The Hot 100 2018: 70–61
Honeyblood, Alberta Whittle and Martha Ffion are among our favourite cultural contributors this year
Without a doubt, 2018 has been a year of incredible female activism and empowerment. From #MeToo and Time's Up to the centenary of the 1918 Representation of the People Act, which gave some women the vote, the various events of this year have renewed and reinvigorated the fight for gender equality. With this in mind, this year's Hot 100 is all about celebrating the women in Scotland that are making a sizeable splash with their many accomplishments, innovations and creative endeavours across arts and culture. In the words of Beyoncé, 'who run the world?'…
70 Honeyblood
Album three is on the way, and Honeyblood have been delivering their most accomplished live performances to date in the meantime, looking primed to make another big step up. Drummer Cat Myers has been doing double shifts by performing with post-rock legends Mogwai in recent times. (CA)
69 Morvern Cunningham
Although the well-known programmer and Leith resident's LeithLate mini-festival was unfortunately shelved this year, Cunningham helped bring the Hamburg-based short-film collective A Wall is a Screen to town for a unique and well-received evening of outdoor screenings around the area during August. (DP)
68 Alison Urie
Vox Liminis' director Alison Urie helped release an album, with the likes of Emma Pollock, Admiral Fallow and Bdy_Prts collaborating with people who had experience of the criminal justice system. The charity explores both the stories of its participants and the roles we all play in building a fairer society. (CA)
67 Victoria Crowe
A new painting of Prince Charles was a major draw at Crowe's retrospective at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, which also included studies of RD Laing, Tam Dalyell and Winifred Rushworth (and ran alongside a show of new work at the Scottish Gallery). (NC)
66 Martha Ffion
Martha Ffion's debut album, Sunday Best, is a dreamy mix of acoustica, country and indie pop that, as our reviewer put it, 'comforts and challenges in equal amounts'. She followed up the release with a UK tour and a live session on Marc Riley's 6Music show. (HN)
65 Jenna Watt
Recipient of Magnetic North's Artist Attachment award, Jenna Watt is an independent theatre-maker with a consistent vision of a relevant and engaged theatre. Combining the personal and the political, she fuses Live Art practice with an accessible storytelling style. (GKV)
64 Category Is Books
Married couple Fi and Charlotte Duffy spotted a gap in the market when they opened Glasgow's first ever LGBTQIA+ speciality bookshop, Category Is Books, in Govanhill earlier this year. The shop has gained substantial support within the local area and also hosts events organised by members of the LGBTQIA+ community. (KG)
63 Solid Blake
Raised in Glasgow but based in Copenhagen, Emma Blake is one of Scotland's most exciting young DJs and producers. This year she took part in the 20th edition of Red Bull Music Academy in Berlin, contributed a track to Modeselektion Vol. 04, and released the 'Warp Room' EP. (DP)
62 Alberta Whittle
It's been a busy season for Alberta Whittle, with works showcased at Glasgow's Gallery of Modern Art and her co-curation of the touring exhibition Another Country. Happily there'll be even more from her on the horizon, after winning the 2018 Margaret Tait Award. (DC)
61 Nicola Sturgeon
Scotland's First Minister told a Wigtown Book Festival audience that when she was young, she'd hide under a table to read. Now she makes no effort to conceal her love of books, backing national reading campaigns and personally championing Scottish writers. (LM)