BODY PARTS: A 5-Day Performance Art Festival

The Society of Scottish Artists, The Royal Scottish Academy and The National Galleries of Scotland have come together for a unique collaboration to produce Body Parts, a small but perfectly formed extravaganza of live art. Initiated by the Society of Scottish Artists though a process of competitive selection from open submission, 16 artists from across the UK have been invited to represent themselves as their ART. From seasoned performers to burgeoning talent, Body Parts celebrates the intelligence and diversity of live art in the UK today.

 

Body Parts Education – Days 1 & 2
The Festival will be launched in the Clore Education Centre of the Weston Link of the National Galleries of Scotland with a series of lectures, screenings and seminars by leading international practitioners of the live arts. We hope to hear the story of endurance performance from Alastair MacLennan, to see Billy Cowie’s latest sound & dance collaborations on film and to join former SSA president George Wyllie MBE in a ‘lecture with objects’ alongside some of his Scul?tures. A seminar/screening by Body Parts performer Cynthia Whelan and a challenging performance workshop by SSA artist Lisa Keiko Kirton for 16-19-year olds are also included in Body Parts Education on Day 1 & Day 2.

 

Days 3, 4 and 5
From open submission and invitation across the UK, Gallery 9 of the RSA Building becomes an extraordinary live extension of the SSA 2005 annual exhibition. We will feature the best and most experimental of new performance in Scotland, as well as the cream of live art across the UK. Some of our featured performance teams are: Beagles & Ramsay, Fire Birds & FOUND. For individuals of extremity, eccentricity and sheer quality we include Cynthia Whelan, Lorna Knowles, Graeme Roger and Jefford Horrigan.

 

The brainchild of SSA President, artist Kate Downie and RSA Exhibitions Officer Colin Greenslade, Body Parts seeks to encompass, entertain & educate an audience right across the geographical and social strata. So…. when February seems cold and dull, windy and empty, know there are the stirrings of living art, happening in the heart of the city, representing the whole of Scotland and way beyond.

 

Wednesday 9th February
10.30am Billy Cowie, Lecture Theatre, Weston Link
2pm George Wyllie, Lecture Theatre, Weston Link
3.15pm Lisa Keiko Kirton, ‘Outside In’,
Performance Workshop, Studio 1, Weston Link

 

Thursday 10th February
10.30am Cynthia Whelan, ‘The Work of Cynthia Whelan’, seminar, Studio 1, Weston Link
2pm Alastair Maclennan, ‘Rain Rein Reign’, Lecture Theatre, Weston Link
3.15pm Lisa Keiko Kirton, ‘Outside In’,
Performance Workshop, Studio 1, Weston Link

 

Friday 11th February
11am Cynthia Whelan, ‘Soup Siren’, Finlay Room, RSA Building
1pm Fire Birds, ‘Take 8: Royal Scottish Academy’,
various locations around RSA Building
3.30pm Cynthia Whelan, ‘Merienda’, Finlay Room, RSA Building

 

Saturday 12th February
11am Lorna Knowles, ‘Alter (ego)’, Finlay Room, RSA Building
12pm Graeme Roger, ‘Extractions’, Finlay Room, RSA Building
1pm Fire Birds, ‘Take 8: Royal Scottish Academy’,
various locations around RSA Building
2pm Beagles and Ramsay, ‘Sanguis Gratia Artis’, Finlay Room, RSA Building
3.30pm Jefford Horrigan, ‘Half Veronica’, Finlay Room, RSA Building

 

Sunday 13th February
12.30pm Lorna Knowles, ‘Alter (ego)’, Finlay Room, RSA Building
1.30pm Graeme Roger, ‘Extractions’, Finlay Room, RSA Building
2.30pm Jefford Horrigan ‘Teresa’, Finlay Room, RSA Building
3.30pm FOUND, ‘Ensemble’, Finlay Room, RSA Building

 

To book for seminars and lectures contact -
Joanne Soroka, Secretary, Society of Scottish Artists
Tel: 0131 220 3977 ssa@soroka.plus.com