This Saturday (22 March), The Causey will be brought to life by Folk Tales for New Scots, a one-off exhibition, live storytelling and on-street projection event courtesy of Beetroots Collective CIC and Causey Development Trust.
The exhibition will kick off at 7pm at The Causey (outside Buccleuch and Greyfriars Free Church) and is the result of a series of arts workshops for both locals and the immigrant and asylum seeker communities in Edinburgh, carried out in collaboration with storyteller Claire McNicol and aimed at fostering community ties through Scottish folklore.
Then from 7.30pm a bold and bright animation of this work will light up the historic buildings surrounding The Causey, bringing both the space and Scotland’s myths and legends to life.
Free to attend this is just one in a series of events created by Beetroots Collective CIC, in collaboration with Causey Development Trust, that bring together Edinburgh’s Southside community with locals and visitors from across the city.
The third of its kind in two years the event will also highlight the work of CDT volunteers who have been campaigning for 17 years to transform The Causey into a fine public space that prioritises people and can host community events.
CDT has shovel ready plans to turn The Causey into a safer, greener space that puts the wellbeing of people first with reduced motorised traffic, stylish seating, planters, trees and even a rejuvenated Police Box.
Perhaps most importantly these plans, designed by the award-winning landscape architects Ironside Farrar, will facilitate a much wider range of arts, culture and community events in the future. Members of CDT will be on hand at the event to discuss these plans with visitors.
Sarah Drummond, Chair of Causey Development Trust, said: “We can’t wait to host our first on-street projection event of the year at The Causey thanks to the incredibly talented Beetroots Collective CIC.
“These events exemplify why this space is so important for the well-being of Edinburgh residents, to help foster community spirit and breathe new life into underused parts of our city.
“We are very lucky to enjoy the support of locals and supporters hailing from all kinds of backgrounds and countries, and we are excited to see their work brought to life this Saturday 22 March, at The Causey.”
A special, one-off exhibition at the Portrait gallery in Edinburgh will chart the remarkable reign of King James VI and I, marking the 400-year anniversary of his death. Explore over 140 rare objects, many displayed together for the first time. Tickets are on sale now.
The World of King James VI and I will take visitors on afascinating journey through the complex lifeof a king who changed the shape of the United Kingdom. From 26 April until 14 September 2025, uncover more about this often-misunderstood monarch through ornate paintings, dazzling jewels, lavish textiles, and rare book and manuscripts, alongside some of the most iconic historical portraits from Scotland’s national collection.
Discover tales of friendship, family, feuds and ambition and dive deeper into the life of King James through key moments in his reign including his early childhood, the infamous Scottish witch trials, the Union of the Crowns, the treasonous Gunpowder Plot and early colonial ventures overseas.
This exhibition will not only bring King James’s story to life, but it will transport visitors into the world in which he lived and ruled, celebrating craft, visual arts, literature and performance from the 16th and 17th centuries.
Son of Mary, Queen of Scots, successor to Elizabeth I and the first monarch to rule over Scotland, England and Ireland, King James was born in Edinburgh Castle on 19 June 1566 during one of the most turbulent periods in Scottish history.
Following his mother’s forced abdication in 1567, James was crowned king of Scotland at just 13 months old. Religious reform and noble power struggles dominated his early reign, however his accession to the English throne in 1603 saw him become the uniter of kingdoms.
The World of King James VI and I will offer new perspectives on the King’s life by drawing on themes of contemporary relevance including national identity, queer histories and spirituality and belief.
Meet some of the most famous faces of the period through key artworks from Scotland’s national collection. Uncover more about his family ties and his closest confidants, and see striking portraits of Mary, Queen of Scots, his wife and Queen Consort, Anna of Denmark, and his father, Henry, Lord Darnley.
Accompany James as he grows from an orphaned boy king to established ruler of nations through a range of portraits and objects which document his life, loves and achievements.
The exhibition will give visitors the rare opportunity to view objects that were owned, or associated with King James, including books from his library and gifts he presented to his favourites, such as an intricate silver watch and a 17th-century penknife believed to have belonged to his son, Prince Henry Frederick. Skillfully hand-painted manuscripts by the Edinburgh-based writer and artist Esther Inglis, which were dedicated to the king and members of the court, will also be on display for the first time.
Embrace the pageantry and ceremony of the Jacobean court through sumptuous dress, jewellery, objects and designs from the 16th and 17th centuries. Come up close to original textiles, including a beautifully constructed ladies’ waistcoat on loan from the Fashion Museum in Bath. Embroidered with delicate flowers and adorned with ribbon fasteners, this stunning example of courtly fashion brings to life the lavish outfits depicted in the portraits on display.
The impressive Eglington Jewel (1610), on loan from The Fitzwilliam Museum, will also feature in the exhibition alongside related artworks. A rare surviving example of work by Edinburgh jeweller George Heriot, it comprises of a miniature portrait of Anna of Denmark enclosed in a crimson enamel case and adorned with the Queen’s initials set in diamonds beneath an imperial crown.
Visitors will be given the unique opportunity to view this exquisite jewel alongside a portrait of Lady Anne Livingstone, Countess of Eglinton (1612) in which she can be seen wearing the jewel.
Delve into the belief system in Scotland during a time where spirituality, healing and folklore were entwined with strict religious views. The World of King James VI and Iwill include an early example of the revolutionary King James Bible, on loan from the National Library of Scotland.
The King ordered a new translation of the Bible in 1604, with the version on display dating to 1611. Along with his deeply religious beliefs James was very superstitious and fixated on the occult, particularly the perceived practice of witchcraft.
His beliefs lead him to become instrumental in the origins of the Scottish witch trials. Amongst a variety of objects related to witchcraft will be an original copy of Daemonologie (1597), also from the National Library of Scotland.
This book was written by King James himself and documented the evils of Satan and the covens of witches who acted on his behalf. Daemonologie would go on to set a standard for identifying and persecuting thousands of people, mostly women, as witches, causing lasting notoriety to King James’s legacy.
Travel across the seas to explore James and his government’s reach into North America and East Asia in the 17th century as the exhibition uncovers Jacobean trading ventures and early colonisation projects.
The establishment of the first British colony on North American soil took place under James’s reign. In May 1607 the king granted a warrant to The Virginia Company and The Virginia Colony was founded on the indigenous lands of the Powhatan people called Tsenacommacah.
The colony base was named ‘Jamestown’ in the King’s honour. These colonial projects and settlements lead to the displacement and objectification of many indigenous peoples. Artworks and objects on display will include a print of the Powhatan woman Pocahontas, loaned by The British Museum.
Taken captive by the English colonists when hostilities between the Powhatans and the settlers escalated into conflict, Pocahontas was converted to Christianity and married to an English tobacco merchant John Rolfe. Pocahontas and Rolfe travelled from Virginia to England in 1617.
The print shows Pocahontas aged 21, dressed in Jacobean fashions, which she may have worn when she was presented at court to King James and Queen Anna. Pocahontas died in England and is buried in the cemetery of St George’s Church in Gravesend, Kent.
Experience the great loves and relationships that influenced King James’s time as monarch, from his marriage to Anna of Denmark, to his role as a father to Prince Henry Frederick, Princess Elizabeth and the future King Charles I.
The exhibition will also shed light on the King’s own identity and his role within contemporary queer culture, through exploring his relationships with his court favourites.
Personal letters and portraits will spotlight King James’s inner circle and favoured courtiers, including George Villers, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Robert Kerr, 1st Earl of Somerset, with whom he established close, intimate relationships and who harnessed great influence over his reign.
Thanks to a collaborative research project funded by The University of Edinburgh visitors to the exhibition will have the opportunity to be immersed in the sounds, sights and even the smell of King James’s world.
In collaboration with Dr Catriona Murray (The University of Edinburgh) and the historic scent designer Clara Weale, a bespoke scent has been created especially for The World of King James VI and I. Inspired by a 17th-century apothecary list, also on display, this unique aspect of the exhibition will allow visitors to experience the scent of the Jacobean court.
The World of King James VI and I at the Portrait gallery will be a unique exhibition experience, painting famous historical figures in a new light and connecting the people of the past with the people of today.
The exhibition is yours to discover at National Galleries Scotland: Portrait from Saturday 26 April 2025.
A portrait of Queen Elizabeth II standing against the dramatic Highlands landscape of Balmoral will be among almost 100 rarely seen photographs, negatives, and archival materials from the last 100 years now on display at The King’s Gallery in Edinburgh.
Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography will chart the evolution of royal portrait photography from the 1920s to the present day, unveiling the stories behind the creation of some of the most iconic images of the Royal Family.
The exhibition brings together little-seen vintage prints (the original works produced by the photographer, or under their direct supervision), contact sheets and proofs from the Royal Collection,alongside documents including letters and memorandums held in the Royal Archives.
It is the first time many of the works have been shown in Scotland, following the exhibition’s successful run in London.
Alessandro Nasini, curator of the exhibition, said: ‘Portrait photography is a creative process, and it has been fascinating to discover the careful decisions that were made to achieve such unforgettable portraits of the Royal Family, taken by some of the most celebrated photographers of the past century – fromDorothy WildingandCecil Beaton to David Bailey and Glasgow-born Rankin.
‘Although we may be used to seeing photographs on screens, the opportunity to see the original prints up close is rare, as they can’t often be on display for conservation reasons. With archival material providing context into how these photographs were made and used, I hope visitors will enjoy going behind the scenes into the process of creating royal portraits.’
A star work of the exhibition will be a striking photograph of Queen Elizabeth II by Julian Calder, taken on the Highlands landscape of the Balmoral Estate in 2010 (top).
Beneath an unpredictable sky and cloaked in the mantle of the Order of the Thistle, the late monarch braved the threat of rain and midges to achieve Calder’s vision, inspired by 19th-century paintings of Clan chiefs – as seen in a behind-the-scenes photograph reproduced on a panel within the exhibition.
In contrast, for her 2007 portrait of the sovereign, Annie Leibovitz – the first American to receive an official commission to photograph Queen Elizabeth II – used digital editing to superimpose the figure against a stormy sky.
The past century was an exciting time for portrait photography; techniques evolved rapidly, and the transition from a manual craft to an increasingly digital process is a key theme of the exhibition.
One of the earliest photographs shows the royal family – including the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret – smiling in soft-focus and framed by an oval vignette, typical of its time in 1934.
To achieve this effect, society photographer Marcus Adams had to adjust the lens of an enlarger, a device for producing a photographic print from the original negative, which will also be on show.
Later photographs will show how portraits became bigger and ever more colourful over the course of the century. The impact of Nadav Kander’s bold, 1.6m-tall headshot of King Charles III when Prince of Wales, taken at Birkhall for a 2013 cover of Time magazine,or Hugo Burnand’s jewel-hued official Coronation portraits in 2023, was possible thanks to advances in printing technology.
The close relationships between photographers and royal sitters will reveal themselves over the course of the exhibition, as seen in the intimate portraits of Princess Margaret taken by Lord Snowdon, born Antony Armstrong-Jones, before and after they marriedin 1960.
Further highlights include 19 portraits taken by Cecil Beaton, who enjoyed a long-standing relationship with the Royal Family. Beaton came to prominence photographing stylish society figures in 1920s London and was seen as a surprising and avant-garde choice when Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother selected him for the now-famous shoot in the Buckingham Palace Gardens in 1939.
Visitors will also see photographs from their last sitting together in 1970 after more than three decades of collaboration, with the photographs later released to mark The Queen Mother’s 70th birthday. Referring to their unique relationship, The Queen Mother wrote to him saying, ‘we must be deeply grateful to you for producing us, as really quite nice & real people!’
Visitors will discover the multitude of purposes royal portraits have served, from reputation-making portraits of a young Queen Elizabeth II for use on currency and stamps by Yousuf Karsh, to birthday portraits of Princess Anne by Norman Parkinson.
A handwritten memorandum from Queen Elizabeth II’s Assistant Private Secretary in 1953 reveals her suggestions for which Coronation portraits should be sent to Commonwealth representatives, used to thank Maids of Honour, and given as family mementos.
More recently, a photograph of Her Majesty Queen Camilla by Jamie Hawkesworth commissioned by Vogue shows The Queen with a book in her lap to represent Her Majesty’s passion for literature.
Following a successful launch in 2024, The King’s Gallery will continue to offer £1 tickets to this exhibition for visitors receiving Universal Credit and other named benefits. Further concessionary rates are available, including discounted tickets for young people, half-price entry for children (with under-fives free), and the option to convert standard tickets bought directly from Royal Collection Trust into a 1-Year Pass for unlimited re-entry for 12 months.
An accompanying programme of events will include:
Snapshots: Gallery Short Talks: A series of regular short talks taking an in-depth look at a different photograph each week and the story of its creation (6 March – 4 September).
Student Sessions: Curation and Conservation: An exciting opportunity for students in arts, heritage, and culture to hear from curator Alessandro Nasini, Senior Curator of Photographs, and Ashleigh Brown, Paper and Photographic Conservator, about what goes into an exhibition through interactive talks, workshops, and group discussion (27 March).
Curator’s Introduction: Alessandro Nasini, exhibition curator, will discuss the development of the exhibition and his personal highlights (11 April and 15 August).
Royal Portraits in the Press: In thisin-personlecture, Helen Lewandowski, Assistant Curator of Photographs, will discuss how iconic royal images have been shared in the media, from the printed press to social media (2 May).
Rankin: In Conversation: An exclusive digital event with exhibition curator Alessandro Nasini in discussion with renowned photographer Rankin, covering his techniques, work, and experience working with the late Queen (6 June).
National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh Until 27 April 2025 Free admission
nms.ac.uk/InjectingHope
An exhibition telling the story of the global effort to develop a COVID-19 vaccine is open now at the National Museum of Scotland.
Injecting Hope: The Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine explores the scientific principles and adaptation of innovative research behind this extraordinary endeavour. It looks at the UK-wide, behind-the-scenes work that accompanied the vaccines’ rapid development, production, transport and delivery and examines the sheer logistical challenges behind the worldwide rollout.
Revealing the inspiring stories of scientists and innovators collaborating around the globe to find solutions and save lives, the exhibition shows how these people have shaped the world we live in today.
Showcasing more than 80 objects and stories that were collected during the peak of the pandemic, it features artworks, interactives, and personal objects examining everything from the virus itself to the work done behind the scenes by volunteers and researchers to make huge innovations possible.
Highlights include the vial of the first COVID-19 vaccine to be administered worldwide, notebooks used by June Almeida, the Scottish scientist who discovered coronavirus in 1966 and artworks interpreting the story of the pandemic by artists including Luke Jerram, Angela Palmer and Junko Mori.
New content created for the exhibition’s Scottish run explores some of the uniquely Scottish experiences of the pandemic.
Sophie Goggins, Senior Curator of Biomedical Science at National Museums Scotland said: “The development and rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in record time is one of the greatest collaborative human achievements in recent memory.
“This exhibition tells the story of just how this extraordinary feat came to be; from the scientific breakthroughs which led to the creation of the vaccine to the countless individuals who helped to roll it out around the globe.”
Injecting Hope is presented by the Science Museum Group (SMG). It comes to the National Museum of Scotland as part of a national and international tour following its inaugural run at the Science Museum in London.
It forms part of a project with the National Council of Science Museums in India and the Guangdong Science Center in China, which, alongside the Science Museum, opened exhibitions in November 2022.
Injecting Hope builds on the work SMG has undertaken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including its COVID-19 collecting project, hosting NHS vaccination centres within its museums and public engagement events and materials.
The Injecting Hope project, including the international tour and UK national tour, has been generously supported by Wellcome. The Huo Family Foundation is kindly supporting the national tour of the exhibition.
Travel Agents of Change project showcases stories of flight-free holidays from Edinburgh
Local sustainable transport project Porty Community Energy launches an exhibition this coming Saturday featuring the stories of local people who have bucked the holiday trend and opted not to take a cheap flight to their vacations from the capital, choosing to travel more slowly instead.
Porty Community Energy launched their ‘Travel Agents Of Change’ project last November as a competition for people in Edinburgh, asking to be sent the best stories of flight-free travel from the capital.
The project organisers were delighted to receive more than sixty entries. The best stories have now been published as a colourful Zine that will be sold in bookshops across the city.
And a smorgasboard of colourful photos, top slow travel tips, recommendations for the best places to go, and quotes from contributors explaining the highlights of their trips, has been made into a 21 panel outdoor exhibition that will tour the city.
While some contributors to the project found scenic adventures in Scotland and the UK, many more travelled further afield.
Competition entrants shared their slow travel adventures which included a trip to a monastery in Belgium, taking the Eurostar to a hotel in Venice, family Eurorail passes to go skiing in the Alps, and biking and sailing in the Friesian isles.
What’s more, contributors argued that, far from being a second-rate option, travel by bus, train and ferry is the very best way to go on holiday, offering a chance to wind down, enjoy the view, and is very sociable too.
The aim of the exhibition is to persuade people of the delights of a flight-free holiday and to help make it easy to plan such a holiday whether they have a small family, are looking for something more active, or really want a once in a lifetime experience.
The first exhibition opening will take place in Portobello and will feature presentations from two of the contributors. Councillor Jane Meagher, Head of Edinburgh City Council will officially open the exhibition.
Future destinations for the exhibition will include a couple of weeks at the Water of Leith visitor’s centre in February, and a Pancake Day launch in Bruntsfield organised by BANZAI – Bruntsfield Area Net Zero Action Initiative in March.
Project coordinator Hazel Darwin-Clements said: “‘Less than 20% of the global population has been on a plane. It’s time we stopped seeing it as either normal or aspirational to fly regularly for holidays.
“As someone who now considers it quite normal to plan a summer holiday with my family using trains, buses or a car share, I know what great holidays there are out there for people who no longer wish to burn the excessive carbon needed for a cheap flight abroad.
“Dark, cold January is apparently the most popular time for people to book their holidays away. So this exhibition is to inspire this year’s holiday-makers – because it’s easier than you think to choose a flight-free holiday and there are so many hidden gems out there.’
The biggest exhibition of primate behaviour ever staged is returning to the National Museum of Scotland. From huge gorillas to tiny mouse lemurs, Monkeys: Our Primate Family (28 Jun – 30 Nov 2025) will explore the remarkable lives of our closest relatives.
The exhibition will bring together more than 50 species of monkeys, apes, lemurs and lorises, allowing visitors to come face-to-face with our primate relatives. Atmospheric lighting and naturalistic displays will create a jungle experience as visitors enter the exhibition and discover some of the rarest and most endangered primate species on earth.
Monkeys: Our Primate Family is the first exhibition of its kind, capturing primates acting as they would in the wild. Taxidermy specimens created for the exhibition reveal behaviours rarely seen by humans and demonstrate how primate species have adapted to survive in diverse environments.
The exhibition will also explore continuing conservation efforts to protect these extraordinary animals and their fragile habitats.
The exhibition first opened at the National Museum of Scotland in 2016 before embarking on an international tour. It returns to Edinburgh for a final time having been seen by over 500,000 visitors in six countries around the world.
Dr Andrew Kitchener, Principal Curator of Vertebrate Biology, said: ““We are all primates, but how much do we really know about our extended family?
“Following a successful global tour, this will be the last chance to experience this remarkable exhibition. Monkeys: Our Primate Family provides a unique opportunity to see these fascinating animals up close. Visitors will also learn about the threats facing primates and what we can do to protect them.”
Visitors to Monkeys will discover how primates have evolved and adapted, their unique methods of locomotion, and the tools they have developed to obtain food. A gibbon will swing through the trees while a chimpanzee fishes for termites.
The exhibition will also reveal the fascinating ways they communicate and their complex social systems.
A tarsier will be shown using ultrasonic communication and a vervet monkey will reveal how its different calls warn about each different predator.
The final section of the exhibition looks at conservation as well as some of the threats humans pose to primates today, including the climate emergency, conflict, and the bush meat trade.
Visitors will see endangered primates, including the Sumatran orangutan and the black-and-white ruffed lemur and learn about how we can make a difference to their survival.
The exhibition will be supported by a programme of public events.
Join us on the 23rd and 24th of November from 11am – 4pm for Sasha Saben Callaghan’s ‘Lives: Reimagined’.
The theme for Disability History Month Scotland 2024 is ‘Disabled People: Livelihood and Employment’.
Disability has been seen for many years as synonymous with non-employment or unemployment.
This of course is not true. Disabled people have always sought a means of surviving whether in begging, employment or on welfare or charity.
Sasha Saben Callaghan’s ‘Lives: Reimagined‘ project explores the experiences of some of the disabled ‘inmates’ of the poorhouses which used to serve the Granton area, St Cuthbert’s, North Leith and South Leith, and imagines a very different life for the ‘pauper’ occupants.
Kasia Molga, an acclaimed interdisciplinary artist, designer and storyteller invites you to explore her first iteration of How to Find the Soul of a Sailor, a deeply personal and innovative project that fuses the past, present, and future through the lens of artificial intelligence and memory.
This work is the result of The New Real 2023-2024 commission “Uncanny Machines” supported by the Scottish AI Alliance. Hosted at Inspace Gallery with additional support from Arts Council England, this unique early access version runs from December 12-21, 2024, and January 6-11, 2025.
Immerse yourself in a deeply personal journey to the future of our oceans and sailors’ time at sea. Experience the Mediterranean sea through the eyes of Molga’s late father, Tadeusz Molga, a devoted sailor.
During his voyages, he meticulously documented his passion for the ocean, a love he shared with young Kasia as she accompanied him on his ship. Fifteen years after his passing, Molga is left with a profound sense of loss and a collection of his cherished diaries. When the memories of their time together begin to fade, she turns to these diaries, clinging to the remnants of his voice and their shared experiences at sea.
Molga’s work captures an emotional and environmental journey highlighting the fragility of our oceans, the ever-changing work conditions of sailors, and speculates on the future and what her father would say.
Molga uses The New Real’s specialised experiential AI platform, The New Real Observatory, to reimagine her father’s words, projecting them 50 years into the future. This project is a powerful fusion of memory and technology, blending generative AI tools with climate data to create an emotionally charged narrative that visualises both the past and future of our oceans.
Molga’s exhibition uniquely combines English and Polish, creating a bilingual experience that delves into the profound topics of personal connection to climate change and the digital afterlife. Her work not only honours the enduring power of memory but also showcases the potential benefits and drawbacks of various artificial intelligence tools to preserve and transform our personal histories.
This exhibition is a must-see for those interested in the intersections of art, technology, and the environment, offering a poignant reflection on the future of our planet and the boundless possibilities of human-AI collaboration.
This November, art enthusiasts and pop culture aficionados are invited to immerse themselves in POP LIFE, an exhibition that explores the intersection of popular culture and contemporary figurative drawing, challenging traditional distinctions between high and low art.
Opening on Saturday, 2 November, POP LIFE features works by 13 Scottish and international artists, many of whom will be exhibiting in Scotland for the first time. Each artist uniquely engages with popular culture, referencing diverse influences such as music, film, fashion, literature, social media, and celebrities.
The exhibition highlights this interplay, using familiar language to delve into themes that expand traditional drawing practices.
Co-curated by artists Euan Gray and Witte Wartena, POP LIFE is a travelling exhibition previously showcased in Sweden (2022-23) and the Netherlands (2023). This iteration has been tailored to include Scottish artists and underscores the enduring allure of the human form as a reflection of identity and societal norms, drawing inspiration from art history, socio-political movements, and cultural shifts over the past six decades.
Visitors can look forward to works by renowned and early-career artists including Marcel van Eeden, Euan Gray, Paul McDevitt, Charlotte Schleiffert, Sandra Vásquez de la Horra, Witte Wartena, David Shrigley, Andrew Cranston, Laura Bruce, Marc Brandenburg, Donald Urquhart, Jamie Fitzpatrick, and Fiona Michie—all of whom draw inspiration from the imagery and messages of pop culture.
Over 80 works will be presented, with several new pieces created specifically for this exhibition.
Marc Brandenburg has transformed a room of the gallery with UV light, to explore unseen sides of Tiergarten Park in Berlin, whilst Laura Bruce accompanies her drawn tributes to country music icons with vocal renditions of their biggest hits. Edinburgh-based artist Jamie Fitzpatrick is showing his large-scale drawings alongside a new monumental sculpture, looking critically and who in society is publicly memorialised. Internationally renowned artist David Shrigley will present 16 brand new drawings, showcasing his absurd and humorous work.
Culture and Communities Convener, Val Walker said: “I’m delighted that the City Art Centre can showcase this fantastic iteration of the POP LIFE exhibition featuring the works of 13 exciting artists.
“I’m especially proud that it will mark the first time some of these artists have displayed in Scotland, and that we will be presenting works created especially for the exhibition.
“I’m sure visitors will be captivated by these pieces and engage with the ever-changing dynamics of art within society.
Curator Euan Gray, said: “In an era dominated by computer generated images, AI and 3D printing, this exhibition offers us a wonderful opportunity to champion the enduring appeal of traditional drawing, wholeheartedly embrace the language of pop culture and promote a remarkable group of Scottish and international artists for whom the human form remains an essential motif.“
Prepare to be inspired at National Galleries Scotland: Modern One, as Everlyn Nicodemus opens her first retrospective this Saturday
Spanning the gallery’s entire ground floor, Everlyn Nicodemus opens on 19 October 2024 until 25 May 2025, and is free for everyone to enjoy.
Experience Everlyn’s joyful, 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.
Following a 25-year break from the medium of painting, Everlyn Nicodemus will unveil a series of new artworks created especially for the exhibition.
To mark the opening of the exhibition, the National Galleries of Scotland has announced the acquisition of two powerful works by Everlyn Nicodemus. The Wedding 45 (1991) is from Everlyn’s largest body of work – an intricate and symbolic group of over 80 paintings produced in the 1990s.
The series was created during her recovery from a mental health breakdown, which the artist now understands to be linked to post-traumatic stress disorder, diagnosed some years later. The Wedding 45represents a resilient return to life, in all its beauty, difficulty and complexity. The faceless female body has returned to a position of strength and empowerment, with an equal relationship to the world around her.
A second work, Eva(1981) has also been gifted to Scotland’s national collection by Everlyn Nicodemus and Richard Saltoun Gallery, ensuring the artist’s legacy will continue long after the exhibition has finished.
Painted when Everlyn was living in Stockholm, Evadepicts the Old Testament figure of Eve (Eva in Swedish), pregnant and standing on a large red apple, with a bite taken out of it.
Her pregnancy and the apple both indicate that this work depicts her after Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden for consuming the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge.
The painting’s themes of pregnancy and birth, the Biblical focus on sin, and Eve’s victimisation are linked to the artist’s memories, from growing up in Tanzania, of the stigma that surrounded pregnancy outside of marriage.
As in many cultures, she recalls that young women were blamed for their unwanted early pregnancies, even when the result of rape. Eva is a painting that proudly declares the artist’s unwavering support for global reproductive rights.
Championing a belief that creativity is a form of healing, Everlyn’s work engages with themes including the global oppression of women, the enduring impact of racism and the artist’s own personal trauma and recovery.
Visitors to Everlyn Nicodemus will marvel at her bold and courageous use of colour, form, light and shade, inviting them to explore and question their understanding of identity, belonging and faith.
This stirring exhibition was made possible because Everlyn was the recipient of the prestigious Freelands Award in 2022. Presented by Freelands Foundation, the annual prize is gifted in support of women artists underrepresented in their field.
An artist, writer and curator, Everlyn Nicodemus was born in Marangu, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania in 1954. Living and working across Europe since the mid-1970s, Everlyn has made Edinburgh her home for the last fifteen years.
Throughout her career, she has taken an active involvement in community life, using her gift of expression to highlight the shared oppression of women. Her pioneering scholarship on African modern art and trauma studies has also informed her practice.
Since the 1980s, Everlyn has made paintings, collages and works on paper that explore violence against women, personal trauma and the isolation and dehumanisation of living within structural racism.
Everlyn Nicodemus will chart her career from those early days, with works including her very first painting, After the Birth (1980). At over two metres in length, this oil on bark cloth painting shows a large-scale image of a mother and child, brought to life through swirling black and white lines against a rich terracotta background.
The mother figure is seen protectively placed over the child; however, her face is covered by her hands, her body hunched in a state of recovery. This scene evokes deep emotions such as uncertainty and isolation; the often-unspoken elements of motherhood. Even in her earliest work, Everlyn’s skill as a visual storyteller is clear, compassionately highlighting women’s shared experiences and struggles.
From her earliest work to the newest, the exciting debut of Everlyn’s new series Lazarus Jacaranda (2022–24) will form a key element of this exhibition, signifying an end to the artist’s 25-year hiatus from painting.
Pic Neil Hanna
07702 246823
While not directly referencing the biblical character in the series’ title, the paintings consider themes of cyclical life and Everlyn’s belief that ‘art is resurrection’. Female figures, both archetypes and named individuals, are shown in relaxed and restful poses, their feet supported by flowers and petals that spring powerfully to life.
These paintings have much in common with Everlyn’s earlier artworks, from the colour palette and confident celebration of the female body seen in Silent Strength (1989–90), to the botanical elements present in The Wedding (1990–94). This marks a resurrection of Everlyn’s own work from the past, influencing her present practice.
This long overdue retrospective focussing on the life and work of Everlyn Nicodemus is a celebration of the compassion, creativity and care which she has led with throughout her 40 years as an artist. Everlyn Nicodemus is waiting to be discovered by new audiences at Modern One this winter.
Everlyn Nicodemus said: “This exhibition feels like the most important moment in my career, spanning over 40 years of my work. It’s especially meaningful to me that it’s happening here in Edinburgh, a place that truly feels like my home. Having lived as a nomad all my life, this is the first place where I’ve been able to live and create in one space that is both my home and my studio.
“It’s a rare and unique experience for any artist, and especially for a Black African woman artist, to witness a retrospective of their own, and of this scale, so I feel incredibly lucky. This exhibition is a journey through my whole artistic life, and I hope it resonates deeply with those who experience it.”
Pic Neil Hanna
07702 246823
Anne Lyden, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland said: “It is a great privilege to host the first ever retrospective of visionary artist Everlyn Nicodemus at Modern One this year.
“Everlyn’s exceptional artwork harnesses her incredible ability to communicate the most complex subjects with unwavering compassion. Her work serves to empower and inspire, but also sensitively demonstrates the therapeutic and healing powers of creativity.
“This exhibition also marks Everlyn’s return to painting after a 25-year break with the unveiling of a new series of work which we are excited to share with our audiences for the first time. We are thrilled to bring this exhibition to the people of Scotland and celebrate Everlyn’s remarkable career in the city she calls home.”
Pic Neil Hanna
07702 246823
Stephanie Straine, Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Galleries of Scotland said:“We’re so excited that Everlyn’s exhibition has opened here in Edinburgh, allowing visitors to encounter Everlyn’s astonishing creative practice of many decades.
“I feel truly honoured to have had the opportunity to work closely with the artist over the past three years to develop her exhibition and its accompanying publication.
“It’s been a privilege to be a part of this incredibly rewarding collaborative process that has time and again emphasised Everlyn’s rigorous scholarship, commitment to and celebration of art making, and deeply empathetic perspective on the complexities of our shared humanity.”
Pic Neil Hanna
07702 246823
Visitors to Everlyn Nicodemus can enjoy a free audio tour as part of their experience. Led by Everlyn herself, listeners will be guided around the exhibition as she highlights selected works and delves deeper into her inspirations, experiences and creative process.
Everlyn Nicodemus is accompanied by a generously illustrated catalogue, featuring a new interview with the artist by Perrin Lathrop (Assistant Curator of African Art at Princeton University Art Museum).
The book also includes essays from Professor Eddie Chambers (David Bruton, Jr. Centennial Professorship in Art History at the University of Texas at Austin), Catherine de Zegher (curator, modern and contemporary art historian), and Stephanie Straine (curator of the exhibition at the National Galleries of Scotland).
Everlyn Nicodemus is yours to discover for free at National Galleries Scotland: Modern One from Saturday 19 October 2024. Find out more Everlyn Nicodemus | National Galleries of Scotland. An adaptation of the exhibition will be presented at WIELS, Brussels in autumn 2025.
