Author: admin

Free guided tours are on offer to those attending this summer’s must see exhibition at Edinburgh’s City Art Centre.

For Sunday visitors, or for small groups of visitors on a pre-arranged basis, special guided tours are on offer which will reveal the story behind just a few of the 590 photographs on display in ‘China: A Photographic Portrait’. Tours will be led by Confucius Institute staff and Chinese Studies students who will also comment on historical and social aspects of China.

The Sunday drop in tour starts at 1.30pm and is offered on a first come first served basis to valid ticket holders. Please book in on arrival or listen for the tannoy announcement.

Special tours can be scheduled to suit a group’s timetable, subject to space and availability. A tour group is usually between 5 and ten people each holding valid tickets. To arrange a group tour please email the info@confuciusinstitute.ac.uk or call us on 0131 662 2180.

Each tour will last around one hour.

This summer visit Edinburgh’s City Art Centre to see the enthralling ‘China: A Photographic Portrait’

This exhibition from the Guangdong Museum of Art is a remarkable photographic exhibition, both in its scale and the insight it provides into the changing lives of the people of China. Over 250 Chinese photographers provide an incredible picture of the country’s people in all walks of life in almost 600 photographs.

The exhibition records the significance of radical cultural change from the vantage point of photographers living in China, capturing images which reflect many previously unseen aspects of life in China.

“.. modern China is a place of immense wealth and absolute poverty, a fact which has been captured beautifully by this massive, enthralling exhibition of hundreds of photographs”
Duncan Macmillan, Scotsman, 04 July 08

An extensive side programme of lunchtime talks, an adult and family craft programme and an already sold out schools programme will run in conjunction with the exhibition. Admission to complementary activities is included in the ticket price. Booking is recommended

Special one hour tours telling the story behind just a few of the photographs in the exhibition are also on offer. A drop in tour will take place every Sunday at 1.30pm on a first come first served basis.

These tours can also be offered at pre-arranged times for groups. To arrange a group tour email info@confuciusinstitute.ac.uk or call 0131 662 2180.

A further complement to the exhibition is a contemporary moving image project from My China Now, featuring eleven short films providing further tantalising insights into cultural and social life in a country which is home to a fifth of the world’s population.

The exhibition comprises almost 600 frank images – selected from more than 100,000 works by over 1,000 Chinese photographers – and has been loaned by Guangdong Museum of Art, where it was originally shown in 2003. Having toured in Germany for the last two years, the run at Edinburgh’s City Art Centre represents the only opportunity to catch this incredible portrait of China before it returns to Guangdong.

Natascha Gentz, director of the Confucius Institute for Scotland, said: “Bringing this outstanding exhibition to Scotland is a remarkable achievement for the Institute. The broad range of authentic images of China – revealed for the first and, possibly, only time in the UK – reflects our Institute’s aim of promoting a greater understanding of the diversity and complexity of this huge, rapidly evolving country.”

The exhibition runs till 14 September and is open seven days 10.00-17.00 with Sunday opening at noon.

Prices are £5.00/£3.50 concession; £2.50 child 5-15; £10 season ticket; £10 family ticket. Admission to complementary activities is included in the admission price.

`Wings of Life` a major fundraising event will be hosted by the University of Edinburgh in the McEwan Hall, next Tuesday 3 June.

Featuring a mixture of Chinese and Western dance and music, the idea for the concert came from Chinese students studying in the University. They have, in association with the Chinese Consulate in Edinburgh, The Academy of Chinese National Musical Instruments, and the Chinese Community in Scotland, put together this fund raising concert.

Concert goers will be treated to a mixture of Chinese and western performances. With both professional musicians and students studying at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow a wide range of music is anticipated. There will there will be Zheng and Er-hu pieces while local musicians will present western music.

This ambitious fundraiser has been put together at very short notice and we hope that the audience turnout will see a substantial sum raised for Sichuan earthquake relief funds.

Tickets will be available at the door on the night of the event and a suggested donation of £10 for an adult and £8 for a child would be welcome. Tickets can also be reserved at the Confucius Institute in person or by calling 0131 662 2180. Tickets are also available through Asian Studies office at 8 Buccleuch Place, Edinburgh, EH8 9LW.

The programme will start at 7.30pm and will end at approximately 8.45pm at McEwan Hall, Teviot Place, EH8 9AG on Tuesday 3rd June 2008.

About the earthquake

The 7.9 magnitude tremor, which was focused in China`s Sichuan Province, is estimated to have killed at least 68,000 people – and that toll is expected to rise dramatically as rescue teams reach the most affected areas. In cities near the earthquake`s epicentre, over 26,000 people are buried under the rubble of collapsed buildings.

The Chinese government estimates that as many as 5 million homes may have been destroyed. After-shocks continue.

Major exhibition at Edinburgh’s City Art Centre.

The only UK opportunity to catch an unprecedented and unique photographic exhibition, documenting the changing face of China over 50 years, comes to the City Art Centre in Edinburgh this summer.

Comprising almost 600 frank images – selected from more than 100,000 works by over 1,000 Chinese photographers – this exhibition has been loaned by Guangdong Museum of Art, where it was originally shown in 2003. Having toured in Germany for the last two years, the run at Edinburgh’s City Art Centre represents the only opportunity to catch this incredible portrait of China before it returns to Guangdong.

The photographs, many of them in black and white and the majority taken in the last 20 years, record in detail the daily lives, both public and private, of ordinary Chinese individuals, of varying ages and from diverse backgrounds, at work, rest and play, in both major cities and the countryside.

As well as the glossy exterior of the economic boom in China’s cities, the exhibition records the significance of radical cultural change from the vantage point of photographers living in China, capturing images which reflect many previously unseen aspects of life in China.

Complementing the exhibition will be a China Art Now project, featuring a collection of 33 short films providing further tantalising insights into cultural and social life in a country which is home to a fifth of the world’s population. The exhibition will also be accompanied by a varied events programme of lectures, family and arts activities.

Natascha Gentz, director of the Confucius Institute for Scotland, said: “Bringing this outstanding exhibition to Scotland is a remarkable achievement for the Institute. The broad range of authentic images of China – revealed for the first and, possibly, only time in the UK – reflects our Institute’s aim of promoting a greater understanding of the diversity and complexity of this huge, rapidly evolving country.”

The exhibition opens on 5 July and runs through till 14 September. Prices are £5.00/£3.50 concession; £2.50 child 5-15; £10 season ticket; £10 family ticket.

The City Art Centre is open Monday – Saturday 10.00-17.00 and Sunday 12.00-17.00

First Minister opens 2008 programme.

Strengthening our links with China in education, commerce, culture and science will help create the Celtic Lion economy we aspire to, First Minister Alex Salmond said today.

The First Minister was speaking at the launch of China Now In Scotland (CNIS), the largest festival ever in Scotland to be devoted to China.

The First Minister was joined at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) by a number of dignitaries from both countries to open Spirit, the Chinese Spring Lantern Festival – the first of more than 100 events being co-ordinated by the Confucius Institute for Scotland as part of China Now in Scotland.

Mr Salmond said:

“Tonight`s event marks not just the end of the Chinese New Year but the start of a year long programme of events celebrating Scotland`s links with China”.

“My government places real value on our growing partnership with China. Building trade links internationally is vital to our future economic success, and China is clearly a key market for Scotland. We are fortunate to already have strong links with China. You only have to look at the number of Scottish businesses, universities, and school children working together and learning to see the mutual benefits of this partnership”.

“China Now In Scotland provides a real opportunity to celebrate our friendship and economic opportunities with China. The Botanics` Lantern Festival is a spectacular start to what I am in no doubt will be a year-long success of events, promoting this bond, across Scotland.”