The Hot 100 2016: 40–31
Karine Polwart, C Duncan, Hidden Door and Ellie Harrison among our favourite cultural contributors this year
40 Karine Polwart
The singer-songwriter and essayist is never one to rest on her laurels. Her EIF show Wind Resistance, with dramaturgy from David Greig, garnered mass acclaim, and she also provided a soothing voiceover for the BBC documentary A Dramatic Decade: Ten Years of The National Theatre of Scotland. (LI)
39 C Duncan
Fast-mover Chris Duncan had barely let the heat die down from his 2015 Mercury Prize nomination for debut album Architect when he returned with October's follow-up The Midnight Sun. If anything, it was more acclaimed than its predecessor. (DP)
38 Pitt Street Market
Soft-launched in Christmas 2015, this hipster street food and drink market in an industrial lot off Edinburgh's Ferry Road has become a beloved weekly destination for families during the day and older diners in the evening. (DP)
37 Giovanna Eusebi
Having grown up in the family deli in Shettleston, Giovanna Eusebi was able to fulfil a long-held vision to open a new food and eating space in the West End of Glasgow at the back end of 2015. Eusebi Deli has been gathering prizes and plaudits ever since. (LS)
36 Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival
Now in its tenth year, SMHAFF has one main objective: to challenge and change attitudes towards mental health. Throughout October, more than 300 arts events took place across Scotland, including a performance from acclaimed Australian comedian Felicity Ward, a tribute to the late Mischief La-Bas director Ian Smith, and the festival's first commissioned theatre piece, Alan Bissett's play about Syd Barrett, One Thinks of it All as a Dream. (RM)
35 Hidden Door
The guerrilla / squatting multi-arts festival re-inhabited its former King's Stables Road site this year, with many highlights including music from NZCA Lines and Luke Abbott, theatre from Magnetic North, spoken word from Ron Butlin, and visual art from Ursula Cheng and Sarah Calmus. (NB)
34 Fielding Hope
Independent promoters Cry Parrot may caw no more, but as head programmer at London's Café Oto, Fielding Hope has continued to celebrate the Scottish underground, booking the likes of Still House Plants and the Modern Institute alongside international luminaries. (SS)
33 Ellie Harrison
The artist's Glasgow Effect project was intended to examine localism in an international art world. Denounced as a 'poverty safari', it attracted much viral anger, but got us all talking and thinking about art. (DP)
32 Electric Fields
The boutique Dumfriesshire music fest grew into a two-dayer for its third outing, welcoming Primal Scream, the Charlatans and Wild Beasts to the grounds of Drumlanrig Castle. (NB)
31 Counterflows
Alasdair Campbell and Fielding Hope's co-curated festival is a beacon of challenging contemporary and experimental music. 2016's event was cemented by the pair's assistance in the curation of The Glad Café's Glorious Traces and Hope's position at the heart of UK experimental music as the programmer of London's Café Oto. (DP)