A PUBLIC appeal has been launched by Edinburgh’s Fruitmarket Gallery to help fund the near-£4 million redevelopment project at the popular venue.
Currently closed for redevelopment, the gallery is getting ready for its Open Out project with more space for art, a new space for cross-artform collaborations, better facilities for all and a new learning studio.
The new Fruitmarket was originally due to open in the summer, but the coronavirus crisis seriously challenged both the timing and finances of the project.
It was revealed yesterday that the gallery has already raised almost 90% of the £3.9m target, but the public campaign will hopefully close the final gap and ensure that the Fruitmarket can continue to operate at the forefront of contemporary culture for decades to come.
The gallery is asking the public to help play their part in building a new future for the Fruitmarket, and has just launched a unique gift registry where anyone who has taken something away from their own experience of the venue can select a virtual gift they’d like to give back in return.
Through the gift registry, people can donate to the Open Out campaign by selecting one of these virtual gifts – whether a pair of coat hooks for the gallery’s brand new learning studios, a shelf for displaying hand-picked titles in the ever-popular bookshop, redesigned non-gendered and accessible toilets, or even a newly commissioned public artwork created in, and for, the revived building.
A Fruitmarket Gallery statement said it has “embarked on a transformational plan to upgrade the existing building – meeting the expectations of and revitalising relationships with 21st century art, artists and audiences – and seized the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take over a neighbouring building, bringing it into cultural use.”
The gallery aims to have three world-class exhibitions per year, a mix of solo and group exhibitions, with a diverse selection of artists representing the very best art of our time.
The statement added: “New connected, collaborative spaces will ensure we the Fruitmarket can continue our respected programme of excellence in the visual arts.”
More details are available by visiting https://fruitmarketgallery.myshopify.com.
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