D'OFFAY NICE OF YOU

by Katie Smyth

SquareOne Entertainment

The donation of a major new international collection of art valued at £125 million was announced last month at Edinburgh's Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

'Artist Rooms' is being created through a donation made by collector Anthony d'Offay and his wife Anne who amassed the collection of 725 pieces over a period of 28 years.

Secretary of state for culture, media and sport Andy Burnham said: “We would need to look back to the late 19th century or the early 20th century with the likes of Sir Henry Tate to see a similar sized gesture.”

The concept behind the exhibition is a series of 50 individual touring rooms devoted to 25 artists and will include works by Joseph Beuys, Damien Hirst and Andy Warhol. An additional seven artists will be represented in exhibitions throughout the country.

The collection is to be owned and managed jointly by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland and will tour throughout Britain to a wide range of partner galleries.

Further information can be found at www.nationalgalleries.org.

ECA WEAVES MAGIC

by Katie Smyth

SquareOne Entertainment

Tickets for Edinburgh College of Art's 2008 fashion show went on sale on Monday.

This year's eagerly awaited event will showcase the latest tailoring by graduating students and will take place on Wednesday 7 and Friday 9 May.

The annual show, which has been running for over 50 years will feature the work of 14 graduating fashion students. The designers have each created a garment from woven fabrics provided by Borders-based Lochcarron which they will send down the runway with bespoke headpieces.

Robert Gillan, associate head of the School of Design said: "This year's fashion show promises to be one of the best ever with a particularly strong final year group whose hard work has resulted in an eclectic range of collections … we fully anticipate audiences to be impressed by the level of creativity, skill and the vision of our students."

The show will also included collections by graduates, second and third year students as well as work by textile designers and theatrical pieces from the Performance Costume class. This year's show will take place in the college's sculpture court at 6.30pm and 9pm on Wednesday 7 May, and 7pm and 9pm on Friday 9 May. Tickets, priced £15, are available from Tickets Scotland at http://www.ticket-scotland.com/, 0131 220 3234, or in person from their Rose Street branch.