyce’s sculptures rework the textures and forms of the built environment. Using the iconography of the everyday alongside the formal and conceptual histories of art, architecture and design, Boyce creates poetic landscapes that merge interior and exterior spaces. This exhibition brings together works from 1992 to the present – including a significant number of sculptures that have been shown internationally, but never before at home – it offers the chance to reflect on Boyce’s artistic sensibility and sculptural language.

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Courtesy of Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival

BFMAF

Various venues, Berwick-upon-Tweed. 7-10 Mar
 

Just across the Scottish border, you'll find desires for liberation featured heavily at the Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival. The event kicks off with a restoration of Ghassan Salhab’s 1989 film Phantom Beirut (pictured), followed by the likes of Heiny Srour’s blazing The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived and a series of screenings exploring the work of Palestinian filmmaker Basma al-Sharif.

Courtesy of Cryptic

Cryptic Nights: Collide

CCA, Glasgow. 7 Mar, 8pm
 

This immersive audiovisual performance from Sean Logan blends the physical and digital realms. Based on Logan’s experiences on the autistic spectrum, Collide delves into themes of communication, expression, and transhumanism through a live electronic performance that is paired with cutting-edge motion capture technology that generates real-time visuals.

Courtesy of the Artist and Galerie Tanja Wagner

Elisa Giardina Papa: "U Scantu": A Disorderly Tale

Collective Gallery, Edinburgh, 1 Mar-19 May
 

Collective turns 40 this year, and they have a gorgeous programme of exhibitions to celebrate four decades of innovative creation and curation. Kicking things off is the first solo presentation in the UK of Sicilian artist Elisa Giardina Papa, whose exhibition "U Scantu": A Disorderly Tale brings together ceramic sculptures and moving image to explore the folkloric figure of the ‘donne di fora' - ‘women from the outside and beside themselves’.

Courtesy of the Artist and The Modern Institute. Photo Keith Hunter

Martin Boyce: Before Behind Between Above Below

Fruitmarket, Edinburgh, 2 Mar-9 Jun
 

Fruitmarket is even older, celebrating its 50th anniversary, and marks this landmark with a retrospective of Glasgow-based artist Martin Boyce. Bringing together works from 1992 to the present, the show spills throughout Fruitmarket, from the Exhibition Galleries to the Warehouse, with the Turner Prize-winner working with the architecture of the building to create a different atmosphere in each space. Much of the work is showing in Scotland for the first time.

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Advertisement | Time and Tides

Holy Trinity Church, St Andrews. 13 Mar; The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh. 14 Mar; City Halls, Glasgow. 15 Mar
Gaze beyond the concert hall to the wonders of the natural world in this elemental programme from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra directed by visionary Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto. Ahead of Anna Clyne’s Time and Tides in Edinburgh and Glasgow, Aidan O'Rourke (from Lau) joins Pekka for a joyful folk jam session, using as its starting point some of the tunes that inspired Clyne’s work.

£6 tickets for 19-26s. Under 18s go free!

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Image: bdrmm by Katherine Cantwell

↪ bdrmm

Beat Generator Live!, Dundee. 7 Mar, 7pm

Touring their latest album I Don’t Know, shoegaze sweethearts bdrmm head to Dundee for a show full of introspective lyricism, post-rock riffs and dabbles in electronica. Expect bright things from this talented four-piece in 2024, with appearances planned in the summer at Glasgow’s Big City 2024 and Brighton’s Psych Fest. 

→ St Vincent’s Spring All Dayer

St Vincent's Chapel, Edinburgh. 2 Mar, 2pm

Blow away the winter cobwebs with this all-dayer at the gorgeous St Vincent’s Chapel in Stockbridge. On the bill you’ll find the psychedelic dream pop of Ali Sha Sha, the alternative, ethereal, spacious and bewitching baroque pop of Gaze Is Ghost, the experimental, trippy pop of Adam Stafford and much more.

→ Phil Ellis's Excellent Comedy Show

Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh. 2 Mar, 8pm

Begin the month by laughing your head off with this absurdist comedy masterclass from the mighty Phil Ellis and his Excellent Comedy Show. Expect an all-out chaotic riot, and a grown man dressed as a cat.