It's our mission to make our venues user-friendly for all visitors. The City Art Centre Visual Guide is a go-to source of information for anyone visiting who is neurodivergent or has additional support needs (ASN). From planning your visit, knowing what to expect when you arrive, the things you will see and hear, as well as what to expect from the venue. Scroll further down this page to click on our Visual Story.
Located in the heart of Edinburgh close to Waverley train station, the City Art Centre’s aim is to champion historic and contemporary Scottish visual and applied arts.
Artworks from our Nationally Recognised collection of Scottish art are displayed on a rotating basis. Visitors can also enjoy our richly diverse programme of changing exhibitions, which include historic and modern Scottish painting and photography, as well as contemporary art and craft.
An escalator and lift provide easy access to six floors, and the Centre also houses a great shop on the ground floor. Admission is normally free, although charges apply for some temporary exhibitions. Mimi's Bakehouse is situated on the ground floor, open daily 9am-5pm (last sit ins at 4:30pm) offering coffee, cake and an all day brunch menu. (View a sample menu below or hop over to mimisbakehouse.com)
Explore
The City of Edinburgh’s art collection is one of the finest in Scotland, and includes works by the most important Scottish artists from the 17th century to the present day. It encompasses drawings, prints, photographs and sculpture as well as paintings, and numbers over 4,500 items.
Prints of many of the pieces in our collection can be purchased on ArtUK; below are just a few examples of our most popular images.
It is a richly diverse collection, ranging from civic portraiture to contemporary abstraction. It continues to grow, using a generous bequest left to the City in the 1960s, with a focus on acquiring contemporary work as well as filling historic gaps.
City Art Centre Access Guide
Click on the link below to download our comprehensive access guide and find out how you can get to and around the City Art Centre.
City Art Centre Visual Story Guide
View our detailed step-by-step visual story guide for the City Art Centre to help you plan your visit.
City Art Centre BSL Tour
For all accessibility enquiries please contact the venue on:
+ 44 (0) 131 529 3993
museumsandgalleries@edinburgh.gov.uk
Inspiring, astonishing, just perfect. Thank you. Visitor from Switzerland, August 2017
Exhibitions
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Through Line
David Connearn, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Andrew Lamb, Charles Poulsen, Frances Priest, Lara Scobie, Susan Mowatt, Rhona Taylor, Michael Walton
Sat 9 Nov 2024 to Sun 2 Mar 2025
Events
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ArtSpace in the City Art Centre
Free Family Activity Space in the Heart of the Gallery
Tue 13 Dec 2022 to Fri 13 Dec 2024 -
The Edinburgh of James IV
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Industry
Thursday 7 November 2024, 2:00pm -
Reviving the Trinity Stones: A Puzzle and a Treasure Hunt
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Industry
Friday 22 November 2024, 2:00pm -
Edinburgh: A history in twenty maps
A National Library of Scotland Partnership Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Conflict
Thursday 28 November 2024, 2:00pm -
St Giles and the Larger Burgh Churches in Scotland: 900 Years of Development
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Faith
Thursday 5 December 2024, 2:00pm -
Line Landscapes: A Drawing and Collage Workshop
Adult Creative Workshop to accompany the exhibition 'Through Line'
Friday 6 December 2024, 10:30am -
Gallery Tour with artist Rhona Taylor
Gallery Tour to accompany the exhibition 'Through Line'
Friday 17 January 2025, 11:00am -
‘Maister Cunyeours’ – the sixteenth-century Acheson Goldsmiths of the Burgh of Canongate
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Industry
Friday 17 January 2025, 2:00pm -
Mary Queen of Scots- Femme Fatale or a Victim of Circumstance?
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Conflict
Thursday 23 January 2025, 2:00pm -
Gallery Tour with Artist Susan Mowatt
Gallery Tour to accompany the exhibition 'Through Line'
Friday 24 January 2025, 3:00pm -
Described Tour for our Visually Impaired Visitors
Described Tour to Complement the exhibition ‘Through Line’
Saturday 25 January 2025, 2:00pm -
Edinburgh: The Birthplace of Printing in Scotland
A National Library of Scotland Partnership Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Conflict
Thursday 30 January 2025, 2:00pm -
Two Ways of Drawing
Artist’s Talk to accompany the exhibition ‘Through Line’
Friday 31 January 2025, 2:00pm -
Making an Impression: Printmaking in Edinburgh
Lecture to Accompany the exhibition ‘Inked Up: Printmaking in Scotland’
Thursday 6 February 2025, 2:00pm -
In Conversation with Michael Walton, Frances Priest, Rhona Taylor and Charles Poulsen
Artists' In Conversation to accompany the exhibition ‘Through Line’
Friday 7 February 2025, 2:00pm -
Line and Leaves - Exploring Plant Forms in Drawing
Adult Creative Workshop to accompany the exhibition 'Through Line'
Saturday 8 February 2025, 10:30am -
Adventures in Banking: The Scandals and Stories behind the Bank of Scotland’s First Investors.
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Finance
Thursday 13 February 2025, 2:00pm -
BSL Interpreted Tour of ‘Inked Up: Printmaking in Scotland’
Tour to Accompany the exhibition ‘Inked Up: Printmaking in Scotland’
Friday 14 February 2025, 2:00pm -
Gallery Tour with Artist Lara Scobie
Gallery Tour to accompany the exhibition 'Through Line'
Saturday 15 February 2025, 2:00pm -
I’ve an Angel in the Oven: The sublime art of William Wilson
Lecture to Accompany the exhibition ‘Inked Up: Printmaking in Scotland’
Thursday 20 February 2025, 2:00pm -
Etching in Scotland, 1765 – 1924: Seen through the collection at the National Galleries of Scotland
Lecture to Accompany the exhibition ‘Inked Up: Printmaking in Scotland’
Friday 21 February 2025, 2:00pm -
Gallery Tour with Artist Frances Priest
Gallery Tour to accompany the exhibition 'Through Line'
Saturday 22 February 2025, 1:00pm -
Pop Art, Pop Fashion: Exploring Contemporary Culture Through Line
Edinburgh College Annual Student Fashion Shows Inspired by 'Pop Life' and 'Through Line'
Saturday 22 February 2025, 2:00pm -
A different way of working : The prints of Wilhelmina Barns-Graham
Lecture to Accompany the exhibition ‘Inked Up: Printmaking in Scotland’
Thursday 27 February 2025, 2:00pm -
So, you think you know your National Covenant?
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Conflict
Friday 28 February 2025, 2:00pm -
Gallery Tour with Artist Michael Walton
Gallery Tour to accompany the exhibition 'Through Line'
Saturday 1 March 2025, 2:00pm -
Described Tour for our Visually Impaired Visitors
Described Tour to Complement the exhibition ‘Inked Up: Printmaking in Scotland’
Saturday 8 March 2025, 2:00pm -
Thomas Muir and the Martyrs’ Monument on Calton Hill
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Ideas
Thursday 1 May 2025, 2:00pm -
The Library of the Faculty of Advocates in the Scottish Enlightenment: A Locus for the Exchange of Ideas
A National Library of Scotland Partnership Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Ideas
Friday 2 May 2025, 2:00pm -
Edinburgh and the Act of Union 1707
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Ideas
Thursday 8 May 2025, 2:00pm -
In Conversation with Sara Sheridan and Leslie Hills
An In Conversation to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Ideas
Saturday 17 May 2025, 2:00pm -
The birth of football in Edinburgh
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Leisure
Thursday 22 May 2025, 2:00pm -
Life and leisure in Victorian Edinburgh
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Leisure
Friday 23 May 2025, 2:00pm -
Willie Rodger: Impressions of my Father
Lecture to accompany the exhibition ‘Inked Up: Printmaking in Scotland’
Wednesday 28 May 2025, 2:00pm -
The birth of rugby in Edinburgh
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Leisure
Thursday 29 May 2025, 2:00pm -
The Bombing of Edinburgh
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Conflict
Friday 30 May 2025, 2:00pm -
Happy Hands and Happy Faces, Happy Play in Grassy Places
Lecture in association with ‘Nurture through Nature with Children’s Books’
Saturday 31 May 2025, 2:00pm -
The Festival in the 60s
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Celebration
Thursday 19 June 2025, 2:00pm -
The Legacy of Edinburgh's Victorian Swimming Baths
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Leisure
Friday 20 June 2025, 2:00pm -
Watercolour Fairies and Storybook Creatures
Adult Creative Workshop in association with 'Nurture through Nature with Children’s Books'
Saturday 21 June 2025, 10:30am -
The Origins of the Edinburgh Festival
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Celebration
Friday 4 July 2025, 2:00pm -
Edinburgh Slavery and Colonialism Legacy Review Implementation Group
A Discussion to mark Edinburgh900: City of Diversity
Friday 11 July 2025, 2:00pm -
Lavender Menace: Queer Bookselling in Edinburgh
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Diversity
Saturday 19 July 2025, 2:00pm -
Petticoats and Plants - The Untold Story of Scotland’s Gardening Women 1800-1930
Lecture in association with ‘Nurture through Nature with Children’s Books’
Thursday 24 July 2025, 2:00pm -
If you can't see it, you can't be it: In Conversation with Sara Sheridan and Amina Shah
A National Library of Scotland Partnership 'In Conversation' to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Diversity
Saturday 26 July 2025, 2:00pm