National Galleries of Scotland

29/05/2026

Avatar (i) began not with a study of ice skaters but as a study of children’s internet gaming habits. When Wendy McMurdo looked at the computer games played online, she noticed that many were based on extreme sports that children were unlikely to experience themselves.

Ahead of the opening of Wendy McMurdo: The Digital Mirror this Saturday, photographer Wendy McMurdo reflects on Avatar (i) (2008), a work inspired by the relationship between player and avatar in online gaming.

Photographed at Camperdown’s ice rink in Dundee where young skaters had previously aided 3D motion-capture technology for a Nintendo game, the suspended figures in Avatar (i) appear frozen mid-action - like paused frames from a game awaiting instruction to move forward.

Displayed alongside Henry Raeburn’s iconic portrait of The Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch, the work creates a striking dialogue across centuries, highlighting technological and social advancement through two very different visions of skating.

Wendy McMurdo: The Digital Mirror opens Saturday 30 May at the Portrait gallery in Edinburgh. This exhibition completely free and open daily.

Wendy McMurdo, Avatar (i), 2008. Image courtesy of the artist and Patricia Fleming Gallery, Glasgow © Wendy McMurdo. All rights reserved, DACS 2026

29/05/2026

It's time to get your thinking caps on 🧢 for this month's

https://bit.ly/4wLwLEG

28/05/2026

27/05/2026

Today we launch our Strategic Plan to 2030, setting out the first steps in our long-term vision to transform access to Scotland’s national art collection. Our aim is that everyone, regardless of age or background, can experience the benefit of art.

At the forefront are children and young people, recognising that early engagement with art can spark lifelong creativity, curiosity and wellbeing. This includes the introduction of free entry to ticketed exhibitions for everyone under 18, beginning this summer with Gwen John: Strange Beauties at Modern Two and Catherine Opie: To Be Seen at the Royal Scottish Academy. We will also be strengthening our schools' offer and expanding our family programmes to deliver deeper engagement from an early age.

At the heart of our strategy is The Art Works, a major new free-to-visit home for over 130,000 artworks to complement those on display in the National, Modern and Portrait galleries. It will transform how Scotland’s art national collection is cared for, shared and experienced, while opening up new opportunities for learning and participation for young people across Scotland through more loans across the country.

To deliver this incredible new building we need to reprioritise, so our summer exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy building will move to a biennial schedule with the next one planned for 2028. Our other galleries will, of course, remain open and free for all to enjoy.

Our work has never been more important. According to new research, in 2024/25 National Galleries of Scotland contributed £253million to Scotland’s economy through tourism, jobs and cultural activity. While 84% of our visitors report that their experience has a positive impact on their wellbeing, reinforcing the growing evidence that access to art supports health, creative confidence, community resilience and social connection.

We are so excited for the journey ahead. This significant milestone will lay the groundwork for a future where every child and young person in Scotland can build a meaningful relationship with their national art collection.

You can read more about our new Strategic Plan on our website:

https://www.nationalgalleries.org/about-us/plans-policies/strategic-plan-2026-2030

25/05/2026

In 1955, after buying her own cottage, Joan Eardley became deeply connected to the village of Catterline, its people and the surrounding landscape.

Most of Eardley’s iconic seascapes were painted outdoors here - her process immersive and physical, sometimes embedding grasses, sand and seed-heads directly into the surface of her work.

In this film, local resident Ron Stephen reflects on Eardley’s relationship with Catterline, offering a glimpse into the place that shaped her practice.

A beautifully illustrated book, Joan Eardley: A Sense of Place was also published alongside this film and our previous exhibition. It expands on Joan’s story, tracing both her rural landscapes and her candid depictions of children in Glasgow. Drawing on a remarkable archive of sketches and photographs, many previously unpublished, the book reveals her working process and the journey from observation to finished painting.

Joan Eardley: The Nature of Painting is open daily and is free at Modern Two. If you can’t make it or simply want more, explore the wonderfully insightful publication via the link in our bio.

15/05/2026

North Edinburgh Community Festival is tomorrow!

Join us at North Edinburgh Arts at 10.45am to take part in the parade. The Festival starts at midday and is on till 5.30pm.

You'll find us in the North Edinburgh Arts tent - where we will be continuing collaborative conversations on community and connection. We will have prints and cards available, and Art in the Open cargo-trike will provide materials for getting creative.

See you there!

North Edinburgh Community Festival is this Saturday 16 May, and we can’t wait to join other local organisations and groups for an amazing day at West Pilton Park.

Local children and families and our Art for Grown Ups Group, with friends from Royston Wardieburn Community Centre and the adult art group in Wester Hailes, have been making wee banners with messages of community solidarity. Look out for these in the parade or join us to walk in the parade together (we're meeting at 10.15am at NEA).

At the festival, find us at our NEA tent for creative sessions for children, adults and families with our CREATE, Saturday Arts & Dance, NEA Youth Collective and Art for Grown Ups groups. All sessions are drop in so pop along any time throughout the day!

We’ll be finalising slogan for our community banner for the future so join in the conversation and share your ideas!

Also, there will be surprises from our friends at Imaginate UK and National Galleries of Scotland so come say hi, join in the fun and be part of the festival experience. See you on Saturday!

📷Members of the Art for Grown Ups Group stand in the NEA Garden holding colourful handmade banners with messages including 'Always Stronger Together', 'Community Power Solidarity', 'United We Stand', 'Belonging', 'Black Lives Matter' and 'Poverty is Not a Choice', ahead of the North Edinburgh Community Festival 2026.

09/05/2026

Free world-class art is already on your doorstep, but this spring, we brought it even closer!

You may have spotted our recent brand campaign online, where familiar city views, from Leith Walk to Salisbury Crags and The Meadows, became unexpected homes for some of Scotland’s most iconic artworks.

We returned these works, in their own way, to places that echo their stories: The Monarch of the Glen trotting through Leith, Callum the dog sniffing around the Meadows, and a view of Edinburgh captured on the very spot it was first painted on from Salisbury Crags.

Elsewhere in the city, Newhaven harbour, the Grassmarket and Murrayfield also became part of the story - from a Varo finding its free-flowing place by the water, to Mary Queen of Scots parading through the Old Town, and Doddie Weir returning to his pitch.

With thanks to our friends at for welcoming us pitch-side with painting of Doddie Weir and also Foundation for the amazing work they do. Special mention to the appearance too!

Admission to the National, Portrait and Modern galleries is free and yours to discover.

08/05/2026

Free world-class art is already on your doorstep, but this spring, we brought it even closer!

You may have spotted our recent brand campaign online, where familiar city views, from Leith Walk to Salisbury Crags and The Meadows, became unexpected homes for some of Scotland’s most iconic artworks.

We returned these works, in their own way, to places that echo their stories: The Monarch of the Glen trotting through Leith, Callum the dog sniffing around the Meadows, and a view of Edinburgh captured on the very spot it was first painted on from Salisbury Crags.

Elsewhere in the city, Newhaven harbour, the Grassmarket and Murrayfield also became part of the story - from a Varo finding its free-flowing place by the water, to Mary Queen of Scots parading through the Old Town, and Doddie Weir returning to his pitch.

We’re also delighted to feature iconic mural of Arthur Williams, a much-loved landmark that continues to stop people in their tracks on Leith Walk.

Admission to the National, Portrait and Modern galleries is free and yours to discover.

01/05/2026

In Ripping Up the Rule Book, Shereen created the first tactile artwork in the national collection - a work designed to be experienced through touch. As a blind artist, Shereen challenges how we think about access and who art is really for.

This Granton Art Centre exhibition brings together artists from The Action Group, an organisation that supports and campaigns for people with learning disabilities to live full, creative and connected lives - whose works now sit alongside pieces from Scotland’s national collection, responding to artists like Leanne Ross, Viviane Sassen, Eduardo Paolozzi and Edward Bawden, while carving out something entirely their own.

We have limited spaces on a free tour next week on Tuesday, which you can book via the link in our bio!

If you’re part of a group and can’t make this date, email [email protected] to arrange an alternative visit.