Edinburgh City Art Centre ArtSpace

{Edinburgh} ArtSpace at the City Art Centre

Today we went to visit the City Art Centre, part of Museums & Galleries Edinburgh. The City Art Centre exhibits historic and contemporary Scottish visual and applied arts, including drawings, paintings, prints, photography, and sculpture. Art works are rotated in a programme of changing exhibitions, which means there’s always something new to see.

Edinburgh City Art Centre

During our visit today there were five different exhibitions on show, including “Auld Reekie Retold” (showing until 19 Feb), with lots of interesting objects for kids to look at that tell stories from Edinburgh’s past history, and photographer Ron O’Donnell’s “Edinburgh: A Lost World” (showing until 5 March), with images from the 1970s and 80s of unseen and forgotten Edinburgh shops and other places. My boys were really interested in both. But by the time you read this they may already have changed, so what I really want to tell you about is ArtSpace – the fantastic family area in the heart of the Lower Ground Floor gallery.

Edinburgh City Art Centre ArtSpace
Edinburgh City Art Centre ArtSpace

ArtSpace is a warm and welcoming space packed full of art materials with lots of different textures, where families can create art together. If you don’t know where to start there are some prompts around the room, but my boys didn’t hesitate and dove right in – then they told me to stop taking photographs and “come and make some art with us, mum!” So I did. We spent a happy hour there, drawing and cutting and sticking.

Edinburgh City Art Centre ArtSpace
Edinburgh City Art Centre ArtSpace

As well as all the art materials, there’s also a selection of worksheets to choose from relating to the exhibitions, including colouring sheets and activity sheets with prompts and details to spot in the artworks. We went to the ArtSpace at the end of our visit, but it’s worth popping down here when you first arrive to check if there are any activity sheets for the exhibitions you want to see (e.g. there’s a ‘Detail Detective’ activity sheet for the Ron O’Donnell exhibition).

Edinburgh City Art Centre ArtSpace
Edinburgh City Art Centre ArtSpace

ArtSpace is free to use, and admission to the rest of the City Art Centre is usually free too though donations are welcome and sometimes there is a charge for some of the temporary exhibitions. The City Art Centre and ArtSpace are open daily from 10am to 5pm, with last admission at 4:15pm, though check beforehand in case of any seasonal or unexpected closures. The building is also home to Mimi’s Bakehouse, which is open daily from 9am to 5pm and offers coffee, cake (including gluten free and vegan options), and an all day brunch menu. Further details about the venue and facilities can be found on the City Art Centre website.

Edinburgh City Art Centre ArtSpace
Edinburgh City Art Centre ArtSpace

The City Art Centre is located on Market Street, right in the city centre next to Waverley Train Station. It’s within a few minutes walking distance from Princes Street and the Royal Mile. The nearest tram stop is at St Andrew’s Square, and the nearest bus stop is Lothian Bus 6 on Jeffery Street, with other buses closes by on North Bridge, Waverley Bridge and Princes Street.


If you visit the City Art Centre, we would love to see some pictures so please feel free to tag us on Twitter or Instagram. Or check out our archives for more things to do in Edinburgh. And if anyone would like to support me with a small donation, which helps to keep this blog running, it would be much appreciated. Just hit the support button below. Thank you x


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