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The Herald Scotland
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Architect proposes Princes Street Gardens for Edinburgh art gallery
National Galleries of Scotland currently houses its modern art collection in two grand buildings in the West End and says it has 'no plans' to relocate the gallery. Read more: The speculative proposals show galleries along the length of the east gardens from Waverley Bridge, connecting to the existing concourse of the National Gallery and Royal Scottish Academy. A rooftop putting green - reviving a feature from the gardens some 30 years ago - is also pictured. According to Richard Murphy Architects, the wall length on the new gallery 'would exceed the combined equivalent of Modern One and Two'. Speaking to The Herald, Mr Murphy said: 'I'm trying to be helpful. I'm trying to put forward ideas that would benefit the National Gallery and benefit Edinburgh,' adding that the plan would 'correct a mistake' made when the modern art collection was moved from Inverleith House in the Royal Botanic Garden 40 years ago. 'What I used to love about it in the Botanical Garden is people just wandered into this building and found themselves looking at modern art,' he said. 'It wasn't just the cognoscenti who wanted to go and look at modern art; they were there because it happened to be in the gardens and it was another thing to do. 'Moving it to a very specific place like Belford Road, it really only attracts the people who want to go and see modern art. There's nothing wrong with that, but I thought it was accidentally inclusive in the Botanical Gardens. And I think we'd get that back if we put it into Princes Street Gardens, particularly from Waverley Bridge. People would just wander in; it's free.' Read more stories from our series investigating the Future of Edinburgh: Earlier this year he published a speculative vision for a revamp of Princes Street with wider pavements, fewer bus stops and Frederick Street junction to traffic, which was met with mixed reaction. Murphy also designed plans for a £60m 'temple of film' in Festival Square backed by the Centre for the Moving Image (CMI), which previously ran the city's Filmhouse and International Film Festival. However, heritage watchdog the Cockburn Association raised concerns the eye-shaped building would 'undermine the character and potential of an existing civic space' and the idea was then shelved after CMI went into administration in 2022. Discussing his latest designs, he said: 'The interesting thing is it connects at two ends; it connects into the existing foyer between the National Gallery and Royal Scottish Gallery which was done about 20 years ago. 'But the really important thing is it connects to Waverley Bridge. And that is a tourist and everybody else honeypot. That is a really busy part of Edinburgh. You'd be able to walk straight down the steps and straight into the Modern Art Gallery. Murphy's vision for a 'temple of film' in Festival Square was shelved (Image: Richard Murphy Architects) 'It doesn't need a clever person to say the numbers of people going to the Modern Art Gallery would increase by tenfold. 'I think the problem would be too many people, not too few. It would be so inviting and it's right there. That would be an amazing thing to recapture which is what it used to be like. I'm a great believer in trying to make things inclusive if you can.' Murphy added: 'We've got two buildings people don't go to that are very expensive to maintain and very expensive to curate. 'They just don't have the visitor numbers, it's just that little bit too far out of the centre of town to attract tourists. And of course, a lot of people who get counted as visitors to the gallery are not going to the gallery at all, they're going to the restaurant because that's a very popular restaurant.' The latest official figures show there were just under 300,000 visitors to the two modern art galleries in 2022-23, compared to an average of 527,000 in the five years preceding the pandemic. Murphy said the gallery's wall space 'would exceed the combined equivalent of Modern One and Two' (Image: Richard Murphy Architects) National Galleries of Scotland director Anne Lyden warned in January the organisation was at "crisis point" unless it managed to raise £40m over the next 10 years to address the condition of its buildings. She said 'very palatable options' including closing one of the galleries altogether would be considered without additional funding from the Scottish Government. 'There's a fact of life that they've got a problem,' Murphy said, adding that with the help of Savills estate agents, he worked out the development value of Modern One, in the former premises of the John Watson's Institution on Belford Road, and Modern Two, in the former Dean Orphan Hospital on the other side of the road, would 'just about pay for the whole thing'. The award-winning architect, who was behind the renovation of Edinburgh's Fruitmarket gallery in 1994 and designed the Dunfermline Carnegie Museum and Art Galleries, said: 'I've designed a few art galleries, I know the basics. 'It seems to me if they got the development value right out of Belford Road, they'd probably have to spend a bit of money - but not much - to make it happen. Obviously, you've got to get the City Council on board because it's their gardens, but I would have thought it's a huge improvement to the garden. Read more on the Future of Edinburgh: 'It seems to be a win-win situation, and there's still plenty of room for the Christmas Markets.' Responding, however, a spokesperson for the National Galleries of Scotland dismissed the proposal. They said: 'Richard Murphy Architects has created these speculative proposals without consulting the National Galleries of Scotland. Their concept does not align with our vision for the future and has not been created at our request. 'We have no plans to build in East Princes Street Gardens, to relocate the Modern galleries or to create a Photographic Gallery adjacent to the Portrait gallery. We do not plan to meet with Richard Murphy Architects.' They said the focus was currently on their plans for a new cultural centre and visitor attraction at Granton Waterfront, The Art Works, which it describes as an 'urgently needed, world-class and innovative art store and community space for North Edinburgh residents and people of all ages to discover'. National Galleries of Scotland's plans for The Art Works, Granton (Image: National Galleries of Scotland) Work was previously due to commence on site last year, however, now 20 months after securing planning permission, the National Galleries has admitted that it does not have the 'vital' finance in place to allow work to start on what it has described as a 'world-class home for more than 120,000 works of art," The Herald revealed this week. The current estimated costs of realising the vision for the project have not been disclosed by the National Galleries, which insists it is still pursuing the project on the same scale as the scheme which received planning permission in November 2023. The spokesperson added: 'We're doing everything we can to secure funding for The Art Works. Our aim is to make art work for everyone, and we want to give people more access to art by opening this amazing new space in Granton.'
Indian Express
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Power cut hits France's Nice in second suspected sabotage after Cannes film festival blackout
A second power outage on Sunday in France's Riviera region in two days after a fire at a substation in Nice is being suspected to be a sabotage, which authorities say could be a malicious attack. Reports suggest at least 45,000 homes were affected due to the fire at Nice substation which led to electricity cut in the region at around 2am (local time). This comes a day after nearby French city Cannes suffered a massive blackout that was also blamed on suspected sabotage. Local media reports, quoting police officials, stated that 'tyre tracks' were found and the Nice substation, which is located in the west of the city, door was 'broken'. After the outage in Nice on Sunday midnight, the city's airport, tramway network, and neighbouring towns of Saint-Laurent-du-Var and Cagnes-sur-Mer were affected till the electricity was restored later in the morning. Cette nuit, un transformateur électrique a été incendié à l'ouest de #nice06, privant d'électricité près de 45 000 personnes de Nice à Cagnes. Les polices nationale et municipale sont mobilisées. La situation a été rétablie dans de très brefs délais. Je dénonce avec force ces… — Christian Estrosi (@cestrosi) May 25, 2025 Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi criticised the suspected sabotage act of power outage and fire at the city's substation 'strongly denounced' the 'malicious acts' that affects the country. Cette nuit un incendie, probablement d'origine criminelle, a endommagé un transformateur @enedis. 45.000 foyers sur qnic3, Saint Laurent du Var et Cagnes-sur-Mer, l'aéroport et le réseau de transport ont été impactés désormais la situation est en cours de reprise. Merci aux… — Gaël Nofri (@GaelNofri) May 25, 2025 'The national and municipal police were mobilized. The situation was restored very quickly. I strongly denounce these malicious acts that affect our country. We are making images from our monitoring center available to investigators and will strengthen the city's network on strategic electrical sites in the coming days,' Mayor Estrosi said. While Nice's Deputy Mayor, Gaël Nofri said the fire was 'probably of criminal origin'. This comes a day after Cannes suffered a major blackout during the International Film Festival. Officials have said that it may have been caused due to an arson attack on a substation. A BBC report stated that about 160,000 homes in the city and neighbouring areas lost power amid the outage. Shops and restaurants struggled to operate as the power cut had hit Cannes. Cannes is in a total slowdown, meltdown, there's no coffee anywhere, and I think the town has run out of croissants, so this is like crisis territory,' Australian producer Darren Vukasinovic said, Reuters reported.
News18
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Cannes Film Festival 2025: Best Dressed Celebs At The Opening Ceremony
Last Updated: Here's who wore what at the Cannes red carpet. The Cannes Film Festival 2025 kicked off on May 13. The opening ceremony of the International Film Festival witnessed many celebrities and jury members dressed in their best looks walk the red carpet. Here's who wore what at the Cannes red carpet. 2/8 Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia graced the opening ceremony of the International Film Festival. She exuded boss lady looks in a sharply tailored deconstructed plaid suit by Rishta designer, Arjun Saluja. (Image: Instagram) 3/8 Bella Hadid walked the red carpet with freshly dyed blonde hair and dressed in a chic black dress from Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello. Her dress featured cut-out elements on the back, a cowl neckline, and a front thigh-high slit. (Image: Instagram)
Daily News Egypt
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily News Egypt
SCO International Film Festival to be Held in China this June
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) International Film Festival is scheduled to be held in Chongqing, China, from 23 to 27 June, People's Daily Online, a partner of TV BRICS, reported. The event aims to facilitate cultural exchange and celebrate international cinema among SCO member states. Activities will include opening and closing ceremonies, competitive film screenings, and a forum focused on film cooperation. Awards are planned across 12 competitive categories, recognising achievements in areas such as filmmaking, direction, screenwriting, and acting. The SCO International Film Festival official logo and award trophy have been unveiled recently. The event is organised as part of efforts to strengthen artistic ties among SCO member states and follows a previous edition held in Qingdao.
Egypt Today
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Egypt Today
Lead actors of Ameer Fakher Eldin's YUNAN win awards at the 49th Hong Kong International Film Festival
Syrian director Ameer Fakher Eldin's YUNAN brings a story set on a lofty windswept island, to the 49th edition of Hong Kong's renowned International Film Festival, where leading actors George Khabbaz and Hanna Schygula won Best Actor and Best Actress respectively. The festival was held from April 10th to the 21st. The festival jurist, speaking on their remarkable achievement, stated 'Georges Khabbaz's performance captures the alienation and ache of a lost soul yearning for the comfort of home. His nuanced portrayal reveals the inner turmoil of someone grappling with their identity in a foreign land, bringing emotional depth and authenticity to the character's struggle, while Hanna Schygulla's performance brings a warm, maternal presence to the film—offering comfort and tenderness in an otherwise harsh world. Her delightful humour adds a spark of levity, while her grounded strength asserts itself in a predominantly male environment. The result is a beautifully cohesive and emotionally resonant portrayal.' YUNAN, the second film in Ameer Fakher Eldin's HOME trilogy, continues his exploration of estrangement that began with his award-winning 2021 debut, THE STRANGER. The film follows a disillusioned Arab writer living in exile in Hamburg who travels to a remote North Sea island with thoughts of ending his life. There, he meets an elderly woman whose quiet humanity reawakens his will to live. In reviews, Christoph Petersen of Filmstarts noted how actor George Khabbaz aptly conveyed a sense of sorrow, while Hauvick Habéchian, writing of Independent Arabia, highlighted Schygulla's enduring legacy as an icon of German cinema. Directed, written, and edited by Fakher Eldin, YUNAN is a Canadian-German-Italian co-production with additional support from Palestine, Qatar, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The cast includes Lebanese star George Khabbaz of Oscar-nominated CAPERNAUM, German actress Hanna Schygulla, Palestinian actor Ali Suleiman of PARADISE NOW, and GAME OF THRONES stars Sibel Kekilli and Thomas Wlaschiha. The film features a score by Suad Bushnaq, cinematography by Ronald Plante, and production design by Marie-Luise Balzer.
