91Èȱ¬

As a compulsive collector of theatre programmes, I was delighted to see the latest exhibition at the National Library of Scotland.

Curtain Up celebrates 40 years of theatre in Scotland using scripts, props, costumes and huge piles of programmes, posters and flyers from loads of different shows.

The Cheviot, The Stag and the Black, Black Oil is the obvious starting point, not just because NLS hold the 7:84 archive but because this groundbreaking piece set the scene for many of the shows that came after it.

Its most obvious heir is Black Watch - which also features - but its influence can be seen in many other shows.

Theatre is an ephemeral art form and many of the items on display might have easily been discarded. But it's the fact they are disposable and mundane which make them so fascinating.

Like Anthony Neilson's neat, ordered notes for The Wonderful World of Disassocia, or the wages book for the Cheviot tour (cast and crew paid, in suitably egalitarian fashion, the same £20 rate).

Less likely to be lost or thrown away, is John Byrne's fabulous pop-up book set for The Cheviot.

"I remember John McGrath approaching me," he tells me at the preview of the exhibition.

"I'd just finished The Great Northern Welly Boot Show - and he said he wanted this book for a show. It had to be a certain size because it had to go on the roof of their van for the tour and it had to feature a different set on every page and turn over easily, which took a bit of doing. But it worked. And I was glad to be involved."

The book's been looked after by John McGrath's family since his death in 2002 but it was acquired by the National Library of Scotland earlier this year.

No small object, even they admit it'll be a headache to store at the end of the exhibition. Suddenly, those piles of theatre programmes don't seem such a hassle to house.

That's my final post for this year - I'm taking some time out for the festive season. I'll be back in January.

Meantime, I'd like to wish all you readers of the blog a very, merry Christmas and the very best for 2010.

There's a definite sense of déjà vu about today's briefing session with new culture minister Fiona Hyslop. Same government officials, same journalists, same questions.

The only thing that's changed is the location - Edinburgh's Dance
Base - and of course, the minister.

It is just nine months since her predecessor, Mike Russell, held his first briefing as culture minister for what many arts organisations hoped would be a long and supportive relationship in increasingly tough times.

But Mr Russell's appointment to Ms Hyslop's old post of education minister just a fortnight ago - and Ms Hyslop's subsequent appointment into his old post - has left the sector face-to-face with its third culture minister this year.

Her first task? Dealing with the thorny issue of whether she perceived her appointment - as described by the press and other politicians - as a demotion and according to Labour leader Iain Gray a "non job".

"I thought the comments completely inappropriate since they belie the sense of importance of this area in driving Scotland forward," she said.

"Scottish culture is very strong and vibrant and very important and I'm excited to be involved. Those comments reflect more on the people who made them, than my views."

Ms Hyslop said she would be picking up where Mr Russell left off.

There would continue to be quarterly meetings with the minister and cultural organisations - the next one is in Dumfries in January.

She'll also take on the role of pushing through Creative Scotland, a challenging task given the lengthy timescale of the merger of Scottish Screen and the Scottish Arts Council and the forthcoming debate on the wider public services reform bill in just a few weeks time.

Ms Hyslop said she felt her experience of previous government bills put her in a strong position to avoid any hitches with the bill and that she saw her role as midwife in at last delivering Creative Scotland.

It was hard not to think of her predecessor making the same assumption about his role - ironically enough, just nine months before.

She would, she insisted, continue to attend cabinet where she'd be "pushing culture into the heart of government" and into other portfolios like health and home affairs.

Hang on a minute? Wasn't that the very same plan laid out to arts organisations by Labour first minister Jack McConnell on St Andrew's Day 2003? Now that is déjà vu.

I've seen some unusual buildings transformed into art galleries in the past, but nothing quite so dramatic as the former funeral parlour hearse garage transformed into Glasgow's Hidden Gallery.

Owner Joe Mulholland has had past lives as a lawyer and a journalist but his present occupation as gallery director seems to be the one he's been heading for all his life, not least as a showcase for an extraordinary collection of photographs he acquired more than four decades ago.

Joe was then living in Glasgow's West End next door to an elderly Canadian born lady called Margaret Watkins. Joe and his wife Claire befriended her and were regular visitors.

Then, 18 months before she died, Ms Watkins presented Joe and Claire with a box which she insisted they didn't open till after her death.

She died in 1969 at the age of 85 but the Mulhollands - whose daughter had just been diagnosed with leukamia - didn't open the box for another two years.

At that point, Joe discovered that quiet, modest Ms Watkins was actually a photographer of note - a student and later teacher at Boston's Clarence White School of Photography. her box of photos turned out to contain many of her most famous images - from a controversial kitchen sink still life series to social commentary, beautifully lit nudes and portraits (among her most famous, the composer Rachmaninov).

He discovered further negatives of photos, which hadn't been developed, of 1930s Scotland and it's these which are displayed on the basement floor of the new gallery.

He had them developed by printer Robert Burns who used traditional paper and techniques to ensure they're as close to Margaret Watkins' vision as possible.

Ms Watkins first came to Scotland in 1928 to look after two elderly aunts. Their ill health and the second world war kept her there for decades and by the 60s, when the Mulhollands met her, she made no mention of ever being a photographer.

"She'd had disappointments in her professional and personal life," says Joe.

"That's why she was so keen to take a break from New York and come here for a breather.

"But I think she always intended to go back. After she died, we found out she'd packed a bag with her camera in it. i think that's why she left me the box.

"She knew i'd understand the importance of what was in it."

And this exhibition is just the beginning of a revival of interest in Margaret Atkins' work.

Among the earliest visitors to the Hidden Gallery show were staff from the National Gallery of Canada who plan a solo exhibition of her work in 2011.

Well done Richard Wright - as yet another artist based in Scotland wins the Turner Prize.

He follows in an illustrious line of Scotland-based winners - from Douglas Gordon back in 1996 to Martin Creed in 2001 and Simon Starling in 2005.

And winners aside, Scotland punches way above its weight in terms of nominees.

Glasgow School of Art was quick to point out that they've produced 30 per cent of the prize's nominees since 2005, including Lucy Skaer, who made this year's shortlist.

Both she and Wright are also graduates of the school's Master of Fine Art Programme - which has also helped shape Claire Barclay, Rosalind Nashashibi and Martin Boyce, who recently represented Scotland at the Venice Biennale.

The course is one of only a handful in the UK to offer a two-year postgraduate course in fine art - and that combined with artists staying on in the city after they've completed it, seems to be making a huge difference.

According to Professor Seona Reid, GSA's director, Wright's win is testament not just to the art school but to the strength of Glasgow's thriving contemporary arts scene and the city's reputation as one of Europe's leading centres for the visual arts.

Of course not everyone agrees with the choice.

Wright's delicate gold leaf decoration - temporarily crafted onto walls in interesting spaces only to be painted over afterwards - may have won over the judges but art critic Duncan MacMillan - author of Scottish Art 1460-2000 said in a recent review of the Turner Prize exhibition that he found Wright's contribution "mildly decorative" but lost in the vast gallery space.

Wright's assertion that his work "distorts our perception of an architectural space" was dismissed as a "meaningless cliche".

And it would be unfair to assume that Glasgow is the only artistic hub.

Thanks to the Ingleby gallery - which staged Wright's most recent exhibition - and both Doggerfisher and the Fruitmarket gallery, which have championed artists like Lucy Skaer, Edinburgh's reputation as a centre for contemporary art is also firmly on track.

And it's there Richard Wright and Martin Creed will make their next work - commissioned with Expo money for the 2010 Edinburgh Art Festival.

Creed will create a piece around the iconic Scotsman stairs (although not a recreation of the Lights Going On and Off, as you can see that there most evenings anyway).

Wright meanwhile will focus on two different stairwells - in the towers of the Dean Gallery.

If it's purchased, it will become his first permanent artwork here in Scotland.

I've always had a love/hate relationship with pantomime.

Loved it when I was growing up and appearing in the chorus of the local am-dram production (good luck to everyone in this week's Dumbarton People's Theatre show, Aladdin).

Hated it in my teens when it meant an enforced break from all that angsty drama we loved to go see.

And learned to love it again as a parent - when you get to witness first hand the delight of your offspring at the sheer anarchy of being encouraged into a theatre to shout, sing and throw things!

Those with similarly ambivalent views of panto will still find it hard not to be touched by this week's release of footage from Scottish pantos from the 30s, 40s and 50s.

Part of a two year research project by the University of Glasgow, the footage has been released on DVD, screened in cinemas and forms part of an exhibition which is touring various theatres during panto season.

Like today, these early pantomimes required the stars of their day - comedians like Dave Willis, George Best, Bert Denver, Jack Anthony and Harry Gordon.

And they in turn passed the baton to the next generation who continue to keep the tradition going today.

"There are core things that happen in pantomime," says Professor Adrienne Scullion, James Arnott Chair of Drama at Glasgow University and the academic leading the project.

"Principal boys, principal girls, dames, goodies and baddies and those follow through the centuries. But pantomime is always evolving. There's always reference to popular culture, television or film, whether that's the X factor or whatever that may be, it keeps it fresh."

At the King's Theatre in Glasgow, it's singer Keith Jack taking that role - runner-up in the TV series Any Dream Will Do, a number of fans had come to see the show just to see him.

For those of a slightly older vintage, Karen Dunbar and Gerard Kelly might do the trick.

"I never ever expected to do panto," says Kelly, who celebrates his 20th panto at the Kings this year.

"I came here 20 years ago to do Mother Goose with Wallie Carr and literally fell in love with it the minute I started doing it. It is the most fantastic thing to do as a performer."

Not all actors will be so convinced. There's still a view that panto is the poor relation of theatre, even though for most theatres, a successful panto season will sustain more challenging work through the rest of the year.

And in the current climate, it seems most pantomimes are bearing up well.

But even two shows a day for the next two months doesn't beat Scottish panto's record-breaking seasons of the 1930s.

"This is nothing compared to panto seasons then which ran and ran," says Professor Scullion.

"Most famously the pantos at the Royal Princess - now the Citizens Theatre - which would start in December and run through to April or even May.

"At one point they held the record for running for 243 performances which even on three shows a day is quite good going."

If traditional panto is not your scene, there's plenty of other shows to choose from.

From the conventional Beauty and the Beast to the wonderfully unconventional Ya Beauty and the Beast to the brief but charming tale of the Puddock and the Princess at the Scottish Youth Theatre.

With an audience aged from 3-7, the cast of three have their work cut out.

The promenade performance can't begin until the puddock (played by Philip Napier) has won over his little audience and answered several ad hoc questions about the show.

Like any good panto, we have to guess passwords, sing songs, jump up and down like frogs and answer questions.

When the Puddock changes back into a prince, there's little surprise from the audience.

"Did you know that was going to happen," says the newly transformed prince.

"Yes," says my five year old, "we've read the book."

Aladdin is at the Kings Theatre in Glasgow until January 17th 2010
The Princess and the Puddock is at the Scottish Youth Theatre until December 24th.

Finally got round to seeing the exhibition of artwork from 91Èȱ¬ Scotland's old headquarters.

Lovely to see pieces once tucked away in corridors and corners of the basement displayed in their entirety on one floor of the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow.

For those of us more used to using these works to navigate the rabbit warren that was the old 91Èȱ¬ Scotland headquarters at Queen Margaret Drive, it's something of an eye-opener to see how well they all hang together as a snapshot of the art scene of the 80s.

From Ken Currie's gritty shipyard scene to an early self portrait by Alison Watt via works by Eduardo Paolozzi, Peter Howson and Lesley Banks, it's an interesting reminder of the era and the generation it inspired.

It also flags up how little art there is in the new 91Èȱ¬ headquarters.

Whether that's down to concerns about work not suiting the new minimalist surroundings or a lack of funding in the current climate, I don't know but Toby Paterson's sculpture outside the front door - called Poised Array but already nicknamed the washing line - could easily be the starting point for a new collection of Scottish art.

And meantime, with much of the old headquarters gone, it's lovely to see this collection given a whole new lease of life - and given back to the public who paid for it!

So another day, another culture minister. (I'm beginning to lose count but I think it's number 10 if you count the ministerial double act of Sam Galbraith and Rhona Brankin).

Mike Russell, who's been in the job since February takes over as Education Secretary from Fiona Hyslop.

Ms Hyslop has faced repeated calls from opposition parties for her to resign following criticism of her handling of class sizes and the school building programme.

But rather than facing the door, it's merely a short spin on the roundabout to take up the vacant culture and external affairs post - minus the constitutional role which Mr Russell also had.

While Mr Russell's new job is being described as a welcome promotion for one of the few government big-hitters, political commentators are suggesting Ms Hyslop's move is a "demotion", something which hasn't gone down well with cultural organisations.

On top of that, many believe Mr Russell was one of the few culture ministers to actually have practical experience in the cultural sector, and although he couldn't secure any new cash, had at least raised the profile of the portfolio beyond that of Minister for Fun.

Ms Hyslop isn't expected to have an easy start as culture minister, with the final transition of Creative Scotland - the country's new arts body - not yet complete and the role of chief executive of the new body, not yet appointed.

And with local authority cuts looming - and many organisations fearful about their future funding - she's going to have to move fast to provide reassurance.

Could another cultural gathering in the Traverse be imminent?