Monthly Bulletin

What's new at Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums...

It’s been a long winter but March sees the arrival of Spring and we’ve got a packed programme of concerts, talks and events to help you make the most of the brighter days. Pop in to the Art Gallery or Maritime Museum to enjoy our current exhibitions or join us at Aberdeen Treasure Hub for our open day on 8th March for a glimpse behind the scenes. With Mother’s Day this month too why not treat your mum to an exhibition pass for Artist Textiles: Picasso to Warhol or pick up a gift in the Gallery Shop. We can’t wait to see you.

Check out our new What's on guide for March - June 2025 here.

Exhibitions and displays

"The Rooster Fuller Fabrics 1955 made after the work "Le Coq 29-03-1938" by Pablo Picasso (detail). / Licensed by DACS, London
Pablo Picasso © Succession Picasso/DACS, London 2024

Artist Textiles: Picasso to Warhol
Until 13 April 2025
Art Gallery 
Adults £10 / Concessions £7 
Exhibition Pass £14 / Children 12 and under free 

This captivating exhibition arrives in Aberdeen following a major international tour. Tracing the history of 20th-century art in textiles, it explores how people were once able to engage with modern art in a personal way through their clothing and home furnishings. Artist Textiles: Picasso to Warhol showcases examples of key European and American art movements including Fauvism, Cubism, Constructivism, Abstraction, Surrealism and Pop Art, as well as the work of leading fashion designers and manufacturers.

Join curator Dennis Nothduft for an Exhibition Talk and Dame Zandra Rhodes for a book signing on Friday 7 March at Aberdeen Art Gallery.

Works on Paper: Women Artists
Until 15 March 2026
Art Gallery (Gallery16)
Free

Works on paper can be prints, collages or photography; they might be drawings made with charcoal or ink, painted with oil or dripped with acrylics, but all have one thing in common, which is that they are made on paper.

This new display of works on paper from the Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums’ collection by contemporary women features celebrated artists such as American photographer Francesca Woodman, Glasgow School of Art graduate Caroline Walker, Scottish figurative and landscape painter Bet Low and Elizabeth Ogilvie, the Scottish environmental artist renowned for her work exploring the impact of climate change.

Spotlight display: New acquisitions
From 14 March
Art Gallery (Gallery 19)
Free

Every year new objects enter Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums’ collection. Through a combination of gifts, bequests, donations and purchases we continue to breathe new life and meaning into the collection, guided by our Collection Development policy. This display features new acquisitions with a maritime theme, to celebrate the Tall Ships Races weighing anchor in Aberdeen from 19 to 22 July.

Tales from the Tall Ships
From 22 March
Aberdeen Maritime Museum
Free

The spectacular Tall Ships Races will visit Aberdeen for four days in July as part of this major international sailing event. The ships dock in Aberdeen from 19 to 22 July following a 430-mile nautical mile trip from Dunkirk. To celebrate the arrival of the fleet, this exhibition of paintings, ship models and photography highlights some of Aberdeen’s historic and cultural ties to these iconic, fast-sailing vessels, from shipyard construction to racing and competition.

Travelling Gallery: After Glass - Rachel McBrinn and Alison Scott
20 - 22 March, 10:00 – 16:00
20 March - Northfield Community Centre and Cummings Park Community Centre
21 March - Lochside Academy 
22 March - Union Terrace Gardens 

The contemporary gallery in a bus takes to the road in 2025 with exhibitions exploring the themes of the environment and climate emergency. It parks up in Aberdeen in spring with 'After Glass' by Rachel McBrinn and Alison Scott.

Developed from their time as artists in residence at the St Andrews Botanic Garden, the artists take the recent demolition of the St Andrews glasshouses as a starting point to rethink botanical conservation, presenting work in film and writing.

Listen at lunchtime!

Lunchbreak Concerts 
Thursdays, 12:45 (45 mins) 
Art Gallery (Cowdray Hall) 
Pay what you can to support our programme 

6 March
Lunchbreak Concert: Imma Setiadi and Nigel Clayton
Pre-concert talk at 12:00

Imma and Nigel return to the Cowdray Hall with a four-hand piano duet programme which celebrates the 150th anniversary of the birth of French composer Maurice Ravel. Alongside his works are his Frenchmen contemporaries, Debussy and Chabrier. As well as works by Ravel, the pair will also perform pieces by his French contemporaries Claude Debussy and Emmanual Chabrier.

13 March
Lunchbreak Concert: Glassworks

Glassworks write multifaceted music drawing heavily from jazz, folk and indie sensibilities and is made-up of Emilie Boyd (vocal) and Dan Brown (piano). Their stripped-back, intimate setup allows the freedom for honest music that focuses on poetic storytelling, strong melodies, and has an improvisatory flair. 

This concert is delivered in association with Aberdeen Jazz Festival.  

20 March
Lunchbreak concert: Joseph Long
Pre-concert talk at 12:00

This performance features George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, composed in 1924, tour de force blending classical music with jazz influences. Together with Joseph’s own arrangements of much-loved jazz standards, the whole programme showcases well-known compositions creatively reinterpreted and reimagined. 

Presented in partnership with Aberdeen Jazz Festival 

27 March
Lunchbreak Concert: Aberdeen City Music Service

Witness the budding musicians of the future as children and young people from Aberdeen City Music Service take the stage! Enjoy a diverse array of performances featuring students of all ages, playing a variety of instruments.

Lunchtime Talks
Wednesdays, 12:30 (45 mins)
Pay what you can

5 March
Art Gallery (Seminar Room)
Talking process

Two artists with very different making practices seek out common ground in this conversation inspired by Aberdeen Artists Society’s exhibition 'Process, Process, Process', on display in Gallery 2. Gerry Stott creates carefully composed narrative works painted in oils. Bryan Angus is an artist known for printmaking and painting. Gerry and Bryan are both Council Members of Aberdeen Artists Society.

19 March
Maritime Museum (Education Suite)
Imaging ocean organisms with weeHoloCam

Talk by Dr Thangavel Thevar, Senior Lecturer at School of Engineering, University of Aberdeen

WeeHoloCam is a state-of-the-art ultracompact underwater holographic camera developed by the University of Aberdeen. Discover how this innovative piece of equipment is used in the North Sea and in Scottish sea lochs to capture 3-D images of ocean micro-organisms such as plankton, providing marine biologists with vital evidence about the health of the marine ecosystem, including fisheries.  

Music and dance

Classics at the Cowdray
14 March 19:00 – 20:00
Art Gallery (Cowdray Hall)
£16 / £12 concession / £35 season ticket

Bond Classics
Author Ian Fleming originally intended his spy to be "a dull, uninteresting man". The character he actually created – James Bond 007 – was anything but dull: a suave, stylish and apparently indestructible hero. Each of the 26 Bond films opens with the iconic theme by Monty Norman and songs which have become classics – 'Goldfinger', 'Live and Let Die', 'For Your Eyes Only', 'Skyfall', 'No Time to Die' alongside many more. Nova Quartet present an evening which is sure to leave you feeling shaken and stirred!

Dunedin Consort: The Quality of Mercy - BSL Interpreted
30 March, 14:00 – 15:00
Art Gallery (Cowdray Hall)
£20 / £6 concession

Nicholas Mulroy leads Scotland’s only professional choir through music that invites contemplation and reflection in four of Scotland’s most beautiful acoustics. The season of Lent, a time of penitence for Christians leading up to Easter, has inspired composers over the centuries to write some of their most beautiful and heartrending music. In this programme, you’ll hear connections between renaissance polyphony, Francis Poulenc, and Cheryl Frances-Hoad. 

This performance is presented with British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation throughout and the BSL Interpreter will be facing the audience on the left of the stage.

Baby Boogie
Saturday 5 April, 10.30am-12.00pm
Aberdeen Art Gallery
£8 (1 adult + 1 child)
£15 family (2 adults + up to 3 children)

Enjoy fun-filled morning of popular music with DJ Nina in the Cowdray Hall at our monthly daytime disco for little ones to enjoy with their adults! Coffees, cakes and juices are available to buy in the café to keep you well-fuelled and boogie-ing away. 

Art and dance

Treasure Hub Open Day
8 March, 11:00 – 16:00(Last Tour 15:15)
Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Free

Aberdeen Treasure Hub is where we store and care for our amazing collection of artworks and artefacts when they are not on public display. Come along and meet some of our team and enjoy a short behind-the-scenes tour. Discover how we care for this remarkable collection which belongs to all of us in Aberdeen. 30-minute tours will run throughout the day on a first-come first-served basis, and there may be a short wait.

Visual Description Tour – Discover Aberdeen Art Gallery
13 March, 15:00 – 16:00
Art Gallery
Pay what you can

For blind or visually impaired visitors or for anyone who would appreciate more detail. Join curators for this tour of Art Gallery highlights which features stops in the Sculpture Court, Gallery 9 – Balmoral Phenomenon, Gallery 14 – Art of Empowerment and Gallery 15 – View of Aberdeen. Listen to rich and detailed descriptions, with revealing insights about objects on display.

Workshop: Cyanotype
15 March, 14:15 – 16:15
Art Gallery (Learning Space)
£22 / £18 concession

Explore the art of cyanotype photography, a camera-less technique that uses light-sensitive materials and UV light to create vivid blue prints. One of the earliest photographic processes, cyanotypes, or ‘Sun Prints’ were invented in 1842 by Sir John Herschel. Artist Kinga Elliott will guide you in creating images inspired by nature, personal objects or an abstract design.

Talk: Fashion Textiles - Celia Joicey
29 March, 14:00 – 16:00
Art Gallery (Cowdray Hall)
£10 / £7 concession

Join Celia Joicey Director of Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh for an insightful talk on the exhibition 'Artist Textiles: Picasso to Warhol'. Trace the history of 20th century art in textiles at this talk featuring the work of Georges Braque, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dalí, Sonia Delaunay, Raoul Dufy, Barbara Hepworth, Fernand Léger, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Henry Moore, Pablo Picasso, Ben Nicholson and Andy Warhol.

Learn about the important objects in the exhibition and how during the 20th century ordinary people were able to engage with modern art in a personal and intimate way through their clothing and home furnishings.

Family workshop: Introduction to Sun Prints
31 March, 10:30 – 12:30
Art Gallery (Learning Space)
£8

A cyanotype is a photograph produced through exposure to UV light. Sometimes called ‘sun prints’ they can be made outside or indoors. This introductory workshop, led by artist Kinga Elliott, takes place inside the Art Gallery, using specialist equipment.

Suitable for children aged 7-12 years. Children must be accompanied by an adult.  

Look after you wellbeing!

Stitching with the UFOs 
4 March, 13:30 – 15:30
Art Gallery (Learning Space) 
Pay what you can 

UFO stands for Unfinished Objects! Come along to this monthly stitchers’ meet up and take part in their latest project. Collectively, the group has  created some incredible pieces of work in the past, including a panel for the Great Tapestry of Scotland and kneelers for Westminster Abbey. Join in with the group work or bring your own unfinished small craft project and use this session to meet new people.

Our Aberdeen
6 March, 14:00 – 15:30
Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Pay what you can

Stay well, stay connected and learn something new about the history of the North East through objects in the city’s collection. These relaxed and sociable sessions are led by our fantastic community of local volunteers.

No need to book, just come along. These free sessions include a cup of tea / coffee and a biscuit. Everyone is welcome – we look forward to seeing you

Makers Mark 
Explore Aberdeen's innovation, creativity and industry through artworks, ship models and textiles.

Musical Memories 
7 and 21 March, 13:30 – 15:30 
Art Gallery (Cowdray Hall) 
Pay what you can 

Musical Memories is a friendly singing group for people with dementia, their partners, families and friends. Established and delivered by a dedicated group of volunteers, these sessions support wellbeing and improve brain activity, encouraging creativity and participation. 

The series is supported by Alzheimer Scotland.  

Inspired Gallery Meets 
21 March, 11:00 – 12:30 
Art Gallery (Learning Space) 
Pay what you can 
Create your own Pop Art stencil! With Flying Lion 
Come along to explore using simple objects as inspiration for creating your own Pop Art stencils and collages. Photographer, illustrator and graphic artist Flying Lion will guide participants in working with bold lines, vibrant colours and simple materials. 

Artroom with GHAT 
1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 March, 10:30 – 12:30 
Art Gallery (Learning Space) 
Pay what you can 

We are delighted to partner with Grampian Hospitals Art Trust to bring Artroom to Aberdeen Art Gallery. Led by professional artists, these weekly sessions are person-centred and welcome adults of all abilities to experiment with art making in a variety of materials.   

Support us and volunteer!

AAGM volunteers in McBey Library at Aberdeen Art Gallery organising books on shelves with our curators

Are you interested in art and history? Share your ideas, experiences or just your time and make a real difference to Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums.

Volunteers are involved throughout our Gallery and Museums and provide both public facing and behind-the-scenes support. Their commitment and dedication help us to research, interpret and care for our culturally important collection.

We welcome anyone who is over 18 and has the right to work in the UK as a volunteer. All we ask for is enthusiasm and an interest in the work of Aberdeen Archives, Gallery and Museums, our city, and its heritage.

Our volunteers work in collections care, event support, administration, visitor experience and on special projects. No experience is necessary as we provide training for each volunteer role, so you will always feel comfortable and confident when you volunteer with us.

Join our volunteer mailing list to receive regular emails about upcoming volunteer opportunities. Download our Volunteering Mailing Form and send your completed form to: aagmvolunteers@aberdeencity.gov.uk

Volunteer Opportunities

To receive monthly Bulletin alerts from us please email info@aagm.co.uk.