Maclaurin Art Gallery

19/06/2026

It was a wonderful launch today. The entire team have worked extremely hard to bring you not one but two very special RSA200 Celebrating Together exhibitions and we are delighted to reveal them at last! Both shows were opened by Councillor Alec Clark, Portfolio holder for Culture, along with the galleries Programme and Engagement Officer Erin Crossan and Michael Clark, Trustee and curator for the Maclaurin Trust. Guest artists and Academicians Ade Adesina, Frances Walker and Bronwen Sleigh showcase their stunning work alongside the Maclaurin Collection, South Ayrshire Council's Collection and some key pieces on loan from RSA. An additional bonus... we also have in gallery one "Printmaking; A Recent History" carefully put together by curators lan McNicol and Michael Clark. Officially open from tomorrow (20th), we are open 7 days and entry is FREE!

18/06/2026

Almost ready to launch this special summer exhibition! Help us celebrate the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) marking their 200th anniversary with artwork from Royal Scottish Academy, The Maclaurin Collection and featuring guest artist, Bronwen Sleigh.

The celebrations begin tomorrow (Friday) as we hold the Private View launch at 4pm, with the show officially opening on Saturday. Catch it very soon!

07/06/2026

We bring you another top exhibition for July! Thoughtfully curated by Ian McNicol and Michael Clark, showcasing prints from the Maclaurin's permanent Collection, to include new acquisitions and specially selected prints from Ian's own collaborations as a Master Printmaker. We can't wait to share it with you!

02/06/2026

There's something very special ✨in the air this month! We are excited to be one of the many art galleries joining the celebrations this year with Royal Scottish Academy (RSA).

Our exhibition WELL CONNECTED: THE ROYAL SCOTTISH ACADEMY AND THE MACLAURIN COLLECTION launches 20 JUNE and will feature works from our permanent Collection, along with loaned works from RSA by the same artists. We are also delighted to welcome RSA Elect guest artist, Bronwen Sleigh, who will also exhibit as part of this exhibition.

We hope you can join the celebrations and see this fine collection. Check out our website to find more info about this special show, coming soon!
Here's the link:

The RSA run a year-round programme of exhibitions, artist opportunities and events from the Mound, Edinburgh, and care for a nationally recognised collection. The RSA support artists and architects through awards, residencies, scholarships and bursaries.

29/05/2026

Huge thanks to Visual Arts Scotland, along with their fabulous artists for taking part in the Future Folklore exhibition here at the Maclaurin. It was an “all encompassing” show and a great example of what's out there across the arts in Scotland. Well done everyone, your hard work is appreciated 👏

A reminder that you can still see ORBIT in the Patron's gallery, last couple of days. The quality works of HND graduates, Ayrshire College. Call in to view 👀 or purchase their art, to support these newly established artists 🫶

18/05/2026

We are into the final week of Visual Arts Scotland Future Folklore: The Art and Craft of Storytelling. Call in and check out the show before it goes! This has been a wonderful opportunity to bring this exhibition across and onto our doorstep here in the West. So, if you haven't been in yet, there's a superb selection of artwork available for your viewing or buying in this inspiring show.

Right now there's also a show bursting with fresh new talent in the Patrons Gallery, with the portfolio work of the HND students of Ayrshire College.

A great time to visit the galleries 🥳

11/05/2026

Another peek through the galleries at the current exhibition Visual Arts Scotland Future Folklore: The Art and Craft of Storytelling, on until 27 May. There's still time to see it...or call in again in case you missed something! 😉

08/05/2026

*A new exhibition launches this weekend in the Patrons gallery*

The Ayr Photographic Society's Awards Exhibition has ended and in its place we have the HND Art & Design students of Ayrshire College.

A chance to see the next generation of creatives and a fabulous opportunity for them to celebrate their months of hard work.

Visual Arts Scotland Future Folklore continues until 27 May and is showing in galleries 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Call in and get your art fix this weekend! Open 7 days and entry is FREE.

04/05/2026

Visual Arts Scotland's FUTURE FOLKLORE: THE ART AND CRAFT OF STORYTELLING

Folklore is never fixed. It evolves with each retelling, carried across generations through craft, song, ritual, and imagination. Ayrshire’s landscape; from its rugged coastline and selkie myths to the haunted ruins celebrated by Robert Burns, has long inspired stories that bridge the human and the otherworldly.

This exhibition brings together artists and makers who use craft as a vessel for storytelling. Weaving together the material and the mythic, they reimagine traditions and invent new narratives for the future.

From selkie legends that speak to belonging and transformation, to contemporary myths of migration, technology, and climate change, the works on display trace how stories are made tangible in clay, textile, wood, paper, sound, and performance.

Future Folklore: The Art and Craft of Storytelling celebrates the enduring power of craft to preserve, reinvent, and create tales that shape our collective identity; stories that root us in place while imagining what comes next.

We still have just over 3 weeks left of this huge exhibition! Plenty of time to call in and see the diverse range of work. There's definitely something for everyone to enjoy! 🤩

13/04/2026

If you're planning a visit, there is a lot to see right now! Check out the photography exhibition in the Patrons Gallery, as well as Visual Arts Scotland's whopper of a contemporary show in 4 of our galleries, until 27 May. Next door at Rozelle House Galleries, there is a stunning Celebration of Ayrshire Quilters exhibition 🪡

Here's a few selected artworks from the VAS show.