All posts by Olivia Wexelstein

Mapping the Nation: representations of Scotland, 1200-2000, conference

Saturday 26 April (9.00 – 5.00 pm)

A one-day event for teachers of history and literature in Scottish secondary schools exploring the multiple ways in which Scotland has been visualized and represented through cartography, history, and literature. There will be presentations on current projects that can be used to enhance the teaching of Scotland’s rich historical and literary past; and a round table workshop session to explore the potential of future collaborations, with displays of projects, resources, and publications. Speakers include history and literature teachers from universities and schools, National Library of Scotland on historical mapping, National Trust for Scotland on Bannockburn and many more. The event is fully catered and attendance is free thanks to funding from the Royal Society of Edinburgh, but registration is needed via Eventbrite: http://bit.ly/mappingthenationNMS.

Resource Calendar – April 2014

Click on the image for more info

The events in this calendar are celebrations, awareness days and action weeks all covering topical issues relevant to schools. Each of the events includes details of websites and support materials to help plan activities for learners. April events include:

·         International Children’s Book Day – 2 April

·         World Autism Awareness Day – 2 April

·         Edinburgh International Science Festival – 5-20 April

·         World Health Day – 7 April.

Click here for calendar.

2050 Climate Group Opportunity

Young Scot, Scotland’s award-winning national youth information and citizenship agency, and the 2020 Climate Group, the national group working to deliver a low carbon future for Scotland. We are writing to ask you to help us to raise awareness and circulate an exciting new opportunity for young people; the 2050 Climate Group.

The 2050 Climate Group is a pioneering initiative within Scotland with the ultimate aim of empowering young people to shape Scotland’s low carbon future. The group will present a national platform to represent the voice of young people to engage, influence and shape the transformational change required for Scotland to progress to a low carbon economy. Group members will have the opportunity to engage in decision making at a national level and share their views, experiences and findings.

The 2050 Climate Group will make a unique contribution towards ensuring that young Scots have the opportunity to raise awareness of issues surrounding climate change and sustainable solutions and show young people that they need to be actively involved in creating a low carbon future for all. No formal qualifications are necessary but we do expect that all members have some degree of influence and leadership experience and will be able to commit to the group for a minimum of one year. It will provide young representatives with the opportunity to be part of leading the drive to a low carbon future for Scotland, undertake high quality training, improve skills and partake in great networking opportunities.

We are inviting young people aged 18-30 from across Scotland, who are passionate about the environment and want to make a difference, to apply to volunteer with this exciting new climate group and help to lead the drive to a low carbon future. This is an excellent opportunity for young individuals from business, NGO, Third Sector and community backgrounds, who are already having an influence in their communities, to make an even bigger impact.

Here is the link to the information: https://www.youngscot.org/mag/2996-18-30-we-need-you-to-help-stop-climate-change.

Opportunity – Network Rail Ambassadors

Interested in Rail Safety? Want to enhance your CV? Complete a Saltire Award?

If you answered “yes” to these three questions, we’d like to hear from you.

We’re looking for 30 young people aged 14 – 21 years from across Scotland to become Ambassadors to participate in a 12-month peer investigation programme in local Primary and Secondary schools to help promote safety on the railways and the new improvements to their local rail services. You will have the chance to advise important decision-makers from Network rail on what you think should happen to try and change young people’s and Scotland’s relationship with rail safety.

As a Ambassador you will take part in approximately 4-6 meetings and events throughout the year and also do some investigation work in your own time with the support of Young Scot and local partners.

If you interested in becoming an Ambassadors check out the documents below.

Application Closes – Tuesday 29th April

Ambassador_Role_Description_FINAL_VERSION_2014

Network Rail Ambassadors Application_Form_FINAL_VERSION_2014

I HEART SCOTLAND

The Travelling Gallery’s Spring 2014 exhibition, I HEART SCOTLAND, is a solo show and takes a refreshing look at how contemporary artist Rachel Maclean, has chosen to explore her ideas about Scottish national identity.

Issues around power, culture, politics and history are raised together with romanticism and folktales – all through Rachel’s ingenious use of costume performance, digital photography, film and installation.

By means of dark humour and remarkable technical skills, Rachel offers insightful and shrewd observations on these and other significant themes, creating a complex and surreal vision of modern Scotland in what is certainly an important year for people to ponder its future.

The I HEART SCOTLAND exhibition includes work that was commissioned, published and produced by Edinburgh Printmakers Workshop for her very successful exhibition there during the 2013 Edinburgh Art Festival.

So far, touring mainly to Secondary schools, we have visited venues accross Angus, Edinburgh, Midlothian and the Highlands where the installation has stimulated lots of discussion and created quite a buzz of excitement amongst pupils and teachers alike. Look at our website to see where we will be for the next leg of the tour…

BBC Ten Pieces

BBC Learning will soon be launching an exciting new Classical Music and Creativity project called Ten Pieces aimed at primary schools, which we hope will be of interest.

The aim of Ten Pieces is to introduce a generation of children to a range of classical music and get them to use the music as a stimulus for their own creativity.  Lots of different parts of the BBC are getting involved – from CBBC to Radio 2 and 3, and there will be cross-platform promotion of the initiative.  The project will run over an academic year, kicking off in October 2014 with a special screening for schools in cinemas across the country of a film introducing 10 pieces of classical music.  We will then be asking children to respond creatively to the music through their own compositions, dance or art/animation.  Music and arts organisations are being encouraged to actively get involved with this stage – running workshops and other themed activities with schools at a community level to help children to develop their creative responses.  The BBC will also be providing a wealth of online resources including films, downloadables and printables.

During the Summer term there will be celebratory concerts across the country showcasing some of the children’s creative work.  The project will culminate in a major event in July 2015 – as a celebration of the children’s creativity, reflecting back on the year’s activities, as well as the original 10 pieces.

Below are some documents with some further information on the project.

Ten Pieces outline March_partners

TEN PIECES TIMELINE final for partners

THIS LAND – 2013 Autumn Tour

To coincide with the Year of Natural Scotland, the Autumn 2013 exhibition in the Travelling Gallery brought together the work of a range International artists, both well-extablished and up-and-coming; chosen for their fascination with aspects of the Scottish landscape. The gallery contained a collection of artworks to captivate, resonate and inform –  initiating lots of observations and discussion from all different ages and abilities. There were 5 main artists exhibiting: Henry Coombes,  Andy Holden,  Hannah Imlach,Michael Reisch and Iain Sarjeant. The exhibition was accompanied by a complementary programme, which included the Beta Band music video ‘ Inner Meet Me’ by John Maclean and ‘ Wish You Were Here’, a series of 16 postcards by Francis Davies as well as a selection of artist books and sketchbooks by recent graduates.

Areas visited by the gallery with THIS LAND included Shetland, South Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Lewis, Harris and the Uists and the Highlands.

For further information check out our website

Bookbug Week, 19-25 May

Celebrate Bookbug Week between 19 and 25 May, with a whole week of free, special events taking place all over Scotland for families with babies and young children.

This year’s theme is Bookbug’s Big Sports Day, and there will be a whole host of fun story, song and rhyme activities taking place in local libraries and community venues.

Bookbug is Scottish Book Trust’s Early Years programme, which encourages and supports parents to share books, talk, sing and cuddle their children from birth, and helps every child in Scotland to develop a love of reading.

For details of Bookbug Week events in your area, visit www.scottishbooktrust.com/bookbug or ask at your local library.

An Audience with Graham Smith

The journey of ‘technology’ as it meets weather … as it meets art!

Join Fife Contemporary Art & Craft for the screening of ‘Six Years of Mondays’, a documentary artwork about a man called Graham
Smith living in Lochgelly, Fife, who has been making timelapse recordings of the view from his bedroom window everyday from 6am to 6pm since 2006. Graham will share his journey; from his interest in the local Scottish Weather, his technological background and how this led to the creation of www.fifeweather.co.uk, the UK’s only mobile weather lab (www.weatherevents.net), the timelapse recordings and Youtube channel.
Learn how Graham’s recordings were the basis of a commissioned piece of work by artists Thomson and Craighead (www.thomson-craighead.net) as part of Fife Contemporary Art & Craft’s ‘Weather Project’, which took place in Levenmouth and resulted in the creation of ‘Six Years of Mondays’ short video.
Fife Contemporary Art & Craft will share how the short video work takes us through a visualisation of six years of Mondays where each ‘year’ is soundtracked differently offering a range of contexts from which this contemplative landscape can be viewed. There will be a chance to ask questions at the end of the event with both Graham Smith and Fife Contemporary Art & Craft.
Date: Tuesday 29 April 2014
Time: 7pm – 8.30pm
Venue: The Studio, Lochgelly Centre, Bank Street, Lochgelly,
KY5 9RD
Cost: FREE
Bookings: 01592 583303 or boxoffice.lochgellyc@onfife.com