Venues
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A key factor in organizing any exhibit is the venue, whether you have to find your own venue or prepare an exhibit for a particular space
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This page offers a list of venues (click here), advice on approaching venues and other useful information on how you can develop your knowledge of venues and use that to plan exhibits and strengthen applications.
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Certain events will handle venues, Edinburgh Science Festival for example prefer that you make an application to their open call and if successful then they will let you know which venue they have in mind for you. Other events such as Glasgow Science Festival will expect you to provide your own venue, essentially expecting applicants to offer complete exhibits to be featured within their programme.
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When approaching a venue or any partner it is best to go in with a clear idea of what you are proposing. This isn't to say that you need to stick to it, but it is best to show that you have a clear organised plan that can then be developed.
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Some things to consider:
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- When you are looking to exhibit. Venues are often in high demand and more prestigious venues especially then you might need to make enquiries 12 months + in advance.
- Hire costs/applying for free use of space. Some venues will allow artists to use them free of charge or at a discounted rate.
- Why is this venue relevant to you and your proposed exhibit
- Logistics, especially how long will you need to install and uninstall your exhibit
- Any special requirements, for example lighting or hanging work
- Visitor flow. How will people move around the exhibit and have you catered for additional needs
- Health & Safety, including Public Liability Insurance. Depending on the nature of your exhibition, and the venue you are working with then you may need to complete risk assessments and show proof of insurance. Please see our Health & Safety section for more info
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Having a venue will be a big boost to funding applications. If you can secure a venue then funders will be reassured of the legitimacy of your proposal and any offer of free or discounted use of venue space can be described as funding in kind on applications. Even being able to say that you are in discussion with venues will help reassure other partners of your projects legitimacy.
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Less traditional venues
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It is also worth thinking outside of the box and looking at less traditional arts venues. Arts venues carry a certain amount of prestige and will offer to promote your exhibit through their own programme and social media, this is an excellent opportunity to help ensure visitor numbers and promote your project and any other partners involved.
But there are some less traditional venues are typically in high demand and other public spaces, for example shopping centres can offer excellent opportunity for public engagement as they receive very high foot fall and are used by very broad demographics.
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The good news is that there are many many venues you can approach!
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We hope our list of venues is helpful, most of the venues are based around Scotland's central belt, but we will keep adding to this and are happy to include any venues from further a field that are suggested to us
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Or if you are thinking outside the box then OuterSpaces is one very handy organisation which exists to help artists make use of commercial spaces which are not currently in use. They can tell you what is available in the area that you would like to exhibit. You may be offered an unused shop front or office.
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If you are unsure about approaching a venue, then please feel free to get in touch. We know how daunting this can seem!
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Venue Index
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With a long standing tradition of arts and science festivals, Edinburgh attracts a lot of competition for venues, but with preparation and clever thinking, you stand a good chance of finding a suitable location within this well renowned city
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Click here for Edinburgh Venues
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Glasgow has an excellent selection of well renowned venues, many of which will support new artists looking for their first opportunities to exhibit, as well as many other venues which operate on a grass roots level.
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Click here for Glasgow Venues
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We've been having a look at other interesting venues elsewhere in Scotland and even further a field, take a look here for what we have found so far
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