Pittenweem

Arts Festival

August 4th - 12th 2018

A celebration of the visual arts taking place in galleries homes studios and other venues throughout Pittenweem

All over Pittenweem   9.30-3.00

Adult £2.00   children 11-15   £1.00   children under 11 free

A unique event in the Scottish arts calendar, the Open Air Painting Competition has now been hosted by the Pittenweem Arts Festival for twenty-two years. As always, from its very first year, it encourages artists of all ages and abilities to produce a painting of any aspect of Pittenweem on the day and present it (often before it has dried) to be exhibited and judged. This much-loved event spans a generation and artists who competed as children in the early years now encourage their own children to participate.

How you can take part

Register between 9.30 and 3.00 at The Crooked House 23 Mid Shore Venue 80 bringing along your canvas or blank paper to have it stamped. You are now free to paint or draw any aspect of Pittenweem, using whatever materials you wish. Return finished artwork to The Crooked House by 3.00pm. Pictures will be displayed at 4.00 pm in the fish sheds then judged and prizes awarded at 4.30pm.

Our thanks go to our sponsors Great Art who have kindly provided the prizes

Lucy's radical departure from previous work is on show at The Old Men's Club, a venue she believes to be well-suited to displaying her ceramics in a sympathetic light. She will talk about her craft and expand on the philosophy behind her work.

Derek's interest in the natural world, particularly birds is well-known and he has been a regular exhibitor at the Festival. This year, with his special exhibition Migrations, his interest shifts to include human migrations.

Today he will go around this exhibition with visitors, commenting on the works as well as answering your questions.

See also Derek's evening presentation on Monday 6th

St Fillan's Cave Cove Wynd   12.00 - 12.45   £3.00   age 4 - 7  accompanied by adult

Join Fife story-teller Sheila Kinninmonth in the cave to hear stories of monks and magic fish, pirates and princesses, as told round the firesides of Fife in days gone by.

  Story Pokes with Sheila Kinninmonth

Church Hall James Street   2.30 - 3.30   £4.00   age 8 plus

Join storyteller Sheila Kinninmonth in the Church Hall to hear local folktales and then make stick puppets to take away in a Story Poke so you too can be a storyteller.

Latchepen are a London band born out of a collective admiration of Django Reinhardt and anything that swings.

Acoustic by nature but with a projection and heart-beat that can rival any amplifier or drum, this is jazz on a string with influences ranging from Romani music to bebop.

Using the beautiful palette of 100 shades of black, Kate will begin the workshop by demonstrating a generous sample of techniques for applying INK onto paper, quickly encouraging workshop participants to try their hand using some of the methods demonstrated.

Once the main medium of expression in both writing and drawing and also in the painting of whole ancient Chinese and Indian worlds, ink has fallen from use dramatically in the digital age. Kate will be attempting to resurrect your interest, using the delightful setting of Pittenweem Arts Festival 2018 as inspiration.

Materials

A3 sketchbook: Small art notebook for visual & written notes: 

Chinese and/or Indian ink, black: 

Drawing pencils 2b-4b. 

If you have them: one or two Chinese ink painting brushes/bristle brushes/watercolour brushes.

A few small pieces of card up to A3 in size. 

NB – please wear BLACK old clothes for the workshop.

With the advent of increased migration starting with the Summer of the Boats, Derek saw parallels with his established interest in bird migration.

He saw: ...people in a similar state of immediate survival, taking the same lines of flight as the birds I portray.

Derek's tour of his exhibition will show his concern and involvement with human migrants along with the birds.

Meet Derek after and share chef's nibbles and refreshments.

See also Derek's exhibition tour on Sunday; also, his regular exhibition at Venue 2

Pittenweem Priory does not look like a priory, because all the picturesque old gothic remains disappeared in 1560.

However, what survived the Reformation intact was the domestic buildings: the Prior's Lodging, the canon's dormitory and refectory, the guest house and gatehouse. These are highly interesting fifteenth-century buildings (now private residences) and by looking at them in the context of the rest of the precinct, including St Fillan's cave, it is possible to gain an idea about how the medieval priory developed.

The walk will cover: the Gatehouse; the quadrangle; the garden of the Priory House; St Fillan's cave; Cove Wynd; the Library and Town Hall; the Churchyard and evidence of a watchtower and a medieval church in Lady Walk.

At the end of the walk, coffee will be offered on the Priory terrace.

The Priory Singers are a local choir directed by Walter Blair (former Associate Director of the Senior Academy at the Conservatoire of Scotland).

The choir performs a diverse range of music at their Christmas and summer concerts each year and has selected fun and beautiful pieces by Bach, Elgar, Arthur Sullivan, Burns, and a selection of spiritual songs, for this Arts Festival concert.

See Tuesday above for details

​Kellie Castle    7.30 - 9.30pm   £15    Doors from 7.00pm for complimentary refreshment

Join Scotland's premier clarinet ensemble for the story of the clarinet told from a truly global perspective in virtuosic performances on clarinets of all sizes!

The quartet features original compositions, commissions and little-known arrangements. SCQ will take you on a thrilling musical tour from Mozart, Piazzolla & Benny Goodman, to African highlife via Indian raga and contemporary Australian sounds, without neglecting Scotland's own musical traditions, of course.

Come to experience this evening recital at Kellie Castle, a beautifully intimate concert setting. Reimagine the sounds of Fiddler Tam the 6th Earl of Kellie, one of Britain’s most important composers of the 18th Century.

Since 2002 the Scottish Clarinet Quartet has enjoyed critical acclaim and success as Scotland’s foremost clarinet quartet,  The versatility of the clarinet and the virtuosity of the players enable them to present a fascinating range of material, making an unforgettable concert. SCQ also has a strong focus on commissioning and performing new music, whilst exploring the kaleidoscopic sound-world offered by the extended clarinet family.

See Tuesday above for details

Over the past twenty years, it has become commonplace for Retreat Centres to provide ‘Art Rooms’, and for Prayer Guides to commend visual images as focal points for meditation, reflection and prayer. This illustrated workshop/lecture will explore the importance of painting and paintings as rich resources for the spiritual journey, and will include worked examples to demonstrate how such resources might used in daily life. This workshop draws on Richard’s long experience as

educator, theological writer,retreatant and, most recently, as painter and poet.

Freeset, in Kolkata, challenges the injustice experienced by women trafficked into India’s brutal sex-trade.

See Richard's own exhibition at Venue 39

Where are the best places to search for fossils around Pittenweem? What are the fossils and what environments do they come from?

The rocks surrounding Pittenweem represent a time around 330 million years ago when the temperatures were tropical, seas were rich with marine life, and land had the first dense forests with enormous trees.

Come for a walk along the shore between Pittenweem and Pathhead at low tide with geologist Dr Catherine Rose and hunt for some special treasures in hidden places.

Wear wellies or sturdy shoes, bring a jacket in case it is cold, and a bag for all the fossils you find! This trip is popular and tickets must be purchased ahead, online or at the Box Office.

David Behrens is studying music at the University of Edinburgh. Classically trained in piano and in jazz on the saxophone, his current interests revolve around Scottish folk music, jazz and song writing.

Rory Marsden's music takes inspiration from 20th century orchestral music, jazz, progressive styles and many other sources. As a multi-instrumentalist, Rory focuses mainly on composition, musical recording and jazz performance.

Tonight they will be playing a mixture of music, ranging from traditional jazz standards with vocalist Ines Haywood-Daventry, to some of their own compositions.

This year the geological tour will begin at Ruby Bay in Elie to look at the evidence for volcanism in the Carboniferous, as well as investigate folds and fossils within the sedimentary rocks as we walk north to Ardross Farm Shop.

Join geologist Dr Catherine Rose for a geowalk along the Fife shoreline to look at more of the amazing geological heritage that exists in Fife.

The trip is suitable for teenagers and adults and we will be walking on uneven, and at times slippery, ground on the coastal path and foreshore. Wear walking boots or sturdy wellies and bring a jacket in case it is cold or rains.

The trip will last ~3 hours and we will end back at Ruby Bay in Elie.

The HandleBards are the world’s first cycling theatre company. Before touring their seriously silly production of Romeo and Juliet around the world, they pedalled it 1500 miles around the UK by bicycle, with all the necessary set, props and costume in tow.

Now, the show is back by popular demand – and, in usual HandleBards style, you can expect riotous amounts of energy, a fair old whack of chaos, and a great deal of laughter.

Join the HandleBards’ all-female troupe at the Pittenweem Arts Festival for Romeo and Juliet as you’ve never seen it before!  Well, sort of.

This performance is in the open air, so please dress for the weather and bring a low-backed chair, rug or cushions and a picnic if you'd like. In the event of poor weather, the performance will take place indoors at the Church Hall James Street.