ENLIGHTENMENTS OF HOMECOMING
The Edinburgh International Festival is presenting a series of work new to Scotland to take a contemporary view of ideas and questions that first arose in Edinburgh during the 18th century Enlightenment.
The Enlightenments is a series of new commissions presented in partnership with the Dean Gallery, National Galleries of Scotland, Collective Gallery and The University of Edinburgh. "The Enlightenment was one of the great achievements of Scotland,” said Jonathan Mills, Director of the International Festival. “Exporting extraordinary scientists, inventing and creating a set of ideas which form the foundations of the modern world - from Adam Smith and his study of economics to David Hume and his moral philosophy. To reflect that in music and dance and theatre and visual arts and opera is an important thing to do."
The program is part of Homecoming Scotland 2009, which seeks to motivate people of Scottish descent, as well as those close to Scotland, to come home and join in a national celebration of culture, heritage and the many great contributions Scotland has given the world. Reflecting Homecoming Scotland’s ‘Great Minds and Innovations’ theme, the 2009 Festival takes inspiration from The Enlightenment, an extraordinary period of creativity in the 18th century, when Edinburgh was central to the ideas that laid the foundations for much of modern society.
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