The programme of residencies, commissions and curated projects devised at Hospitalfield aim always to negotiate and inspire an interplay between the heritage and history of the site and contemporary cultural ideas and practices.
We work with many partnerships and individuals to ensure that, from the semi-rural location on the east coast of Scotland, Hospitalfield plays a significant role within the national cultural ecology and increasingly develops a wider international network.
The site was first populated in the 12th century, but it was in the mid 19th century the artist Patrick Allan-Fraser—attentive to the innovations of his time, particularly to the early Arts & Crafts movement—made the architectural changes to the house and estate which transformed its monastic proportions to an ornate country house.
Inspired by his Presidency of the Royal Academy in Rome, (1875–1880) Allan-Fraser left his estate in Trust in 1890 to become a residential art school. The model has necessarily changed retaining a highly productive environment for artists and others to work, to study and learn and for visitors to enjoy. The organization is currently working on the first phase of a 21st century Future Plan, led by architects Caruso St John.
Image: Laura Aldridge, May the Dust of the Earth be Sweet to You. Installation, dimensions variable. Part of ILLUSION, Summer Season 2014, Hospitalfield. Photo: Ross Fraser McLean.