WORLD-CLASS VISUAL ARTS SPACE IN 2017
In what has not been a great week for contemporary art in the capital (23.9.16), we’re delighted to bring you good news.
After five years’ behind-the-scenes toiling, Collective Gallery signalled the start of work on its new Calton Hill observatory complex this morning.
The £4m project – due to open by the end of next year – will entail making a new underground exhibition space and new restaurant, and conserving the 19th-century Playfair Observatory building – its fabric, grounds, telescopes and astronomical instruments (Breaking news, 28.4.15)
Funding for the scheme came from various trusts, foundations and private donors, including the Heritage Lottery Fund, the City of Edinburgh Council, Creative Scotland and Edinburgh World Heritage, WREN, the Wolfson Foundation, Garfield Weston and the Architectural Heritage Fund.
New and old
This morning, pupils from Leith Walk and Abbeyhill Primary Schools posed as workers outside the main observatory structure.
Both schools have long-term artistic relationships with Collective, and their presence today signifies the gallery’s keenness to reach out into the community, reach new audiences and build on existing ones.
Inside the observatory, twentieth-century partitions on the ground floor will be removed to recreate William Playfair’s more spacious and airy interior of 1818.
The telescope will be restored, and the area used for a workshop, retail unit, and space to tell the history of the site and explain its current purpose. The adjacent library will be spruced up and restocked with books on astronomy and contemporary art. While doubling as a research hub and meetings room, it could also treble as a place for private dining.
Upstairs, there is work to be done on the roof …
and some fairly spectacular spiders’ webs to be swept away before guided tours can begin.
Distinct and important
‘Collective occupies a distinct and important position within the visual arts infrastructure in Scotland,’ says Iain Munro, Creative Scotland’s deputy chief director.
‘It consistently strives to bring interesting, intelligent and relevant work by UK and international artists to audiences here. The transformation of the City Observatory site marks an important milestone for the Collective and presents the gallery, the artists that it works with and the public with a rich and inspiring context for its work.
‘The Collective in its newly developed home will provide a stimulating environment that will enable people to experience contemporary art, science and heritage in a new and original way – and we are very excited by the future creative possibilities that this development will bring.
‘At a time when the challenges facing the contemporary visual art sector in Scotland have been highlighted through our recently published review of the sector, we look forward to helping support Collective to deliver its ambitious, compelling and confident vision.’
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