Make the most of the bank holidays at the National Galleries of Scotland

• family events
• extended opening of five-star exhibition, Everlyn Nicodemus

There is something for everyone to discover at the National Galleries of Scotland over the upcoming Easter and May bank holidays.

Visitors will have the chance to enjoy a programme of family events and experience Everlyn Nicodemus on Monday 26 May, with an extra day added to allow bank holiday revellers to enjoy the exhibition.

Spanning the gallery’s entire ground floor of Modern One, Everlyn Nicodemus is open now and free for everyone to visit. Experience Everlyn’s colourful, defiant and searingly honest artworks, with over 80 drawings, collages, paintings and textiles from over 40 years of her career, from 1980 through to the present day.

Families can also get involved with some joyful Easter artmaking inspired by Everlyn Nicodemus. Over the Easter holidays, from Monday 14 to Friday 18 April 2025 between 2–4pm, families can drop into Art Space 1 at Modern One to play with patterns, create shapes, mix colours and more.

Or for those looking for autism-friendly activities this Easter, a drop in event will be held on Tuesday 15 April 2025, 10.30am–12pm. Meet other families, explore the galleries and take part in creative activities with an experienced team of artists.

Autism-friendly sessions at the National Galleries of Scotland are for children and young people on the autism spectrum – with their families – who may benefit from smaller group sizes and tailored activities to suit individual needs.

For those looking to dive deeper into the world of Everlyn Nicodemus, join the panel discussion on Friday 23 May, 3-4pm for free at the National or via the YouTube livestream.

To mark the end of her first ever retrospective, Everlyn Nicodemus will be in conversation with writer JJ Fadaka and artist and curator Khadea Santi. Together they will chat about the lasting legacy of Everlyn’s amazing exhibition. Plus, livestream ticketholders can watch back anytime.

There is even more to discover when visiting the Moderns, with a completely free offering across two galleries and two sculpture parks. Weave your way through two exciting buildings featuring leading artists’ works which define the Modern era.

At Modern One, delve into displays, shows and installations from the leading artists of today, both inside and outdoors. As well as Everlyn Nicodemus, discover a celebratory display to mark Bruce McLean’s 80^th birthday. Bruce McLean: I Want My Crown traces the Glasgow-born artist’s humorous, provocative and engaging six-decade long inquiry into sculpture.

Through works made across a range of media including photography, performance, painting, printmaking, film, and ceramics, this one-room display invites you to challenge your thinking about sculpture and expand your ideas of what art can be.

Get ready for captivating, light-hearted and all-encompassing experiences at Modern One. On arrival you will be in awe of the striking land feature Landform in front of the gallery, designed by landscape architect Charles Jencks. Explore the grounds and discover further sculptural works by other major artists including Pablo Picasso, Barbara Hepworth, Jackson Pollock and Tracey Emin.

Once you’ve explored Modern One why not head across the road to Modern Two to further explore the grounds. Plus, you can celebrate the centenary of the remarkable Scottish artist Ian Hamilton Finlay (1925-2006) taking over the ground floor of Modern Two.

Or why not head to one of the National Galleries of Scotland’s other sites. At the National, drop into the Family Art Hub, open until 20 April. Designed to help you and your family explore the Scottish galleries together.

The space offers a place to create and share your art, read the books on offer and play. You can watch short films about different art techniques or listen to what children and artists think about art and what it is for. Spark your senses and make shadows and shapes in the play area. 

At the Portrait visit Connections,a relaxed space for visitors to draw, read and chat about some of the ways in which we make connections through art. Bringing together communities, partner organisations, and artists, the displays highlight how we use art to find shared interests, discover social histories, explore issues and identities, and create new objects to tell new stories. 

Current displays include portraits of Govanhill, a project exploring different issues that impact young people across Scotland today. Using photography as a creative tool, the voices and views of young people from Big Noise Govanhill are represented.

Also featured are images from Dementia Friendly Gallery Socials, artwork made by young people in Edinburgh Children’s Hospital, the ITAC Relay and Rowan Alba homeless prevention charity.