The gallery in Cairngorms National Park that's going on sale after 25 years of 'magical exhibitions'

For the last quarter century, Braemar Gallery has attracted culture vultures and gig lovers. Now, it’s on the market, as owners Andrew and Kirsty Braidwood have decided to move on, and their business is available for offers in excess of £300, 000 as a going concern, via Galbraith.

The property covers 1288 square feet and includes gallery spaces, but also a workshop, kitchen, shower room and WC, plus a basement that’s been used as a music studio and to host concerts. If only the walls could talk. Since they can’t, we asked Andrew Braidwood to tell us more.

Are you sad to be moving on?

I’m very much looking forward to the next adventure. However, I am very fond of the business and the beautiful building here in Braemar. It has been a very special time in my life. I have built many long lasting and deep friendships with my suppliers, artists, locals and customers. One of the joys of having been in business such a long time is seeing the customers’ families bloom and blossom. Many, who I regard as friends rather than clients, have been returning for years.

I came to Braemar on April 7, 2000, and I found the residents and locals very welcoming and supportive and this has continued. Being part of a small rural community is something I had always dreamed of and living here is the closest thing you can get to living in a mountainous Alpine village but in the UK.

I am currently studying Audio Engineering at UHI Perth and now hope to pursue one of my other dream jobs as a sound engineer.

What have your best moments been in the last 25 years?

We have hosted some truly magical exhibitions and gigs. They would often involve dressing the gallery with coloured fairy lights and dimmed stage lighting - making for a truly transformative, otherworldly evening. The French singing group Tartine de Clous with Alasdair Roberts and Neil McDermott springs to mind. What a night.

Over the 25 years we have hosted workshops in screen printing and lino cutting. From our Tundra workshop. Kirsty has hosted wreath making and flower arranging workshops. These were very well attended and great fun (free Prosecco!). We have even hosted a whisky and gin tasting evening in conjunction with a local distiller. Recently we put on an evening for the local scouts to gain their arts and crafts badges and I did some work with the Third Age group on memory and drawing which was very rewarding.

Who have been your favourite artists to showcase ?

We have been super fortunate to build up a roster of amazing painters and printmakers over the years - we lovingly refer to this group as Team Tundra as we have a symbiotic relationship. It has been a privilege to see them develop. Regular visitors to the gallery will be aware of Jim Wylie’s vivid and precise oils on canvas, Ken Ferguson’s laser accurate acrylics and watercolours of Scottish mountains and winter woodlands. We have particularly enjoyed working with fellow printmakers Kitty Watt, Ashley Cook, Deb Wing, Lennox Dunbar and Clair Robertson and have a special bond with Peacock Printmakers in Aberdeen. Recently we have seen huge success with Garry Harper from Glasgow hanging alongside more local artists such as Janice Mcilwain who has been with us since day one. I was at art school with Jonathan Shearer and Lennox Dunbar was my tutor at Grays School of Art in Aberdeen , so it’s always a buzz to sell that kind of work and there is a genuine feeling of jubilance when we do. We have been lucky enough to deal with Gordon Wylie, Pam Carter, Colin Robertson, Fiona Haldane and many many more.

What bands have you hosted in the basement?

The gallery has a rehearsal room in the basement so we started to host live gigs in the main gallery. Our first was WHYTE: electronic composer, musician and Scottish Album of the Year-long-listed Ross Whyte (Aberdeenshire) and Gaelic singer, songwriter and twice-nominated Hands Up for Trad Gaelic Singer of the Year Alasdair C Whyte.

A personal favourite was a band from Glasgow called Awkward Family Portraits. That was a special night, with my brother driving the band up from the Dear Green Place in a Vauxhall Corsa with a double bass sticking out of the window. It was like something out of the Wacky Races.

The list goes on - so many wonderful nights, including Iona Fyfe and Jack Badcock, Jenny Sturgeon, Warren McIntyre and his Starry Skies, Monica Queen and Johnny Smilie, Lizzabet Russo and Graeme Stephen, Sister John, The Burning Hell…..and many many more.

What are your favourite spaces in the building?

The large bright gallery space - it has a lovely vibe and is pine-lined and slightly asymmetric. It is clean and bright and makes for a great shop/gallery space.

Like all artists I value my workshop/studio. it’s a more private area with a workshop and clean area - there are framing machines and endless bits and bobs that an artist collects. This used to be my flat when I first started the gallery - so for me it’s a very comfortable homey space.

What's Braemar like?

It’s one of those places that I visited as a child and it informed my vision of what a Highland village should look like. The feeling of being nestled in the hills is something I have always enjoyed. In recent years it has been lovely to witness the creation of lots of businesses such as wild swimming, Landrover and Highland experience tours alongside the more traditional tea rooms and pubs.

Do you hope that the next owners will want to continue the legacy?

Our hope is that someone would want to continue and take it to the next level. There is so much now-a-days that can be done with websites, social media and internet sales alongside the physical gallery. Someone with the right background and interests could take the business much further. The new owners will have a very solid base to launch the gallery into its new incarnation.

Who owned the gallery before you, and have you made any major changes to the building?

It was originally a grocer when it was built. During the war effort it was used by the Canadian Forestry Corps as offices. After that it was Bells Antiques of Aberdeen.

When I bought the gallery I added on a flat at the back for accommodation with a rehearsal room in the basement. Shortly after that I added a side gallery to facilitate solo shows and events.

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