Art centre brushes up well after £1.2m refurbishment work

The 1.2 million revamp of the Market Street venue has seen it closed for more than 15 months.

Works by world-renowned American photographers Edward Weston and William Wegman will feature in the two main opening exhibitions.

Ian O'Riordan, 56, manager of the City Art Centre, said: "It's a great relief to be reopening. It has been strange being closed for so long. We have been closed since March last year, so it will be such a pleasure to get people coming back through the doors again.

"I'm very pleased with how the gallery looks. It's very bright, fresh and modern - everybody has been comparing it to Harvey Nichols!"

As part of the refurbishment, the shop and reception area have been relocated to the ground floor. A new cloakroom and improved toilets are also part of the revamp.

The first phase of the work saw the building's air conditioning and ventilation upgraded, improving conditions for gallery visitors as well as the artworks.

The renovated gallery will be officially opened today by Councillor Deidre Brock, the city's culture and leisure leader, at a reception for the summer exhibitions at 6.30pm.

She said: "It gives me enormous pleasure to welcome people back to Edinburgh's City Art Centre, which is looking superb after its refurbishment. As a major exhibition venue and home to the city's nationally important art collection, we were determined to ensure the gallery was in top condition and I'm confident visitors will agree we've done just that."

As well as the shows by Weston and Wegman, there will also be a free exhibition of works from the city's own nationally recognised collection of Scottish art. In Our Own Image will feature work on the human form, including both the clothed and naked body.

The City Art Centre's reopening comes just months after it received a grant for 80,628 from Museums Galleries Scotland. The funding will allow the city council to devote a whole floor to the permanent display of artworks from its collection.

The summer exhibitions will be on show from tomorrow until October 24.