Inverness Creative Academy

02/06/2026

We want to introduce you to all the amazing craftspeople you can expect to meet at the Summer Artists and Makers Market at Inverness Creative Academy this June. Stop by on 18–20 June to shop from:

Erin Rothwell Designs creates a range of ceramics items including trinket dishes, jewellery and vases. She works from the Potter’s House in Muir of Ord to make work inspired by food and nature, including her strawberries and watermelon series.

Anne Richardson handcrafts unique pieces of jewellery using her silversmith training. Where possible, she creates work from 100% recycled sterling silver and ethically sourced stones. Anne likes to combine her different skills and techniques to produce unique pieces.

Liz Green is a painter based at Inverness Creative Academy. From her studio, she creates landscapes of varying scales, abstracted or in minute detail, to capture the beauty of the natural environment.

Mark your diaries for the Summer Artists and Makers Market:
Friday 19 (4pm–8pm), Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 June (10am–4pm)
at Inverness Creative Academy, IV2 3JP
Free entry and all welcome, including well behaved pups.

We’ll be sharing more on who’ll be in attendance over the next couple of weeks, so keep eyes peeled!

19/05/2026

Please visit us for Wasps’ Highlands summer exhibition, open now until June at Inverness Creative Academy.

Swing by Monday-Friday (9am-5pm) and Saturday (10am-3pm) until 24 June.

The showcase brings together work by artists based at Inverness Creative Academy and Links (Fishertown, Nairn), Wasps’ two Highlands locations.

Among those exhibiting are painters, sculptors, photographers, weavers and mixed media artists; Yelena Visemirska, Leila Ross, Dot Walker, Helen Ross, Rebecca Bolland, Liz Green, Shaun MacDonald, Fiona Matheson, Susan Mccreevy, Martin Irish, Katie Ward, Margaret Cowie, Evija Laivina, Emily Coulson, Jane Nestor, Deirdre McCrimmon, John Nicholson, Erika Vado, Gilyan Noble, Clare Blois, Ian Whyte, Marina Gjertsen, Jenny Hepburn, Alice Prentice, Katie MacDonald, Catriona Coghill, Morag Smith, Carolyn Johnson, Cecilia Mann, Steve Smith, Gael Hillyard and Ross McAteer.

11/05/2026

Dates and times are now live for our Summer Artists and Makers Market happening this June! See below. 👇

💛 We are very excited to be hosting our Summer Artists and Makers Market weekend this June in Inverness! 💛

Discover an amazing selection of Highlands-based artisans who'll be set up across the Gym Hall and selling from their studios within the building. Shop original paintings, prints, ceramics, textiles, jewellery and more, all directly from the talented people that made them.

Mark your diaries for:
Friday 19 (4pm–8pm), Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 June (10am–4pm)
at Inverness Creative Academy, IV2 3JP
Free entry and all welcome, including well behaved pups.

We'll share more about who'll be in attendance soon!

05/05/2026

Now showing at Inverness Creative Academy, the Royal Photographic Society's 2026 travelling landscape group's exhibition is installed on the iron fences just outside on Stephens Street.

The showcase features the powerful work of 51 international photographers, selected from over 4,000 artists, exploring themes of environmental issues, identity, community, family and culture. These striking images convey how contemporary photographers capture the world in ways that are both visually stunning and socially significant.

See the exhibition for yourself at Inverness Creative Academy on Stephens Street until 17 May.

10/03/2026

Here's the latest round-up of what's happening at Inverness Creative Academy this week. For contact details of organisers in order, see below:



emburey

13/02/2026

'CINQ' is an exhibition of work by five Inverness artists inspired by their regular visits to France. Meet the artists on Sunday 1 March, 3pm-5pm and see the show Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm and Saturday, 10am-3pm from 27 February until 13 April.

The work in the exhibition includes paintings and drawings in various media. Some have been completed en plein air in France whilst others have been worked on in the studio based on studies and supporting photographs. This group of five artists have known each other for many years and they are united by their love of the French landscape, climate, language and way of life. Three have studios at Inverness Creative Academy and the other two attend courses there on a regular basis.

Clare Blois is an oil painter living in Beauly, working from her studio at Inverness Creative Academy. Her expressive landscape paintings have won many accolades and have been exhibited widely over the years.

Margaret Cowie has taken her paints to France many times. She is well known for her flowing and direct use of line and colour, whether the subject be landscape, floral or still life.

As a student Elizabeth Joss spent a year in Millau, Aveyron as an English Language Assistante before going on to work as a language tutor and interpreter in French. A respected artist, she makes frequent trips to France.

Margaret McKay paints mainly in oil but also enjoys pastel and watercolour. The breathtaking highland scenery inevitably provides subject matter for many of her paintings but she is also drawn to still life, life drawing and architectural subjects.

John Nicholson has visited France with his oil paints for at least forty years. Painting en plein air, he has been able to enjoy the climate and immerse himself in the French way of life. Favourite haunts include the Tarn, Corrèze and Dordogne.

02/02/2026

Inverness Creative Academy, established by Wasps, is home to a incredible community of artists, designers and makers. Since its opening, the building has positioned itself in the Highlands region as being a cultural landmark, offering spaces that allow artistic careers to prosper.

Designed in the Beaux Arts style by local architects Ross and Macbeth and built in 1895 as Inverness Royal Academy, the school was based there until the late 1970s. In January 1913, a major extension was completed, which added the Gym Hall, science labs and art rooms. Photographs of these new spaces can be seen in images 1 and 3, taken by the school's photographer Andrew Paterson.

When the IRA was relocated to a larger building in the 1970s, the school became derelict, then cycling through a handful of municipal uses. In 2015, a public survey was carried out to assess the desire for studio provision in the Highlands. With 157 responses, it was determined that the region was lacking in dedicated arts space, and Wasps began the process of researching potential locations to acquire that would meet the needs of local artists and makers.

Today, over 40 visual artists and over 40 designers/creative freelancers call Inverness Creative Academy their workplace setting. Wasps is proud to serve the inspiring arts community from across the Scottish Highlands with the space and support to connect with their own community and develop their practice.

20/01/2026

Open now at Inverness Creative Academy, ‘Elements of Being’ by explores the inner landscape through abstract expressions of Earth, Air, Fire and Water, using colour, texture and light to evoke spiritual connection.

If you couldn’t make the opening, visit ‘Elements of Being’ by Erika Vado at Inverness Creative Academy Monday–Friday (9am–5pm) and Saturday (10am–3pm) until 24 February.

‘Elements of Being’ is a new body of abstract and semi-abstract oil paintings that explores the interconnected energies of the four classical elements – Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. These forces, ever-present in nature, also mirror our internal emotional and spiritual landscapes. Together they form the foundation of both the natural world around us and the quiet, shifting terrain within.

Born in Lithuania, Erika has a BA Honours in Art and has studied Fine Art and Art History. Her creative journey spans painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, and textiles, shaped by nearly two decades working in early years education. Working with children has been especially transformative, reminding her of the joy of discovery and the freedom of expression that continues to fuel her practice.

🔗 For more information on the exhibition and Erika’s practice, click the link in our bio.

19/01/2026

Open now at Inverness Creative Academy, 'Elements of Being' by Erika Vado explores the inner landscape through abstract expressions of Earth, Air, Fire and Water, using colour, texture and light to evoke spiritual connection.

If you couldn't make the opening, visit 'Elements of Being' by Erika Vado at Inverness Creative Academy Monday–Friday (9am–5pm) and Saturday (10am–3pm) until 24 February.

'Elements of Being' is a new body of abstract and semi-abstract oil paintings that explores the interconnected energies of the four classical elements – Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. These forces, ever-present in nature, also mirror our internal emotional and spiritual landscapes. Together they form the foundation of both the natural world around us and the quiet, shifting terrain within.

Born in Lithuania, Erika has a BA Honours in Art and has studied Fine Art and Art History. Her creative journey spans painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, and textiles, shaped by nearly two decades working in early years education. Working with children has been especially transformative, reminding her of the joy of discovery and the freedom of expression that continues to fuel her practice.

🔗 For more information on the exhibition and Erika's practice, click the link in our bio.

12/01/2026

Next up at Inverness Creative Academy: 'Elements of Being' by Erika Vado, with poetry by Helen Ross.

Open 15 January until 24 February 2026 at Inverness Creative Academy, this exhibition explores movement, emotion, and the elemental forces of nature through expressive abstract works.

✨ Preview night: Thursday 15 January (5pm–8pm)
Join us for the opening evening and enjoy complimentary beverages while viewing the exhibition.

📍 Inverness Creative Academy, IV2 3JP
🕘 Mon–Fri 9am–5pm | Sat 10am–3pm
🎟 Free entry