The organisers of Outwith Festival reveal an ambitious visual arts programme as part of this year’s edition of the arts festival in the city of Dunfermline, Fife.
Visit Outwith from the 4 – 8 September to discover artwork by Claire Barclay, Sekai Machache, Oana Stanciu, Alaisdair Gray, Robbie Hamilton, Alan Grieve, Steven Dick and Craig McIntosh in sites across Dunfermline’s centre.
Artist Sekai Machache’s film Hypnagogia Glossolalia presented in Dunfermline’s historic Abbey, the first time this dramatic location will house contemporary art. This immersive film presents a dance performance around the image of a Bateleur Eagle by dancer and choreographer Divine Tasinda with spoken word and poetry narrated in Gaelic and Shona (zezuru dialect).
Whilst in Pittencrieff House, you will find sculpture and installation of new and reimagined works by artist Claire Barclay, alongside a film by Romanian artist Oana Stanciu. Barclay’s installation will combine steel and concrete with textile, ceramic and ephemeral substances to create a series of tactile provocations within the space.
Connected by their exploration of concepts of the domestics, this installation will be presented in an exhibition with a moving image work created by Edinburgh-based Romanian artist Oana Stanciu, who merges her body with different objects and environments to improvise scenes and transform herself into surreal characters or creatures.
Also in Dunfermline’s Hertiage Quarter, Abbot House, recogniseable by its pink exterior and dating back to at least the 16th Century, will be opening its doors to exhibit its very own Alasdair Gray Mural, alongside a talk from the Alasdair Gray Archive. Plus, local artist Robbie Hamilton, who works in painting and sculpture, will be exhibiting and selling work in the Abbot House Workshop Space.
Independent bike shop Crush Cycles will be welcoming visitors to view and exhibition by a second local artist, Craig McIntosh, who will be exhibiting a series of new photographs following a recent campaign with international brand Uniqlo.
I am thrilled to have volunteered to bring contemporary visual art to my home town of Dunfermline as part of this year’s Outwith festival. While programming, I was keen to use spaces I have long admired to show amazing Scotland-based artists work here in Fife. I hope to welcome you this September. ~ Katie Strachan, Volunteer Visual Arts Programmer, Outwith festival