Collective announces 2026 programme
Collective announces an unmissable programme of exhibitions for 2026, spotlighting ambitious new projects by artists who have developed their practice in Scotland.
Article Source: Collective
Last Updated: 10 November 2025 9:15
Collective announces an unmissable programme of exhibitions for 2026, spotlighting ambitious new projects by artists who have developed their practice in Scotland.
Artists Paloma Proudfoot and Katie Paterson will present solo exhibitions of new and recent work in Collective’s iconic City Dome Gallery.
A new supported programme for early-career artists based in Scotland will culminate in two exhibitions benefiting up to five artists.
Time + Space: Early-career artists programme 2026
Collective is delighted to announce their new early-career artists’ programme, Time + Space following on from New Work Scotland (2000-2013) and Satellites (2014-2024).
Combining learning and professional development with group and solo exhibition opportunities, this annual open programme offers artists at the beginning of their careers support to make and present new work, and to engage with audiences.
Time + Space offers two possible routes designed to suit different levels of experience, resulting in a solo show in Summer 2026 and group show for up to four artists in the autumn.
For the two selection panels, Collective is excited to work with artists who have participated in previous Collective programmes for emerging artists, as well as leading curators and writers on contemporary art to select this first edition. Alberta Whittle (New Work Scotland 2005) and Aqsa Arif (Jerwood Survey 2025) will join Adam Benmakhlouf and Seán Elder as selectors.
The programme is open for applications until 14 December 2025.
Full details of the opportunities are available online from midday on Monday 10 November 2025: collective-edinburgh.art/programmes/time-space
Paloma Proudfoot
Collective’s 2026 programme will open with the first solo show in Scotland by Paloma Proudfoot, a graduate of Edinburgh College of Art (ECA). The exhibition brings together recent work, with new sculpture and performance devised specially for Collective’s City Dome Gallery.
10 years after her participation in prestigious emerging artist platforms Royal Scottish Academy’s New Contemporaries and Edinburgh’s Art Festival’s Platform, Proudfoot will present her solo exhibition at Collective from Friday 6 March – Sunday 24 May 2026.
Expanding on Proudfoot’s exploration of the female voice and body, the exhibition will present large scale ceramic friezes, depicting contemporary puppet-like figures often in uncanny medical poses where skin and organs are revealed, examined and stitched together.
Proudfoot’s installations combine references to the Celtic tradition of keening and the 19th century French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot's use of hypnosis to examine ‘hysteria’ in women, with current explorations into women’s voices as technological ‘puppets’ such as Siri and Alexa.
Continuing her long-term collaboration with Glasgow-based artist Aniela Piasecka, Proudfoot will stage a newly commissioned performance in which ceramic mannequins are activated and perform alongside an arresting score by Glasgow-based composer Ailie Ormston.
Katie Paterson: Afterlife
Collective’s summer exhibition programme will include a solo presentation by the internationally acclaimed Scottish artist Katie Paterson, presenting her new work Afterlife. Commissioned for Folkestone Triennial 2025, curated by Collective’s Director Sorcha Carey, this important new work will be shared with audiences in Scotland for the first time at Collective.
The exhibition will run from Friday 19 June – Sunday 6 September.
Afterlife brings together nearly 200 amulets in a sculptural installation designed in collaboration with Berlin-based architects, Zeller and Moye.
Amulets are miniature talismanic objects, typically carved in stone. Appearing across millennia and cultures, they are small enough to be held in the hand or worn, and are generally considered protective.
Afterlife reimagines this tradition. Working with museums around the world, Paterson has recreated amulets civilisations across the globe (including Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Viking, Islamic, Japanese, Indian, Chinese, Celtic, Greco-Roman and Pre-Columbian), using materials sourced from endangered landscapes and fragile ecosystems, to serve as a bridge between past and present.
The materials used to recreate the amulets reflect the pressing environmental issues of our time. Rocks from glacial terrains left bare by retreating ice, coral from the Great Barrier Reef, stones from islands facing rising sea levels, and other materials from devastated or threatened ecosystems are transformed into tiny objects of reflection, connection and renewal. Each chosen material carries a story of environmental fragility, symbolising urgent issues such as biodiversity loss, deforestation, and the impact of climate change.
Installed in a distinctive circular table crafted from sycamore by local makers Silvan, Afterlife explores themes of deep time, geology, and the environment.
Drawing on centuries of cultural and spiritual traditions to reflect the fragility of the natural world today, Afterlife prompts us to consider the legacies we leave for future generations.
Afterlife was commissioned by Creative Folkestone for Folkestone Triennial 2025, with additional support from The Shifting Foundation, Collective Edinburgh, and Goethe-Institut Glasgow.
Director of Collective Sorcha Carey said:
“There is so much to look forward to at Collective next year, as we continue to provide space for artists to test ideas, develop ambitious work, and share them with our audiences on Calton Hill.
Time + Space marks an exciting new chapter in our programme for early-career artists in Scotland, building on our long history of supporting emerging artists. We can’t wait to open the year with Paloma Proudfoot’s extraordinary work, and I’m personally delighted to bring Katie Paterson’s Afterlife home to Scotland after working with her for the Folkestone Triennial.”
For more information, please visit: www.collective-edinburgh.art/
Image: Katie Paterson, Afterlife, Folkestone Triennial 2025
Image credit: Thierry Bal
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