Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art – Modern One moving to three day week

Modern One will be open for three says a week from the beginning of November until 10 January 2021.

From Thursday to Saturday you can view the art indoors, but of course you can walk round the grounds and admire the outdoor art at any time the gates are open.

Modern One will be open seven days a week all of October but will be closed from 1 to 4 November and will then move to the new pattern.

The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern Two) will reopen on 24 October with the new major exhibition: Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema. It will be open 7 days a week. 

Sir John Leighton, Director General of the National Galleries of Scotland said: “We are delighted to be opening the Scottish National Portrait Gallery again with an exhibition featuring people’s experiences of 2020. We have received many queries from the public asking when they can visit again, so I’m really pleased that we have found a way to manage this demand within the constraints that covid-19 has placed on us.  This will mean that all four of the Gallery sites will once again be open and that once again we will be able to share the full breadth of our collection”. 

“I am very grateful to all the colleagues at the National Galleries who have worked very hard to create a safe and engaging experience for our audiences and I am also grateful to our visitors for their loyal support. The Portrait Gallery has always been a place that helps us to recognise individuals, experiences and spark conversations so we hope that the public will once again enjoy the beautiful surroundings and artwork.”  

This reflects that to open any gallery more staff are required to manage entry and oversee the Covid-19 precautions. The National Galleries of Scotland do not have the required number of staff to open all four of their galleries seven days a week.

 From 1 November 2020 it will open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and be closed to visitors from Sunday-Wednesday (inclusive). Note that this means that it will be closed from 1-4 November (inclusive).  

— Now 6 is currently on display until 10 January. This exhibition focuses on the theme of time and highlights the work of Scottish artist Katie Paterson. Paterson’s work explores deep time, the cosmos, and the place of humans in relation to these phenomena – ideas that have been central to the artist’s work for more than a decade. Among the works featured are Paterson’s mesmerising installation Totality (2016), a large-scale mirror ball featuring almost all known images of solar eclipses captured by humankind, and Light Bulb to Simulate Moonlight (2008), held in National Galleries of Scotland’s collection, which provides a lifetime’s supply of moonlight. Time appears as both a subject and a process of making in works by three further artists: Darren Almond, Shona Macnaughton and Lucy Raven. 

— A decision on opening days beyond 10 January 2021 will be made in the coming months. 

— The New Acquisitions: From Salvador Dali to Jenny Saville exhibition opens on 27 March 2021. 

— The café will continue to be open 7 days a week, 10-5. Booking is not required.  

— The shop will continue to be closed. Products are available for home delivery or click and collect at www.nationalgalleries.org/shop. 

— The toilets at the rear of Modern One will continue to be open 7 days a week, 10-5. 

— The grounds and sculpture trail will continue to be fully open and free to visit throughout the year. No booking is required.  

— All visitors must book a time slot for their visit at nationalgalleries.org/visit

Phyllis Stephen

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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.

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