What a fantastic experience! First: there is the option of a free tour, I think most days. I couldn't recommend enough getting in touch to find out when it's happening. Everyone we met at the gallery was great. Beata, especially, was really supportive and helpful. However, Stanislava did our tour for us and she is a one woman phenomenon: not just a true enthusiast but spectacularly knowledgeable and passionate about sharing insights into the art, artists, the impact of different works and curation. Second: it's such an interesting collection, thoughtfully put together and very far from standard small city gallery fare. The Debbie Lawson carpet sculpture is a joy, a really arresting Benno Schotz bronze, there's fascinating work from Anne Redpath and Joan Eardley, and I'd not encountered Crosby before. A particular bonus was that many of the curator's notes normally found beside paintings were paralleled by notes written by local school children. What a brilliant idea. Third: we were there enjoying a brilliant event focussed on the work of JD Fergusson. The art gallery is now housing an incredible collection of his work, including material by Margaret Morris, as the other half of an artistic power couple. There's plenty else to see and, if you're really lucky, you might also get Stanislava on the tour ☀️

Really enjoyed a too-brief visit in here ( had a train to catch ) but intend to go back for a more in-depth look at all the wonderful artwork. Here you’ll find an eclectic and interesting collection of paintings, both classical and modern , all well set out , with good lighting. There are some wonderful old masterpieces to admire, an excellent selection of works by modern influential Scottish artists, along with sculptures & statues. Being a movie buff, my son was most interested in the immersive cinema exhibition. There’s a cafe, toilets, and a nice wee gift selection - and don’t forget to admire the ornate circular skylight windows .

The galleries are lit sympathetically and there is plenty of space to view the exhibits. I was most struck by the professionalism of two young curators a woman and man. Several pictures displayed unicorns. I asked a young man to explain to me the significance of these beasts which he did but incompletely. He quickly found another young curator and roped her in to explain a little bit more. She did. Apart from their enthusiasm and depth of knowledge I was moved by their care for me. They presumed neither that I was a complete dunce who was just interested in weird beasts, nor someone who was into the ins and outs of Zebra-ology. Both seemed to b a sensitive of my ‘level’ of existing knowledge. In other words they were both careful to build on what I knew rather than just unloading into my brain a.handy bucketful of stuff about unicorns. The gallery is lucky to have them - and so are we.