Arcadia Scotland

Art and Culture

Hugh Hood: Glasgow 1974: Throughout the End of April, 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.

Starter for Six: Maker or Manufacturer?: Throughout the End of April, The Lighthouse

A consideration of developments in Scottish design, asking whether Scottish designers regard themselves as makers or as manufacturers. Exhibitors include Andy Murray Design, Scott Jarvie Design, Pea Cooper Millinery and Jane North Jewellery.

Le Swimming: Through 21 April, Fleming House, 12-6pm

Works exploring the idea of 'Other Spaces', by Nadège Druzkowski, Sukaina Kubba, Jenny Lewis, Philippe Murphy, Alys Owen and Beth Shapeero, transforming the underground car park into a swimming pool.

Scottish Gold: Throughout the End of April, 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.

Hazel Gore: 18-19 April, Veneer Gallery

Narrative drawings by Glasgow School of Art-trained Hazel Gore.

How to Cultivate Color in the Field of Painting: 30 April, 12 University Gardens, 5pm

Dr Karin Leonhard of the Max Planck Institute, Berlin, talks still life painting and baroque color theory in this open academic lecture.

Music, Comedy and Dance

Alan Davies: 17 April, SECC, 8pm

Sharp and inventive wit from the QI regular, award-winning actor and former Jonathan Creek and Whites star.

Withered Hand: 18 April, CCA, 7.30pm

Edinburgh scene stalwart and master of plaintive, witty outsider folk.

Aye Right? How No'?: Comedy Countdown to the Referendum: 21 April, The Stand, 8.30pm

Vladimir McTavish and Keir McAllister take on the independence debate in a show that blends stand-up, poetry, spoken word and politics. Special guests include Gary Little, Susan Morrison and Alan Bissett.

BBC SSO: Runnicles Conducts Mahler 9: 24 April, City Halls, 7.30pm

Towards the end of the Cold War, the late Lewis Thomas wrote that listening to Mahler'sSymphony No 9 made him think about 'death everywhere, the dying of everything, the end of humanity'. There's no doubt that Mahler had something similar in mind, even if he did his best to complete a tenth symphony before bacterial endocarditis carried him off aged only 50. Here, this mournful masterpiece is paired with Arvo Pärt's plangent Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten. Donald Runnicles conducts.

Makoto Ozone In Recital: 25 April, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 1pm

Makoto Ozone (piano) plays classical and jazz pieces.

Glasgow Phoenix Choir: 25 April, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 7.30pm

The Choir has been going strong since 1951, and its extensive repertoire includes music from West End/Broadway shows and easy listening numbers.

Eddi Reader: 27 April, O2 ABC, 7pm

The popular folk pop chanteuse, known for her work with Fairground Attraction and often called upon to add her voice to other people's records tours her latest album Vagabond.

Ceilidh Dance Classes: 16, 23 and 30 April, St Andrews in the Square, 7.15pm

Tricia Matthews leads these ceilidh dance classes.

Lectures, Sports and Local Festivals

Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art: Through 21 April, Various Venues

Two-yearly festival of contemporary art commissioned from artists around the globe and including exhibitions in traditional gallery spaces, plus unique site-specific installations and live performance art. The 2012 festival featured acclaimed shows by Wolfgang Tillmans, Jeremy Deller and Ruth Ewan, and the 2014 festival is under new director Sarah McCrory.

Glasgow Open House Art Festival: Through 21 April, Various Venues

Emerging and established contemporary artists that inhabit Glasgow open the doors of the city's domestic and disused spaces to reveal a program of exhibitions, performances and events.

Culture 2014: Throughout the End of April, Various Venues

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!