A major project to create an internationally significant new setting for the world’s greatest collection of Scottish art is underway at the National Galleries of Scotland. The development will completely transform the way Scottish art is shown at the Scottish National Gallery (SNG), which stands in the heart of Edinburgh’s World Heritage Site.

The £22m scheme will create a new suite of galleries that will be directly accessible from the adjoining Princes St Gardens, and provide a light-filled, new home for the Gallery’s unrivalled collection of Scottish art, raising its profile for visitors from all over the world.

The project will create a beautiful new space in the heart of Edinburgh, which will be free for everyone to use and enjoy. A series of large windows, running the length of the new gardens-level façade, will fill the galleries with light and colour, and offer spectacular views over one of the most celebrated cityscapes in the world. Extensive new landscaping in the gardens will radically improve access to this much-loved part of the city, and the project will also create a larger shop, brand new café and more accessible restaurant.

Construction work on the project – which is supported by The National Lottery and Scottish Government – began in October 2018. During the two years of construction, the Gallery will be open as usual with free admission. The first milestone will be the opening of a new coffee shop this Christmas, followed by a refreshed restaurant and shop, as well as new steps and accessible paths by Spring 2019.

For more information about the SNG project look here: nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/features/scottish-national-gallery-project

The Scottish Cafe and Restaurant, the Hawthornden Lecture Theatre and selected gallery spaces will be available to hire at the newly refurbished SNG. To find out more about venue hire across all three National Galleries of Scotland sites, please get in touch at events@nationalgalleries.org