Arcadia Scotland

Art and Culture

Britain from Above: Scotland’s Industrial Might: Throughout the Beginning of March, The Lighthouse

Aerial photographs of Scotland’s industrial heartland from 1919 to 1953, taken from the Aerofilms Collection.

Derelict Glasgow: Throughout the Beginning of March, The Lighthouse

A treat for all fans of rot, crumble and decay: images of derelict buildings in Glasgow, captured by Joe Shaldon of the Derelict Glasgow project.

Antonio Pacitti: In an Occupied Land: Beginning 3 March, Glasgow University Memorial Chapel

Artwork by the late Scottish-Italian artist.

High Hood: Glasgow 1974: Beginning 10 March, Eastwood Park Theatre

Veteran photographer Hugh Hood’s gritty, unsentimental images of Glasgow in 1974 document a time when the city was undergoing a radical programme of demolition and redevelopment. The negatives were long thought lost, but they resurfaced in 2006 in Hood’s brother’s house.

Illuminated Letters: International Women’s Day Exhibition: Beginning 8 March, Gallery of Modern Art

In celebration of International Women’s Day, the Glasgow Women’s Library presents their exhibition of illuminated letters created by women and girls, of both the local and international variety, written to history’s impressive women.

Scottish Gold: Beginning 14 March, Hunterian Museum & Art Gallery

A major new exhibition looking at Scottish gold and gold mining, bringing together gold nuggets and examples of the worked metal, from torcs found at Law Farm in Moray in 1857 to Scottish coinage, medals and racing cups.

Sonia Boyce, Pavel Buchler, Susan Hiller: Speaking in Tongues: Throughout the Beginning of March, CCA

Older and more recent works by three artists. Sonia Boyce’s work reflects her experience of growing up as a black woman in a white society; Pavel Büchler’s work is inflected by his origin in the no-longer existing country of Czechoslovakia, while Susan Hiller’s work reveals a fascination with the hidden and repressed in the everyday.

Sue Tompkins: Come to Ozark: Beginning 6 March, Gallery of Modern Art

New fabric pieces, paintings and works on newsprint, as well as a performance.

Drawing on Holl: 1-2 March, Mackintosh Museum

Exhibition curated by Mark Baines and Prof Christopher Platt of the Mackintosh School of Architecture, showing how the GSA’s new Reid Building was designed.

Music, Comedy and Dance

RSNO: Symphonie fantastique: 1 March, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 7.30pm

Here’s how Berlioz came to write the Symphonie fantastique: he saw actress Harriet Smithson on stage and fell in love without ever meeting her, writing her a succession of letters all of which she ignored. Finally, in desperation, he composed an epic symphony to express how he felt about it all (namely, not great). She missed the premiere, but when a couple of years later she got around to hearing it she at last realized he was a genius. They met, and soon married. The marriage was a disaster and they were really unhappy.

At least we got a symphony out of it. This concert also features Sibelius’ The Swan of Tuonela and MacMillan’s Ninian, featuring John Cushing (clarinet). Hannu Lintu conducts.

RSNO: The Music of John Williams: 8 March, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 7.30pm

Some classical fans may flare their nostrils at the idea of a concert devoted to the music of the guy who wrote the score for E.T., but from the brutal simplicity of the two-note ‘shark theme’ in Jaws to the sinister music-box tinkle of ‘Hedwig’s Theme’, the unifying musical motif in the Harry Potter films, Williams always seems to get it just right. Richard Kaufman conducts music from the above, as well as Williams’ classic scores for Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Any chance of Close Encounters too?

Glasgow Orchestral Society: 8 March, City Halls, 7.30pm

The Glasgow Orchestral Society is Glasgow’s largest amateur orchestra, established in 1870 and giving four concerts a year.

The Play That Goes Wrong: 10-15 March, King’s Theatre, 7.30pm or 2.30pm

Award winning company Theater Mischief presents a play-within-a-play about an amateur dramatic society putting on a murder mystery production.

Weegies Have Stolen the One O’Clock Gun: 13-15 March, The Vale, 7.30pm or 3pm

Robin Cairns’ popular character Morningside Malcolm is back in another play pitting the Weegies against the Edinbuggers – why have they stolen the one o’clock gun and what do they want with it?

Glasgow International Comedy Festival: 14-16 March, Various Venues and Times

Glasgow’s comedy festival is birling into its 11th year, getting ever more impressive with each outing. The funny types gracing the city’s various stages in 2014 include Richard Herring, Russell Kane and Chris Ramsey, with a shedload of great Scots and international favorites waiting in the wings.

The Greater Shawlands Republic: 14 March, The Stand, 7.45pm

Monthly laughs in aid of the campaign for a free and independent Shawlands.

Lectures, Sports and Local Festivals

Glasgow’s St Patrick’s Day Festival: Beginning 5 March, Various Venues and Times

A thirteen-day programme of events taking in Irish music and history and celebrating the connections between Scotland and Ireland.

Culture 2014: Throughout the Beginning of March, Various Venues and Times

A national celebration counting down to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Culture 2014 will showcase dance, theater, music, visual arts, comedy and so much more in the run up to the Games. Everyone’s invited!