Demarco’s Europe

by Richard Demarco, by Roddy Martine

This third volume of the Demarco Trilogy celebrates the extraordinary cultural legacy of Richard Demarco and his lifelong connection with the Edinburgh International Festival. Across eight decades, Demarco has played a pivotal role in shaping Scotland’s international cultural identity, bringing thousands of artists to Edinburgh and creating platforms for visual art, performance and European collaboration. His work helped establish a Scottish presence at the Venice Biennale and strengthened artistic ties across Europe.

This volume reflects on faith, culture and legacy, and documents the transfer of part of his archive to the Muzeum Sztuki in Poland, symbolising his enduring vision of a culturally connected Europe through the Edinburgh Festival.

Reviews of Demarco’s Europe

'Edinburgh is a tale of two cities and few are better placed to chronicle its literary and artistic importance than Richard Demarco and Roddy Martine. The two cities are, of course, the inward-looking Scottish Parliament at Holyrood and the confident underbelly of creative achievement. In this third collaborative volume, they turn their attentions to Scotland’s place in eastern Europe’s art and thinking. Demarco has long championed Polish, Romanian and Yugoslav (now Balkan) artists while holding the greatest torch for the German existentialist Joseph Beuys. He has added immeasurably to Edinburgh’s comprehension of a world outside its walls.' – Rory Knight Bruce, The Field

'His challenge was to provoke his audience into actively promoting the language of the arts through their work and deeds – not just sitting in the audience nodding along.' – Charlie Ellis, Bella Caledonia