Travelling Gallery Takes to the Road with Spring Exhibition 28 February to 12 June 2009

Travelling Gallery Takes to the Road with Spring
Exhibition

Finger Buffet

28 February to 12
June 2009

The Travelling Gallery's spring exhibition
has a theme familiar to all; food and drink. The exhibition will explore both
the pleasure we get from food as well as more serious issues such as GM food,
junk food and packaging. Finger Buffet will include work by five contemporary artists: Alex Frost, Gayle Chong Kwan,
Janice McNab, Kate Owens and Mariah Skellorn.

Exhibits include photographs by Mariah
Skellorn from her series ‘convenience foods', which comment on methods of food
production and their sustainability, polymer clay sculptures based on food
packaging by Alex Frost and painting from Janice McNab's ‘chocolate box'
series. Kate Owens will show new work using dyes from fizzy drinks, and Gayle
Chong Kwan will exhibit images of utopias intricately constructed from food.

Councillor Deidre Brock, Convener of
Culture and Leisure said;

"Finger
Buffet
is a unique and novel exhibition which enables young and talented
artists to, quite literally, give us plenty of food for thought".

The mobile gallery will start its tour in Edinburgh on
Saturday 28th February, where it will be open to the public from 11am
to 5pm at the City Art Centre, 2 Market Street.
The gallery will then be travelling to areas throughout Scotland,
from Ayrshire to the Highlands, until 12th June.

During the tour the gallery will visit
schools and colleges and will also be open to the public. Tour dates and venues
will be posted on the gallery website at www.travellinggallery.com

The Travelling Gallery receives an average of 18,186 visitors
per year.

  • The Travelling Gallery vehicle is
    built on a Scania 12metre Omni Dekka chassis, and measures 12m long, 3.6m
    high and 2.5m wide. The bodywork was built by East Lancashire
    Coachbuilders in Blackburn and the interior was fitted out by W
    H Bence Coachworks in Yate near Bristol. The interior was designed by
    Sutherland Hussey Architects.  The
    exterior artwork was created by Glasgow based artist Mandy McIntosh.

  • The Travelling Gallery service was introduced in 1978 by the
    Scottish Arts Council. In 1997 its operation was switched to the City
    of Edinburgh Council, which continues to operate a national service.
    The new gallery vehicle was introduced in April 2007.
  • The Travelling Gallery will receive £141,400 from the Scottish
    Arts Council towards the cost of foundation funding for 2008/09. This will
    support the unique self-contained mobile art gallery which takes a
    programme of high quality engaging exhibitions to communities throughout Scotland. The City of Edinburgh
    Council support the
    running of the service in kind. Other income is generated through hire
    fees from other local authorities who book the Travelling Gallery to tour
    their areas.
  • The Travelling Gallery Education Programme aims to expand on
    ideas and skills highlighted in the Travelling Gallery exhibition and
    includes education packs, reference materials, worksheets, ideas for
    pre-visit and follow-up work, as well as artist-led workshops.
  • Embo Deli, Haddington
    Place, Edinburgh
    kindly supplied the finger buffet for the exhibition launch, in collaboration
    with Tattie Shaws Fruit and Vegetables and Leith Walk Primary School.
  • The Travelling Gallery will visit the following areas with the
    ‘On Edge' exhibition:

2 - 6 March - East Ayrshire

10 - 21 March - East
Dunbartonshire

23 - 27 March - East Lothian

30 March - 3 April - Stirling

4 - 9 April - Perth & Kinross

14 - 18 April - South Lanarkshire

20 - 24 April - Falkirk

27 April - 15 May - Highland

19 - 23 May - East Renfrewshire

25 May - 5 June - Dundee

8 - 12 June - Edinburgh