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ENCOURAGE I FACILITATE I EXHIBIT I SUPPORT I PROMOTE
Established by Peter Warburton in 2013 the Warburton Gallery was formally opened by Ben Thomson, Chairman of National Galleries of Scotland in April 2014. It was housed in the prestigious Grade A listed India Buildings, on Victoria Street in the centre of Edinburgh, and provided an exciting new platform for projects and events throughout 2013/17.
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The Warburton Gallery is a not-for-profit organisation founded with the aim of fostering the imagination, facilitating the creation of new art of the highest quality and enabling artists to experiment and take risks in their artistic practice, moving creative ideas to the fore. The gallery acts as an arena for ideas, discourse, collaboration and mutual support, all underpinned by strong curation and presentation. By utilising temporary spaces and not having the overheads of a set commercial space, we are able to encourage a more innovative and risk-taking program of exhibitions and events.
As a gallery we seek out interesting, historic or unusual properties which are sitting empty or waiting to be redeveloped, that in the meantime can be transformed into high quality exhibition spaces. This is of benefit not only to the ourselves and to art lovers in the city, but also to the owners of such properties, in terms of security and upkeep.
We aim to be a conduit between artists and art lovers, enabling patrons, whether private or commercial, to become involved in the realisation of artistic potential and by doing so help to enrich our cultural environment.
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‘It is brave to open a gallery but to do so in such a unique way takes enormous courage. The Warburton Gallery is different in that is run for artists by artists on a not-for-profit basis. The gallery's base is in the magnificently domed atrium at 1 India Buildings at the top of Victoria Street. However its purpose is to show artists’ work in different locations that create the right location for each exhibition, a "gallery without walls". Fortune favours the brave and I wish the Gallery all the success it deserves.’
- Ben Thomson, Chairman of National Galleries of Scotland
'I think that the Warburton Gallery is a hugely exciting and innovative idea greatly deserving of support, allowing, as it does, artists to take creative risks without the usual pressures of a commercial gallery. Their inaugural exhibition by Alison Grant ‘The Shape of Time’ demonstrates this brilliantly – it’s a wonderful show, beautifully curated in a stunning space.'
- Lady Deirdre Armstrong, Chair of The Art Fund, Edinburgh, former Managing Director of Bonhams Auctioneers and visiting tutor at the History of Art Department, The University of Edinburgh
‘The idea of using an interesting space like India Buildings in such an innovative way to make art accessible and exciting is exactly the type of project which Arts & Business Scotland is keen to get behind. We’re delighted to have been able to strengthen the collaboration between Warburton Arts and Stag Energy through our New Arts Sponsorship scheme and wish them every success with the project.’
- David Watt, Chief Executive of Arts & Business Scotland