National Museums Scotland listings

Exhibitions & displays
   
National Museum of Scotland     
Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF    
Open 10:00–17:00 daily   

Beyond the Little Black Dress 
Until 29 Oct 2023 
Special Exhibition Gallery, Level 3 
Ticketed (concessions available)

From design classics to cutting-edge catwalk creations, this exhibition deconstructs the little black dress and examines the radical power of the colour black in fashion. The exhibition will chart a century of fashion in a series of themed, immersive displays.

Iconic early pieces by Yves Saint Laurent, Dior and Jean Muir will be juxtaposed with recent looks by ground-breaking contemporary designers and brands like Gareth Pugh, Simone Rocha and Off-White. 

Find out more nms.ac.uk/Beyond-the-Little-Black-Dress

Rising Tide: Art and Environment in Oceania
12 Aug 2023 – 14 Apr 2024
Exhibition Gallery 2, Level 3
Free

Delve into the most important and pressing issue of our time, humanity’s damaging relationship with planet Earth. This urgent issue is felt especially deeply in Australia and the Pacific Islands where sea levels are rising due to climate change and the oceans are filling with plastic. Rising Tide considers our relationship to the natural environment through contemporary artistic responses to climate change and plastic waste by Indigenous Australian and Pacific Islander artists.

Find out more nms.ac.uk/Rising-Tide

Japanese Contemporary Design      
Until 30 Jul 2023       
Exhibition Gallery 3, Level 1      
Free entry      

From striking statement jewellery to prints and porcelain vases, this new free display considers how Japanese contemporary makers have combined innovative and traditional art, craft and design elements over the past five decades.   

The star object is Hitomi Hosono’s A Large Pine Tree Pool, a sculptural porcelain bowl with complex hand-carving made and acquired in 2019. Further highlights include Junko Mori’s intricate New Pinecone Silver Organism, and colourful body adornments by jeweller Suō Emiko’s adapted from metalworking and engraving techniques traditionally used in the making of Japanese sword fittings.      

Find out more nms.ac.uk/Japanese-Contemporary-Design

Events 

National Museum of Scotland     
Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF    
Open 10:00–17:00 daily   

Experts Radio Lab
8 Aug – 24 Aug
Various days and times
Hawthornden Court
Free, drop in

Experts Radio Lab and the accompanying Listening Station is a free, drop-in experience, set within our pop-up radio studio at the National Museum of Scotland. Interviews are shared live to an audience of fellow interviewees, their families and anyone who’s curious. Share your expertise with us or come along and learn from the masters! You never know what you’ll learn. A production by Alice Mary Cooper and Company.

Find out more nms.ac.uk/experts-radio-lab

Museum Late: Fringe Fridays
11 Aug & 18 Aug
19:30 – 22:30
£16 – £22

Fringe Fridays are back! Enjoy a unique flavour of the Fringe and explore the museum after hours. From comedy and cabaret to music and magic, handpicked performers will showcase highlights from their acts across two adults-only extravaganzas, alongside bars and entry to our summer exhibition, Beyond the Little Black Dress. Acts across the two nights include the Black Blues Brothers, Sunshine on Leith, Cirque Afrique and many more.

Book now nms.ac.uk/museum-late-fringe-fridays

BSL Access Evening: Beyond the Little Black Dress
15 Aug
18:00-19:30
Standard exhibition entry prices apply

Part of Edinburgh Deaf Festival, join us after hours for a Deaf-led BSL tour of key objects in the Beyond the Little Black Dress exhibition.

From design classics to cutting-edge catwalk creations, this exhibition deconstructs the little black dress and examines the radical power of the colour black in fashion. The tour will last around one hour with the chance to explore the exhibition independently afterwards.

Book now nms.ac.uk/bsl-access-evening-beyond-the-little-black-dress

Morning Curator Tour: Rising Tide
16 – 24 Aug
09:15-10:00 (doors open at 09:00)
Ticketed

Join curator Dr Ali Clark for an exclusive morning tour of our Rising Tide exhibition, delving nto the stories behind the exhibition and explore the innovative and artistic responses to climate change and plastic waste by Indigenous Australian and Pacific Islander artists. Add a voucher to upgrade your experience with refreshments in one of our museum cafés.

Book now nms.ac.uk/morning-curator-tour-rising-tide

Adult Workshop: Introduction to Fashion Illustration
09 Sep
11:00 – 16:00
Studios, Level 4
Age 18+
£45 – £50

Learn the fundamentals of fashion illustration in this drawing class with illustrator, Katie Braid.

Book now nms.ac.uk/fashion-illustration

Audio-Described Access Evening: Beyond the Little Black Dress
12 Sep
17:30 – 19:00
Special Exhibition Gallery 1, Level 3
Age 8+

Explore the Beyond the Little Black Dress exhibition supported by an audio-described tour of key objects, for those who are blind, partially sighted or visually impaired.

Book now nms.ac.uk/audio-described-access-evening

Film Screening: Fashion Reimagined
16 Sep
14:00 – 16:30
Auditorium, Level 1
Tickets £6 – £10
Age 14+

Join us for a screening of this 2022 documentary film following fashion designer Amy Powney of cult label Mother of Pearl, a rising star in the London fashion scene. Documentary Fashion Reimagined follows designer Amy Powney as she embarks on a three-year journey to create a sustainable clothing collection and transform the way we engage with fashion.

Book now nms.ac.uk/fashion-reimagined

National Museum of Flight
East Fortune Airfield, East Lothian, EH39 5LF
Open daily 10:00 – 16:00

Big Build Weekend
26 & 27 Aug
10:30 –16:30
Free with museum admission

Inspired by our current Brick History display, take part in our mass participation Big Build alongside LEGO experts Warren and Teresa Elsmore. You will be building part of a 3-metre-tall Saturn V rocket, the only launch vehicle to carry humans beyond low earth orbit to the moon, which will then become part of the Brick History display until November.

Book now nms.ac.uk/big-build-weekend.

Brick Sundays
3 – 17 Sep
12:00 – 16:00
Free with museum admission

Inspired by our current Brick History display, each Sunday we will have a different build theme. Choose to make something inspired by the theme or build your own creation. For something a bit more energetic, take part in our speed build challenge and see if you can make it to the top of the champions’ board.

Book your visit nms.ac.uk/brick-sundays

Conservation Hangar Tours
Until 31 Mar 2024
Free with museum admission
Booking required

See behind the scenes of the work carried out in the museum’s Conservation hangar with a guided tour and find out more about objects from the collection that aren’t normally on display.

Book now nms.ac.uk/Conservation-Hangar-Tours

National Museum of Rural Life   
Philipshill Road, East Kilbride, G76 9HR  
Open 10:00–17:00 daily

Nature Track Packs
Until 31 Aug
10:00 – 17:00
Borrow from the ticket desk
Free with museum admission and Annual Pass

Explore more at the National Museum of Rural Life this summer with our Nature Track Packs. Each pack contains fun ideas and activities to encourage children to engage all their senses to explore the countryside on a walk up to the farm.

National Museums Scotland listings

Published by

davepickering