For over forty years, Collective has played a vital role in Scotland’s creative landscape, supporting the development of artists and their practice. Recognised nationally and internationally for our work with emerging practitioners, we also bring significant international artists to Scotland and the UK, often for the first time.
Since 2018 Collective has been based in the historic City Observatory on Calton Hill, at the heart of Edinburgh’s World Heritage Site. Following a major capital development project, we opened this Grade A-listed site to the public, creating a unique setting for contemporary art. These dual contexts – our long-standing commitment to artists and our site and location – inform everything we do.
Over the next three years, we will test out new approaches and work to engage wider audiences with our core mission and the histories and themes of our site on Calton Hill. We will focus on bringing our programmes out of our buildings and into the grounds and landscape, harnessing the rich potential of our hilltop setting and outdoor spaces to offer a place for artists and audiences to come together.
Our mission
We support artists at pivotal points in their career to test ideas, develop ambitious new work, and share them with our audiences. Through exhibitions, commissions, performances, family activities and community projects, we create meaningful opportunities for artists and audiences to engage with creative practice.
Our vision
Our vision is to be a new kind of observatory – one that inspires new ideas through the diverse practice of artists, and opens up different ways of thinking about Edinburgh and the wider world. We want our programmes to be accessible to all.
Our values
From our founding to the present day, artists have remained at the centre of our work. We consistently support new, experimental and emergent work – locally and internationally – and invite artists and audiences to explore art beyond the gallery in dialogue with different contexts.
We are working to embed our values across all aspects of our work with artists and communities, with visitors, and within our organisation.
We are bold – brave, experimental and forward-looking
We support artists to take creative risks and explore ambitious ideas. We believe contemporary art practice can inspire new perspectives and reflections – for artists to develop and share, and for audiences to engage with.
We are collaborative – generous and sharing
Our programmes and partnerships are shaped by a spirit of generosity and mutual respect – among artists, audiences, collaborators, and communities. We value collaboration as a way of working that supports learning and change.
We are inclusive – welcoming, listening, fair and open to all
We aim to be an organisation that is inclusive, welcoming, and respectful of everyone, regardless of their background, characteristics, or experiences. We believe that contemporary art flourishes through a multitude of viewpoints, and approaches. We are committed to providing an open platform for the work and ideas of artists, and we actively seek to remove barriers to access.
We are caring – for our society and our environment
We understand care as being central to our ethos and embedded in our ways of working – with artists, visitors, and participants in our programme, and with the site we occupy. This underpins our environmental choices, our commitment to fair work and to creating a safe space for artists and audiences. Our site is held in the common good, and we take seriously our responsibility to look after it with respect to support free public access.