Events & Workshops

‍Come along and have a go at building an elegant clock or a crazy hedgehog automaton. Ian's fascinated by these things and you'll soon find that you've got involved too. Suitable for ages 5-85.

‍All Week: Workshop: Clock and Automaton Building with Ian Graham

‍9 South Loan  2.00 pm - 3.00 pm daily (except 11th Aug)   FREE

‍And I'm sure Lara will be smiling just as pleasantly throughout her talk. This is an informal occasion with Lara commenting on the pieces she has included in her exhibition. These range from large statement pieces to smaller forms, all showing her signature style of graphic pattern on clear-cut forms.

‍Rory Marston is studying Engineering at The University of Strathclyde and is involved in several musical projects in Glasgow. Rory and David have performed together for several years in a variety of musical situations. 

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‍Since last year’s performance at the Festival, Rory’s music has taken inspiration from modern jazz and funk as well as bebop recordings of the mid 20th century. With a focus on drums and percussion, Rory will be using various rhythm section instruments.

‍David Behrens has just finished his penultimate year studying music at the University of Edinburgh. Classically trained on piano and trained in jazz on the saxophone, his compositional work takes inspiration from both genres, as well as an influence from Scottish folk music. 

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‍Recently, he has been developing his compositional and songwriting style by looking at composers and performers such as Ólafur Arnalds, Peter Bence and Bruno Major.

‍Meet at the West Braes shelter next to the Pittenweem swing park 10:00 am -12.00 noon   £5   Tickets from Box Office

‍Suitable for ages 7-12   under 10s with adult   Limited to 20

‍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. 

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‍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.

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‍Wear wellies or sturdy shoes, bring a jacket in case it is cold, and a bag for all those fossils you will find !

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‍This trip is popular and tickets must be purchased ahead of time, online or at the Box Office.

‍It's interesting to understand how an artist goes about creating the artwork that you now see in front of you. Line writes about this process in her Invited Artist entry (see below). The creation of the bottle shapes was almost fortuitous. With that done, her thoughts led on to the associated, message in a bottle: and then, further still.

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‍Maybe during this talk, she'll reveal some of these messages...

‍Talk: Line Mortensen/invited artist

‍Born in Glasgow in 1961, Calum Colvin has exhibited his work nationally and internationally for over thirty years since graduating from the Royal College of Art in London with an MA in Photography in 1985. He has won numerous awards over the years, including the Higashikawa Overseas Photographer Award in 1997 and was a winner of one of the first Scottish Arts Council Creative Scotland Awards from which he created the acclaimed exhibition for the SNPG: Ossian, Fragments of Ancient Poetry in 2001. He was awarded an OBE the same year and is Professor of Fine Art Photography at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design University of Dundee.

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‍Colvin’s artworks have been widely exhibited in venues as diverse as Orkney, Los Angeles and Ecuador. He has completed a number of portrait commissions for the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and the RSA. His works are represented in numerous collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art New York; The Museum of Fine Art  Houston; The Tate Gallery London and the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow. 

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‍Dr Tom Normand

‍Tom is an art historian specialising in British and especially Scottish art, photography and culture. Most recently he edited the book Ages of Wonder: Scotland’s Art 1540 to Now. 

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‍His work includes Scottish Photography: a History; The Modern Scot: Modernism and Nationalism in Scottish Art 1928-1955; Portfolio: Treasures from the Diploma Collection at the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh. 

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‍Tom is Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Art History at the University of St Andrews and an Honorary member of the Royal Scottish Academy of Art.

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‍Image: A History Painting

‍Meet at Cellardyke Harbour   11:00 am - 2:00 pm  £7   Suitable adults and 12 years plus   Limited to 20   

‍Tickets from Box Office

‍This year the geological tour will begin at Cellardyke Harbour to look at the Carboniferous sedimentary rocks and investigate some of their folds and fossils. Join geologists Dr Catherine Rose and Dr Ruth Robinson for a geowalk along the Fife shoreline to look at more of the amazing geological heritage that exists in Fife.

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‍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 at Anstruther. Also, bring a packed lunch.

‍Ovenstone 109    10.30 am - 12.30 pm  £40.00   Adults   Limited to 6    Tickets from Box Office   

‍Inspired by Ron Lawson whose images of traditional blackhouses adorn her walls, ceramic artist Moyra Stewart invites you to come and build the cottage of your dreams : adobe, bothy, blackhouse or country cottage. In this fun workshop you will build your own wee holiday home, spend time refining the shape and adding details. 

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‍After a coffee or juice break you will discuss colour and firing and get an introduction to Raku, followed by finishing of the piece. The pieces will be dried, bisqued and fired at the Raku demonstration Friday 9th August.

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‍You may glaze your own piece and see it fired at the demonstration. Otherwise, choose a colour and the piece will be raku fired for you and posted to your address. It's a rare opportunity to first of all make your own piece then be able to see it transformed by the Raku firing.

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‍Pittenweem Priory does not look like a priory, as all the picturesque gothic remains (essentially the monastic church and cloister) disappeared in 1560. Where might they have been ?

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‍The remains

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‍What survived the Reformation intact were the domestic buildings: the gatehouse, the prior's lodging, the canons' dormitory and refectory, and the guest house. These are highly interesting fifteenth-century structures (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. 

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‍The walk

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‍The walk will start with a talk in St John's Church in Marygate and will proceed to the Gatehouse, the Inner Close, and the garden of the Priory House, where coffee will be served. The tour will continue with the Library and Town Hall in Cove Wynd and a visit to the kirk-yard in search of medieval remains. It will end in St Fillan's Cave (which, in fact, wasn't St Fillan's cave at all).

‍Meet at Episcopal Church Marygate  10.30 am   £5     All the ticket proceeds will go to the Gatehouse Restoration Fund

‍We include folk songs, ballads by Billy Joel and Sting, popular choral pieces and a performance of the jazz cantata Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo by Michael Flanders and Joseph Horovitz. 

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‍The cantata will feature the choir with Andrew Mundy as lead tenor, plus wonderful accompaniment by Louise Major on jazz bass, Kenny Carlisle on percussion and Walter Blair on piano. Last year's concert was a sell-out so be sure to get your tickets early.

‍Church Hall James Street   7.30 pm     £10     Tickets from Box Office

‍Friday August 9th

‍Moyra will be firing the work created by participants in the adults' and children's Ceramic Bothy workshops. If you're one of those, come along to the demonstration a bit earlier, at 10.00, to glaze your piece before firing.

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‍The demonstration is open to all to watch but children must be accompanied by an adult, for safety reasons.

‍Demonstration: Raku Firing with Moyra Stewart

‍Church Hall James Street    7.30 - 9.30 pm    £8   Tickets from Box Office  

‍Join us for a tour through the 20th century on film, from the collections preserved by the Moving Image Archive. 

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‍Explore the fishing villages of days gone by, steam trains on the Fife coast railway, gala days, streets, views and landscapes which have long since changed. We might even venture as far as the university town of St. Andrews, travel by tricycle to Broughty Ferry and see some footage that has never been shown in public before !

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