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 see 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
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 -
Clay Landscape Tiles
Family drop-in session to complement ‘Adam Bruce Thomson: The Quiet Path’
Saturday 18 May 2024, 11:00am -
In Search of Joan Eardley in Glasgow and Catterline
Keynote talk by Susan Mansfield to accompany the exhibition ‘Shifting Vistas: 250 Years of Scottish Landscape’
Saturday 1 June 2024, 2:00pm -
Fire-Space: How Edinburgh shaped Global Fire-Safety Standards
Lecture to complement the exhibition ‘Edinburgh Rising from the Ashes: 200 years of the Scottish Fire Service’
Thursday 27 June 2024, 2:00pm -
Fire Investigation Dogs: The History and Science Behind Fire Investigation
Lecture to complement the exhibition ‘Edinburgh Rising from the Ashes: 200 years of the Scottish Fire Service’
Friday 5 July 2024, 2:00pm -
Uniquely Edinburgh
Adult Creative workshop to complement ‘Adam Bruce Thomson: The Quiet Path’
Saturday 6 July 2024, 10:30am -
Collaging Edinburgh
Family drop-in session to complement ‘Adam Bruce Thomson: The Quiet Path’
Saturday 6 July 2024, 2:00pm -
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service: 200 years of History
Lecture to complement the exhibition ‘Edinburgh Rising from the Ashes: 200 years of the Scottish Fire Service’
Thursday 11 July 2024, 2:00pm -
Serenity and Strife: The Art of Robin Philipson
Lecture to accompany the exhibition ‘Adam Bruce Thomson: The Quiet Path’
Friday 19 July 2024, 2:00pm -
Printed Landscapes
Family drop-in session to complement ‘Adam Bruce Thomson: The Quiet Path’
Saturday 27 July 2024, 11:00am -
Disasters of the 19th Century Old Town - A focus on the Great Fire 1824 and Paisley Close 1861
Lecture to complement the exhibition ‘Edinburgh Rising from the Ashes: 200 years of the Scottish Fire Service’
Thursday 1 August 2024, 2:00pm -
The Union Canal
Lecture to accompany the exhibition ‘Adam Bruce Thomson: The Quiet Path’
Thursday 8 August 2024, 2:00pm -
Queen of Edinburgh: Anne Redpath and her Circle
Lecture to accompany the exhibition ‘Adam Bruce Thomson: The Quiet Path’
Friday 16 August 2024, 2:00pm -
A View from my Window
Family drop-in session to complement ‘Adam Bruce Thomson: The Quiet Path’
Saturday 17 August 2024, 2:00pm -
Phyllis Bone: Edinburgh’s Animal Sculptor
Lecture to accompany the exhibition ‘Adam Bruce Thomson: The Quiet Path’
Wednesday 21 August 2024, 2:00pm -
The History of Edinburgh College of Art: Professor Duncan Macmillan
Keynote Lecture to accompany the exhibition ‘Adam Bruce Thomson: The Quiet Path’
Thursday 26 September 2024, 2:00pm -
Down the Quiet Path: In Search of Adam Bruce Thomson
Lecture to accompany the exhibition ‘Adam Bruce Thomson: The Quiet Path’
Friday 27 September 2024, 2:00pm -
An Original Perspective
Adult Creative workshop to complement ‘Adam Bruce Thomson: The Quiet Path’
Saturday 28 September 2024, 10:30am -
Edinburgh in the 1930s
Lecture to accompany the exhibition ‘Adam Bruce Thomson: The Quiet Path’
Thursday 3 October 2024, 2:00pm -
The Edinburgh School: Influences and Reflections
Lecture to accompany the exhibition ‘Adam Bruce Thomson: The Quiet Path’
Friday 4 October 2024, 2:00pm -
From Our Windows…..
Adult Creative workshop to complement ‘Adam Bruce Thomson: The Quiet Path’
Saturday 5 October 2024, 10:30am -
The Edinburgh of James IV
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Industry
Thursday 7 November 2024, 2:00pm -
‘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 -
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 -
So, you think you know your National Covenant?
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Conflict
Friday 28 February 2025, 2:00pm -
Edinburgh and the Act of Union 1707
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Ideas
Thursday 24 April 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 -
Life and leisure in Victorian Edinburgh
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Leisure
Friday 23 May 2025, 2:00pm -
The Origins of the Edinburgh Festival
A Lecture to celebrate Edinburgh900: City of Celebration
Friday 4 July 2025, 2:00pm