New arts venue for Edinburgh

Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop has been named the winner of the £3M Arts Funding Prize for Edinburgh.

The £3M prize will fund the creation of ESW’s Creative Laboratories, a world class research and production facility at its Newhaven site.

Designed by Sutherland Hussey Architects, the Creative Laboratories will be a unique new building situated alongside Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop’s new sculpture centre. It is expected to open in 2013.

The Creative Laboratories will provide a mix of indoor and open-air workspaces around a central courtyard. Together with the sculpture centre, the Laboratories will create a vibrant cultural hub of benefit to the whole city. The addition of viewing areas and a café will open up the space to visitors.

Irene Kernan, director of Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, said: “This is an amazing opportunity for Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop which will enable us to fulfil our ambitions to create a world class sculpture centre in the city. We are very fortunate to have an internationally renowned architectural practice on our doorstop in Sutherland Hussey Architects. The Arts Funding Prize represents a major investment in future generations of artists and will be a major resource for our local community in Newhaven as well as the city as a whole.”

ESW’s Creative Laboratories beat off stiff competition for the prize from the Scottish Book Trust and Edinburgh College of Art.

The Scotsman reports that the £3m has been donated by a mystery anonymous donor.