Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop scoops £3M prize

Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop has been named the winner of the £3M Arts Funding Prize for Edinburgh.

The £3M prize will fund the creation of ESW's Creative Laboratories, a world class research and production facility at its Newhaven site.

Designed by Sutherland Hussey Architects, the Creative Laboratories will be a unique new building situated alongside Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop's new sculpture centre. It is expected to open in 2013.

The Creative Laboratories will provide a mix of indoor and open-air workspaces around a central courtyard. Together with the sculpture centre, the Laboratories will create a vibrant cultural hub of benefit to the whole city. The addition of viewing areas and a café will open up the space to visitors.

Irene Kernan, director of Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, said: "This is an amazing opportunity for Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop which will enable us to fulfil our ambitions to create a world class sculpture centre in the city. We are very fortunate to have an internationally renowned architectural practice on our doorstop in Sutherland Hussey Architects. The Arts Funding Prize represents a major investment in future generations of artists and will be a major resource for our local community in Newhaven as well as the city as a whole." 

ESW’s Creative Laboratories beat off stiff competition for the prize from the Scottish Book Trust and Edinburgh College of Art.

The Scottish Book Trust

The Scottish Book Trust’s proposal was to significantly improve the Trust’s premises at Sandeman House, off the Royal Mile. With a more useful space, the Trust hoped to work collaboratively with neighbours and colleagues in the literature sector, such as the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust, the Scottish Storytelling Centre and the Scottish Poetry Library, to create Scotland’s Literary Quarter. The Trust also wanted to create an education centre within the nearby historic Trinity Apse (currently the Brass Rubbing Centre).

Edinburgh College of Art

Edinburgh College of Art planned to create a secure, modern and highly visible gallery space to display rare works of art from its own extensive collections. And provide a state-of-the-art gallery space to valuable works from touring collections, which are too small for larger galleries in the city. The proposed design – which includes large outdoor sculptural plinths - would have made the College more visible and accessible to the wider community.

Please use the following link to read the press release.