Raft of events to celebrate Burns night

Raft of events to celebrate Burns night

The Scottish Government is funding five events to celebrate Burns Night as part of the Scottish Winter Festival programme.

There will be the Big Burns Supper festival from January 24 to 26 in Dumfries, a series of events at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh until January 25, the Robert Burns Humanitarian Award on January 25 at the Burns Museum in Alloway, the Burns: Life Of A Poet event on January 25 at Eden Court Theatre in Inverness and Burns Unbound at the National Museum of Rural Life from January 25 to 26.

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet secretary for culture, said: "Burns Night is the perfect opportunity to celebrate our Scottish identity including our creativity, pride and confidence."

l scotland.org/burns

University art and tradition on show

Two new exhibitions at the University of St Andrews focus on graduation at Scotland's oldest university, as well as artworks in its collection.

May They Always Flourish will celebrate graduation at St Andrews, tracing its history and development. On show at the Museum of the University of St Andrews (MUSA) until September, the exhibition explores the ceremonial tradition at the Fife university by bringing together objects, paintings, costume and archival material associated with the event from the last six centuries.

The exhibition showcases objects from the university's collections, including the three mediaeval maces commissioned in the 15th century and still used at ceremonies today. Other items include the birretum (cap) used for centuries in the formal "capping" ceremony.

The second exhibition, A Scottish Palette, will showcase Scottish artworks from the university's collections. May They Always Flourish runs until September 30 and A Scottish Palette runs until March 1 at the Gateway Galleries.

l st-andrews.ac.uk/museum/events