Originally built as a fruit and vegetable market in 1938, The Fruitmarket Gallery has been operating as a visual arts space since 1974. Rescued by the Scottish Arts Council from threatened demolition, the building was initially shared between the Scottish Arts Council, the New 57 Gallery and the Printmakers Workshop. At the end of 1983 the Scottish Arts Council relinquished management of the building, and in Spring 1984, The Fruitmarket Gallery became an independent space with the continued support of the Scottish Arts Council. The Director in charge of this transformation was Mark Francis. He ran a programme that included memorable exhibitions by Lawrence Weiner, Nancy Spero, Steven Campbell and the celebrated group exhibition, The Mirror and the Lamp. Mark Francis left the Gallery in September 1987.

In July 1992, Graeme Murray was appointed Director of The Fruitmarket Gallery. Later that year the Gallery closed for a major refurbishment by Richard Murphy Architects. Richard Murphy opened up the space to public view by creating a glass frontage for the lower level of the Gallery and brought natural light into the top floor. He hoped to unite the triple purposes of an art gallery, a cafe and a bookshop increased visibility to the outside linking the visitor to their surroundings. Nevertheless, the structural fabric was left largely unaltered apart from a New York fire escape-style, centrally-placed, steel-pivoted staircase. The refurbishment has been the subject of several major architecture and design awards and attracts many visitors in its own right. MurrayÕs programme in the newly refurbished space included film work by Iranian artist Shirin Neshat, the incredibly popular king of kitsch, Jeff Koons, and the hauntingly beautiful work of photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto. After 11 successful years, Murray left to pursue other projects in 2003 and in May of that year The Fruitmarket Gallery appointed a new Director, Fiona Bradley.

Since her appointment to The Fruitmarket Gallery in 2003, she has overseen the rebranding of the Gallery and has refocused the creative programme, showing Scottish and International artists as part of the same programme, while also increasing the commissioning and publishing activity of the Gallery. Solo exhibitions of the work of Louise Bourgeois, Eva Hesse, Martin Creed, Cai Guo-Qiang, Nathan Coley, Ellen Gallagher, Aernout Mik, Louise Hopkins, Lucy Skaer, Simon Patterson, Fred Sandback and Fred Tomaselli have attracted increased audiences to the Gallery, while a new strand of group exhibitions, curated by artists and curators from outside the Gallery has included Tacita Dean’s An Aside, David Hopkins Childish Things and Dada’s Boys and Close-Up, Proximity and defamiliarisation in photography, film and art which is curated by Dawn Ades and Simon Baker.

The Fruitmarket Gallery is a publicly funded art gallery of national and international significance, and is Scotland’s leading contemporary art space. The Gallery’s principal aim is to make contemporary art accessible without compromising art or under-estimating audiences, and it presents world-class, thought-provoking and challenging exhibitions of contemporary art made by both Scottish and international artists in an environment that is welcoming, engaging, informative and always free.

The majority of exhibitions are curated and organised in-house. The programme consists of four to five exhibitions per year, of which the majority are solo exhibitions (a mix of Scottish, British and International artists), and one is an international and cross generational group exhibition, curated by artists, curators and scholars from outside the Gallery’s own curatorial structure. The selection of artists for solo presentation and ideas for group exhibitions is informed by the curatorial knowledge of the Director and other members of the Gallery staff; the mandate given to the Gallery as a public institution funded through the Scottish Arts Council; and the programming criteria outlined above.

Solo exhibitions present works by artists at varied stages in their careers. Artists who have attracted a certain amount of attention, and have achieved a body of work which demonstrates a consistent and intriguing project. This may be their first solo show in a public gallery in Scotland. Artists at mid-career, who have shown more widely, and whose work can benefit from the opportunity to be looked at in depth or from a particular angle. This strand of programming is particularly important in the case of artists from abroad who have not yet had the opportunity to show in this country, and for “forgotten” artists from Scotland and the rest of Britain, who have not had the major exhibition in Scotland their work deserves. Senior artists of undisputed reputation and success, a particular part of whose work may be appropriate for exhibition in The Fruitmarket Gallery. Not able to show either the artist’s entire output, nor even a representative sample, the exhibition should develop one idea explored throughout the artist’s practice, or alternatively focus on new work, whilst indicating from whence it came. The artist may be living or recently dead, but their work should be of current interest to contemporary artists and other audiences.

Group exhibitions: Themed exhibitions bringing together the work of a number of contemporary artists dealing with a particular issue or set of ideas. Consistent with the scale of The Fruitmarket Gallery, these exhibitions should not attempt to survey the ground, or to provide a comprehensive answer to questions about contemporary art; rather they should ask questions, and illuminate an area of current practice by the choice and juxtaposition of works.

Exhibitions are defined by the choice of curator, in which the defining eye of the selector is prominent in the content and meaning of the exhibition. Curators may include artists, curators, film-makers, architects Ð professionals with a stake in the development and understanding of visual culture, whose vision will refresh the curatorial voice of the programme. Exhibitions that are ideas-based rather than based on national, ethnic or medium groupings, international and cross-generational.

Commissioning is a vital part of The Fruitmarket Gallery’s programme. Presenting new art as a part of a developing art practice lies at the core of the Gallery’s mission, and is one of the best ways to connect artists and audiences. The Fruitmarket Gallery aims to commission new work as part of every exhibition, when appropriate, and when funds can be found. Recent sources of funding have included sponsorship from Bloomberg (for the commissioning of Nathan Coley’s The Lamp of Sacrifice: 286 Places of Worship, Edinburgh 2004, subsequently purchased for the collection of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art) and a three year grant for commissioning work by British artists from The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation (commissions so far from Christine Borland and Alex Hartley). The Fruitmarket Gallery does not own work that it has commissioned. However, the Gallery aims, where appropriate, to promote the acquisition of these works by national and international institutions in order that they have a life after they have been exhibited at The Fruitmarket Gallery.

Most outstanding projects in recent years:

The Fruitmarket Gallery’s exhibition programme prioritises the very best Scottish and international artists, emphasising new work in the context of a consistent and developing artistic practice. Since 2004, the programme has included work by international artists Louise Bourgeois, Fred Tomaselli, Ellen Gallagher, Simon Patterson, Rodney Graham, Fischli & Weiss, Cai Guo-Qiang, Fred Sandback, Matthew Barney, Jeff Koons, Marcel Duchamp, Paul McCarthy, Damien Hirst, Mike Nelson, Marijke van Warmerdam, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Aernout Mik, Alex Hartley, Roman Signer, Salla TykkŠ, Gillian Wearing, Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, Willie Doherty, Eva Hesse, Johan Grimonprez, Susan Hiller, Robert Gober and Jean Marc Bustamante. Scottish artists include Nathan Coley, Douglas Gordon, Louise Hopkins, Keith Farquhar, Callum Innes and Christine Borland, Lucy Skaer, Claire Barclay, Toby Paterson and Martin Creed.

The Gallery aims to give audiences the confidence to enjoy contemporary art and to understand the importance of art, artists, culture and creativity and their impact on individual and collective lives. The Gallery’s creative programme includes exhibitions, commissions, interpretation, education and publishing in both print and electronic forms. Gallery facilities include a website, a bookshop, and a café. The Gallery is physically accessible and family-friendly.

Forums and Seminars: The Fruitmarket Gallery organises an annual series of forums and seminars which promote critical debate on a variety of subjects relating to contemporary visual art and cultural issues. Subsequent publications are available from the bookshop.

Artists’ and Contextual Talks: The Fruitmarket Gallery delivers a range of artists’ talks and contextual talks delivered by academics during each exhibition. Recordings of talks are available to download from the resources page of the website.

Education is at the core of The Fruitmarket Gallery programme, offering groups and individuals a range of innovative ways to get involved with contemporary art. Activities include artistsÕ talks, seminars, writers’talks, workshops for adults, young people and children and families, free guided tours, school residencies and community outreach projects. The Fruitmarket Gallery provides a range of interpretative material, to extend the meaning and context of exhibitions. Gallery Information Assistants are available daily to provide free tours and to answer questions about the themes explored in the work. A free exhibition guide is available during each exhibition which is available in standard format, large print and e-mail.

Short Exhibition Films are produced for each exhibition by Brian Ross. Featuring interviews with artists and curators, they are shown in the reading room and are available on DVD priced £15 from the bookshop. Complimentary copies are available to schools when booking a gallery visit through the Opt in for Art programme. A resource room is available during each exhibition, which includes a range of publications and previously published texts on the exhibiting artists.

Practical Workshops: The Gallery’s workshop programme is delivered by practising artists. The programme aims to offer participants an opportunity to try out specific processes using a variety of materials which relate to work in the Gallery’s exhibition programme. Workshops for adults, young people and children are delivered during each exhibition. For information on the current workshop programme please refer to the events calendar.

Ways of Seeing Gallery Tours for 60+: During each exhibition the Gallery delivers the Ways of Seeing Gallery Tour, led by freelance educator, Mary Keegan. The tour offers an opportunity for people aged 60 and over to enjoy a guided tour of the exhibition with opportunities to ask questions and discuss the themes presented in the work.

Schools and Youth Groups Programme: Opt in for Art is part of The Fruitmarket Gallery’s education programme which aims to engage children and young people aged 7Ð18 with the Gallery’s changing exhibition programme by delivering events and projects for primary and secondary schools and youth organisations.

The Fruitmarket Gallery’s publishing programme has an acknowledged reputation for excellence, innovation and quality. The Gallery prioritises the production of books to accompany exhibitions whenever possible, as a vital support and resource for artists and audiences. There is no “house style” or prescribed scale or format for any Fruitmarket publication, rather the book that is produced is the one that is right for the artist and the audience in the context of other publications in print.

The Gallery seeks to co-publish where appropriate and has successfully done so with major distributors Hatje Cantz (2006) and Yale University Press (2009) as well as with peer arts organizations such as Kunstmuseum Lichtenstein (2006) and Modern Art Oxford (2008).

Strands in thepublishing programme include; artist’s monographs, emphasising new writing and the presentation of a practice in a context wider than the exhibition it accompanies; catalogues for group exhibitions taking the form of an extended illustrated essay; and educational publications which publish forum papers and set them within a wider context.

The Fruitmarket Gallery is spread over two floors and amounts to 500 square foot.