NEWS : Fruitmarket Gallery pop up at Newly Designed Waverley Mall

Waverley Mall in Edinburgh is delighted to welcome the arrival of renowned Bookmarket by the Fruitmarket Gallery - offering world class contemporary art in the heart of the city which will open a brand new pop-up in the mall from September of this year.

The contemporary art gallery will launch their innovative pop-up from mid September in Waverley Mall which is the latest innovative development in the transformation of the mall. Following the closure of The Fruitmarket Gallery on Market Street Edinburgh, the gallery will close for a full refurbishment and extension and they plan to re-open in 2020.

The award-winning Fruitmarket Gallery will be located at Waverley Mall on Princes Street, directly above Waverley train Station and can be accessed via Williams and Johnson Coffee Co. which is situated at the top of the historic Waverley Steps in the city centre. The opening of Fruitmarket at Waverley Mall is a very welcomed addition to the overall transformation of the mall as it becomes a destination in the heart of the city.

The Fruitmarket Gallery displays exhibitions with only the best Scottish and International artists and a wide variety of cultural and educational events throughout the year. They create a welcoming space for people to think with art in ways that are meaningful to them and it is complimentary. They believe that engaging with art in this way is enjoyable, leads to an improved quality of life, and revitalises our understanding of ourselves as individuals and as part of society.

Bookmarket by the Fruitmarket Gallery is an independent bookshop. Opening their pop-up in Waverley Mall from mid September, it will offer expertly selected niche titles, hard-to-find arts resource texts, artist’s books, and specialist books on typography, art theory, design, architecture and fashion, as well as a great selection of design-led products and cards from all around the world.

The Fruitmarket Gallery has been a key part of Scotland’s cultural landscape for forty five years showcasing world class modern and contemporary art to audiences worldwide. The Gallery will close its doors after the Edinburgh Festival on 27th August to allow the refurbishment work to take place before officially opening their doors in Waverley Mall in September.

Fiona Bradley, Director of The Fruitmarket Gallery said: “We jumped at the opportunity to work with our neighbours Waverley Mall, embracing the chance to meet new audiences in this busy part of Edinburgh. It is great to be able to keep our much-loved independent bookshop open, and to have a space for our Engagement team to run events and workshops during our closure.”

Waverley Mall and Fruitmarket are very much looking forward to working together on this exciting opportunity. During this partnership, the mall will also provide an office space for the staff team at Fruitmarket during this year of transition and there will be workshops, talks and performances plus some pop-up exhibitions. The first of these will be the culmination of 6 weeks of workshops on zine making by Fresh Fruit - the Fruitmarket’s peer led group of young people aged 16-25 years. The results of this workshop can be seen at Bookmarket from Saturday 26th October.

The brand new pop up from Fruitmarket at Waverley mall is one of the many latest and inspiring developments towards the overall vision to revitalise the existing space.

Daryll Bunce, Director of New Revenue Solutions, Moorgarth Group Ltd. says: “The addition of this Edinburgh institution, The Fruitmarket Gallery to Waverley Mall is fantastic news for us as they provide a very current and relevant offering to our customers which ties in perfectly with the overall vision we are striving for. This journey started 12 months ago with the opening of Williams & Johnson - Leith’s best coffee roaster in an amazing new store on the upper level of Waverley. This has become a real destination for great coffee in the city centre and following the success of this, we have established a brand new space for the Fruitmarket Gallery which continues to expand our offering and adds a whole new dimension to the mall.”