Edinburgh Printmakers

Edinburgh

UPDATE On Sunday 29th September for Doors Open Days 2024 we are hosting a deaf-led tour in British Sign Language delivered by Trudi Collier - book via this link https://edinburghprintmakers.online.red61.co.uk/event/7894:232/7894:1900 

Edinburgh Printmakers is a creative centre for printmaking and the visual arts in the Fountainbridge area of Edinburgh. It has a large light-filled printmaking studio running courses and workshops, two galleries, a shop selling original fine art prints and handmade products, venue hire space for meetings, events or learning activities, a café, a courtyard, and community garden.

Edinburgh Printmakers was established in 1967 as the first open-access studio in Britain. The studio facilities are open to anyone who would like to take a course or join as a member. In 2019 we moved from our former home on Union Street to Castle Mills, Dundee Street in Fountainbridge – a remarkable heritage building that has been a silk mill, a rubber factory for over 100 years and a brewery.

An interactive display, showing a map of Fountainbridge area, where our building is located. Visitors will be able to consider which smells they connect to this area, both today and in previous years when it was known for its brewing industry or rubber production. Using colour coded stickers, visitors will be able to place a sticker representing a specific smell on the areas they connect that with. This interactive display aims to map the heritage of industrial smell of this part of Edinburgh, and which specific smells people have been connecting or relating to throughout the years. 

Building tours throughout the day, visiting the printmaking studio and archive and learning about the rich history of Fountainbridge area and of the heritage building as Silk Mill, headquarters of the North British Rubber Company and later for the Scottish & Newcastle Ltd breweries. 

Children’s activity zine available in the building with pens and coloured pencils. The zine is created considering the Canal as a network channel, between different cities and towns on the central belt of Scotland, as well as contemporary communities who live and work along it. The Canal represents also a connecting route between past and present as well as an exchange of resources and inspirations for many people throughout history. It is also a link with our natural environment. These aspects are treated in the children activity zine, with games, creative prompts and fun facts for children to explore in and around the heritage building of Castle Mills in the guise of a treasure hunt.

Tours are scheduled for 11am, 12pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm meet in the café/courtyard (weather dependent) please book in advance to avoid disappointment!

2024 Theme - Heritage of Routes, Networks and Connections

Our Children activity zine is created considering the Canal as a network channel, between different cities and towns on the central belt of Scotland, as well as contemporary communities who live and work along it. 

 

Photo Credits

Castle Mills building as Edinburgh Printmakers – photo by Jim Stephenson
Interior of Castle Mills building as Edinburgh Printmakers with view onto the studio – photo by Jim Stephenson

Facilities

• Disabled Access
• Disabled WC
• WC
• Refreshments
• Hearing Loop
• Events For Children

Additional Access Information

We have a sensory map, which is accessible digitally on our website or as a hard copy at our front entrance. Edinburgh Printmakers partners with WelcoMe app which allows visitors to plan their visit ahead of time and inform the venue indicating the areas they need customer service to have awareness of and the specific assistance required.