The dates for Edinburgh Macmillan Art Show 2025 have been announced. Taking place on Saturday 22 November and Sunday 23 November, the show will feature artworks from over 150 local artists with at least fifty percent of the proceeds going to help Macmillan Cancer Support.
This year, ‘Misty Night, Glencoe’ by Yulia Allan has been selected as the lead image to promote the show.
The Edinburgh Macmillan Art Show is free and open to everyone.
The Edinburgh Macmillan Art Show was created to raise essential money for a great cause whilst also increasing the exposure of local artists from Edinburgh and across Scotland.
It comprises a two-day exhibition at a central Edinburgh venue as well as an online gallery for those unable to attend the show. The event encourages the best in exciting and contemporary original artworks that are designed to be very affordable.
The artist decides how much of the price they wish to donate to Macmillan with at least half going to the charity.
About Yulia Allan
Yulia Allan is a professional artist and a modern contemporary landscape and seascape painter. Born in Ukraine and with close family members still there, she has embraced the land- and sea-scapes of Scotland to incorporate dramatic shifts of light and atmosphere as a central part of her work. Slightly abstract in nature, her work uses layers and textures to accentuate the ever-changing Scottish landscape.
Join us to reflect on the courage, sacrifice and unwavering spirit of humanity as we share stories of John Edmondstone, Joseph Knight and Ann Thompson, Malvina Wells and Jack Gladstone whose lives were marked by the Slave Trade and fight for freedom while discovering the darker side of the Scottish Enlightenment.
Reserve your free tickets, supported by The City of Edinburgh Council Edinburgh 900 Civic Fund, ahead of the Friday event at:
The much-loved Edinburgh Macmillan Art Show is back this month with a live show (25th & 26th November) plus an online exhibition (25th November– 3rd December) hoping to add to the £550,000 they’ve already raised for Macmillan Cancer Support spanning over two decades.
For the first time the show will be held in the Cornerstone Centre, St John’s Church (on the corner of Princes Street and Lothian Road) on 25th and 26th November. It will then continue online until 3rd December.
This limited time show is run purely by volunteers with a dedicated committee volunteering their time and expertise to orchestrate a highly professional art show for the 21st year.
This year, over 300 pieces of art will feature, at an estimated value of over £100,000. At least 50% of each piece sold is donated to the cancer charity.
These include works by Rosalind Lawless, Ian Darling, Lynn McGregor RSW, Wendy Helliwell, Charity McArdle, Marion MacPhee, Catriona Millar and Lakshman Wimalasena.
ALAN ARMSTRONG
Artist, Alan Armstrong, is a 48 year old neurodivergent adult with a diagnosis of ADHD and Autism. Throughout the various lockdowns he used Art Therapy for himself, but has also brought his creativity to artists with sight impairment and other additional needs. This experience has led to the development of ‘elevated abstract skills’.
He has collaborated with The Wee Hub (Living Memory Association) on Creative ADHD 2022, Remakery Refashion Edinburgh, ArtSquat, Edinburgh Stories with Sally Richardson, Out Of The Blue Drill Hall, Make Plastic Magic 2023 with Pianodrome and Hannah Evans, Out Of Sight Out Of Mind and REVOLUTION 2023.
Alan has two paintings in this years’ Edinburgh Macmillan Art Show and says he’s always had admiration for Macmillan and the work they do. “My family lost our Nana Morag and Uncle Jim to this horrible disease and the impact of watching them become ill was awful because we could not stop the hold it had on them.
“I want to support Macmillan to keep helping others who are amazingly courageous to keep fighting to live and live well. I hope you enjoy my Art as much as I do! I really thrive from giving back to my community.”
EVELYN MCEWAN
Artist, Evelyn McEwan, is a retired Biomedical scientist who, after a career working in Clinical Laboratories, has now taken to painting as a second career.
She started in 2004 with a class on watercolours but now paints in all mediums. She is a member of Veronica Liddell’s Corra Linn Artists Group in New Lanark and Sharon Bradley’s Biggar Botanical Artists Group and has three paintings in this years’ art show.
“I worked in NHS Clinical laboratories for 44 years helping to provide results for diagnosis, quick turn-around testing for patients waiting for chemotherapy and blood transfusion support for those who needed it. So, I saw at first hand the number of people affected by cancer.
“But it isn’t until your own family and friends are touched by the disease that you realise the amazing job Macmillan do for families and individuals. Art is a hobby for me, and I’m honoured to be able to use that gift to give something back and to support Macmillan.”
Matt Smith, Macmillan Fundraising Manager in Edinburgh said “I’m delighted to be working alongside the committee on the annual Edinburgh Macmillan Art Show.
“They are an incredible group full of talented, committed, and passionate individuals who come together to create one of the most exciting events in Macmillan’s Scottish calendar.
“We want to say a huge thank you to everyone on the Art Show committee for their support, for raising vital funds and helping raise awareness. It is thanks to the incredible dedication of volunteers such as these that we can continue to provide services to support people living with cancer at every stage of their cancer experience.”
The true value of the money raised, and the artwork donated is recognised in the services that Macmillan provides for cancer patients across Scotland.
In supporting the event, artists and art lovers are helping people to live their best possible life with cancer.
Macmillan’s Art Show is available to view online here:
Just Festival, Edinburgh’s social justice and human rights festival, is set to deliver a carefully curated hybrid of online and live events to celebrate 20th Anniversary.
The free to attend programme will run online and at St. John’s Church, Princes Street from 16th – 23rd August.
Helen Trew, who was recently appointed as the Festival Director for Just Festival, said: “Just Festival has been an important part of the Fringe for many years and, when I took over, I hadn’t expected it to be under the strange and unusual circumstances we all find ourselves in!
“We’d like to extend a special thanks to Helen Foord, CEO of ELE Global and Just Festival Board Member, who has gone above and beyond, volunteering her skill sets to support the delivery of this programme. Her skills and knowledge have been invaluable, and her energy has been amazing.”
ELE Global have volunteered their services to Just Festival, supporting them with all of their digital communications, project management, social media and event promotion.
Helen Foord, CEO of ELE Global, commented: “The Just Festival is an event very close to my heart, and directly linked with our own business values, as it works to challenge perceptions, celebrate differences and encourage dialogue on the key issues of our time.
“During these uncertain times, it’s never been more important for us to unite and support one another, so I have been delighted to offer my team, to help.”
The online programme, based on the theme of ‘transformations’, will draw together a programme of digital events accessible online via Zoom. These virtual events will create an important space for dialogue and platforms for engagement in local, national and international questions of social justice, equality and identity, both from the religious and non-religious perspectives.
The live element of the festival will take place at Cornerstone Centre, St. John’s Church on Princes Street from 18th – 22nd August. Stan’s Cafe will bring the internationally acclaimed ‘Of All The People In All The World’ back to Edinburgh.
In this simple performance installation, artists build small and large mounds of rice representing the political and social realities in the world: one grain of rice for the Queen, twelve grains for people who have walked on the moon, a pile for teachers in the UK, a heap for millionaires in Europe, and a mountain for people fleeing from war and disaster.
Visitors are invited to put their questions and suggestions to the artists, ensuring an ever-changing rice landscape. By making normally abstract statistics tangible and placing them in thoughtful relation to each other, this powerful work of art is witty, shocking and ultimately moving.
Helen Trew concludes, “Despite all of the logistical challenges and physical social distancing restrictions, we decided to carry on and rethink our programme in a way that would best maintain the unique spirit of the Just Festival and create the space for people to gather online to discuss those issues that most affect our lives today with our fantastic range of eclectic and expert panellists.
“This year has brought serious difficulties to our lives, and we are mindful of the insecurity left by the lockdown for many people. As a result, we have decided not to charge for our events however, if you are able, we would appreciate your support through our donation scheme on registration which will enable the Just Festival charity to sustain its work.”
