New galleries, acclaimed restaurants and hotels, and now even a Hollywood film premiere add to the Scottish capital's allure
Europe's new capital of cool – in pictures
In the light, spacious rooms of a former orphanage near Edinburgh city centre, the works of a painter once ignored by the art world have come home.
The enormous popularity of the first dedicated exhibition since 1942 to Scottish colourist FCB Cadell is a sign of a revitalised interest in the son of a city that is enjoying its own renaissance.
Heavily reliant on banking and public sector jobs, Edinburgh had seemed badly placed to withstand the recession, but while the economy teeters, the city is busily securing its place as Europe's capital of culture and is increasingly a magnet for tourists. Last week it was announced that the much-hyped new film from Disney-Pixar will have its European premiere at the usually lacklustre Edinburgh film festival. Brave will bring stars to the city and introduce a generation of children to the romance of Scotland, albeit with a Brigadoon-style approach to reality.
The past eight months have seen two major openings: the refurbished National Museum of Scotland, which won enthusiastic reviews, 1.5 million visits in its first six months and a shortlisting last week for the Art Fund Prize; and close on its heels, an impressively expanded Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
The portrait gallery's senior photography curator, Duncan Forbes, said the city had been transforming itself. "It may be the independence debate but there's a real interest in our history, arts and culture at the moment. Galleries are free, which is key, and certainly the coming of the parliament impacted on confidence, but I think there's a new wave of thinking that's ahead of politics, a sign of cultural confidence."
Edinburgh has long had its international arts festival, which last week announced this summer's programme. It is more ambitious than ever with a vast new three-storey theatre on the city's outskirts and a night-time public art project that will see hundreds of runners wearing "light suits" climbing up Arthur's Seat, the famous extinct volcano near the city centre.
Sam Friedman, who edits Fest magazine, says the fringe festival in particular is a key outlet. "If you are a young performer, you can see your way in. It's a trade fair for the arts."
Simon Groom, director of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, says his Cadell exhibition is a small indicator of the city's cultural wealth. "Our galleries' visitor figures are going up and up. It's a brilliant time for people to be reassessing the importance of our identity globally and of our artists being international artists rather than Scottish artists.
"There is a real sense of confidence and belief at the moment that would be perverse not to celebrate. Part of what we're trying to do here is to be more and more inclusive. The idea of high culture and low culture has completely collapsed. There is a real pride in what we have here and of course we have the advantage over London galleries of being able to offer visitors more space and time to enjoy the work."
Last month Titian's Diana and Callisto was bought jointly by the National Galleries of Scotland and London, giving Edinburgh a share in one of the world's masterpieces, although Groom points out that his galleries already have world-beating collections that would astonish many English visitors.
"People can't believe the collection we've got because of the focus on London's exhibitions, and because arts writers aren't venturing out of London," said Groom.
Tourists are recognising Edinburgh's renaissance, helped by the exposure generated by royal weddings – Zara Phillips and rugby star Mike Tindall got hitched here last year – and films such as One Day, which have exposed the city's stunning architecture to a wider audience. Luxury hotels and restaurants have also been springing up.
Last week a new Michelin guide to Europe's main cities listed only 11 guest houses of note – but six were in Edinburgh. Local restaurateur James Thomson's Prestonfield Hotel made the top four of TripAdvisor's travellers' choice of UK luxury hotels, just behind Claridges and the Dorchester in London and Rockliffe Hall in Co Durham, while nine Scottish hotels made it into the top 25.
Thomson's innovative restaurants, the Witchery at the top of the Royal Mile and the Tower at the Museum of Scotland, have helped lead a food revolution that has seen a resurgence of passion for local seafood and other produce that had once bypassed the Scots and headed straight to the export market. The whisky industry, which had begun reinventing itself before the recession hit, was well placed to ride the downturn and is thriving.
It is undoubtedly a top-down renaissance, with high-end tourism growing as fast as Edinburgh can open boutique hotels to accommodate it. The former home of Donaldson's school, a stunning building just outside the city centre, awaits redevelopment. Initially earmarked for housing, rumour has it that hoteliers are now interested. "Donald Trump is interested," revealed the Observer's taxi driver. "I had his surveyor in my cab last week."
But it is not all good news. The city's cabbies have a new swear word – trams. Edinburgh city council's disaster-prone scheme to run trams along the showpiece thoroughfare of the city centre has seen four years of disruption, with another two to go, and a bill that could total £1bn.
Although the project was planned by the city council, Scotland's government has been under pressure to intervene.
"Ah. Trams," said Edinburgh MSP Marco Biagi, with a trace of nervousness. "I don't think it puts visitors off, although it's not Edinburgh's greatest moment. Of course you can't be complacent. Edinburgh is on its feet, we're doing good in business startups and youth unemployment is lower than in a lot of cities.
"It's got one of the best universities in the world and is at the top of its game with arts and culture and we have to try to keep supporting our homegrown talent, the small arts centres, individual playwrights and film-makers, and restrict the decline in funding as much as we can.
"There's a political will to preserve our cultural heritage. There's a new confidence that it's worth it."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/mar/18/edinburgh-cultural-renaissance
No comments:
Post a Comment