AGE of Oil, a new contemporary art display showcasing the work of visual artist Sue Jane Taylor will open on July 21 at the National Museum of Scotland.

It features 17 pieces of original artwork, and the show aims to examine the economic, social and political impact of Scotland's oil, gas and renewable industries, with a focus on the current North Sea decommissioning programmes.

The show also features industrial artefacts collected by National Museums Scotland to represent the decommissioning of the North Sea's Murchison platform.

Sue Jane Taylor said: "Since North Sea oil was discovered fifty years ago, this industry’s public identity has been predominantly portrayed in cold, hard economic terms and its corporate image has been very tightly censored through photography and film. My own focus as a fine artist is to emphasise the importance of the workers and their environment."

nms.ac.uk

JUDY Murray and Jackie Kay have joined the line-up for The Saltire Society’s "virtual book festival", Scot Lit Fest.

Murray, Scottish tennis coach and mother to tennis stars Jamie and Andy Murray, will be joining the Saltire Society’s virtual book festival Scot Lit Fest the weekend after Wimbledon to discuss her new book, Knowing The Score.

The line-up will also see Scotland’s Makar Jackie Kay in conversation with poet Nadine Aisha Jassat across the weekend of July 21 to 23.

Scot Lit Fest is a virtual book festival run by the Saltire Society which launched in 2016 as part of the Society’s 80th anniversary. It hosts events across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, podcasts and Youtube videos.

Kathleen Jamie, winner of 2016's Saltire Society Poetry Book of the Year, will take part in a live event at the Saltire Society offices which will be recorded and broadcast.

scotlitfest.scot.

AN 18-year old accordionist from Milngavie has won a leading music school’s Directors’ Recital Prize for 2017.

Ryan Corbett, a S6 pupil, was declared the winner of the 17th annual competition following a final with three other senior soloists from St Mary’s Music School, Edinburgh.

The other finalists were Hugh Mackay (cello), William Fielding (piano) and Sophie Williams (violin).

This year’s judges were composer Sir James MacMillan, Gavin Reid, chief executive of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and James Cook, director of St Mary’s Music School.

The winner has been at St Mary’s Music School since September 2016 after five years of attending the Music School of Douglas Academy, Milngavie.

st-marys-music-school.co.uk