As the UK’s largest annual festival of visual arts, EAF’s Partner Gallery programme showcases the best Edinburgh has to offer — the diverse, exciting summer programmes of more than 25 galleries, community spaces, and museums across the city.

Archives and photography forms a strong theme amongst the Partner programme this year: with major showings of work by documentary photographer Sandra George at the City Art Centre, a collection of community photography from Lee McCormack at Craigmillar Now, and the international portraits of Jillian Edelstein at Stills Centre for Photography. National Galleries of Scotland presents major retrospectives of alternative portraiture from Catherine Opie and Wendy McMurdo.

Transformative sculpture takes over Fruitmarket and Talbot Rice Gallery, with large scale work from sculptors Eva Rothschild and Anne Hardy respectively. At Collective, Katie Paterson’s sculptural installation tours form the Folkestone Triennial. Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop presents an otherworldly garden from Esther Castle, as well as mural from Ukrainian duo EtchingRoom1. At Edinburgh Printmakers, 3D works from Jamie Fitzpatrick explore the quandary of public statues, alongside a multimedia exhibition from EtchingRoom1 that promises “this too shall pass”. At the Scottish Gallery, ceramicist Stephen Bird explores entanglements between environment, place, and human experience.

The city becomes a stage for Scottish emerging artists: from the first of Collective’s Time and Space programme residents, Richard Maguire, Rachel McBrinn and Jonathan Webb’s new moving image commission documenting Edinburgh’s North Bridge at the City Art Centre. Blackie House asks four artists to respond to Scotland’s land and seascapes, held in their archives. Shifting from origins in multi-form nightlife, Sgàire Wood takes over Jupiter Artland with queerly imagined heraldic sculpture.

At Ingleby, Songs of Innocence & Experience, part II celebrates the legacy of Caribbean artist Frank Walter through artists whose work speaks to his. National Galleries of Scotland presents a major retrospective of painter Gwen John, one of Wales’ most accomplished artists. At the Scottish Gallery, Kate Downie’s work takes inspiration from Scotland’s diverse grasslands. A show at the City Art Centre explores the legacy of the Jean F. Watson Bequest Fund, shaping the acquisition of Scottish artwork. At the Botanics, 30 artists delve into soil to reveal its brilliance, beauty, and fragility, celebrating the 300th birthday of geologist James Hutton. 

Craft, design, and textiles weave through the programme. Dovecot Studios presents a history of iconic costume house Cosprop, alongside a brand new tapestry after the work of Elizabeth Blackadder. The Travelling Gallery brings together contemporary craft artists whose work sits at the interface between digital technology and traditional handcraft. The Edinburgh Seven Tapestry remains a tribute to pioneering women in education at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. The King’s Gallery explores the opulence and glamour of the Edwardian age, while National Museum of Scotland brings prehistoric creatures to life with large scale sculpture. ECA’s Inspace presents a multisensory installation by Theodore Koterwas drawing on the flocking behaviour of birds to broaden understandings of language and alternative ways of thinking.

Stay tuned to explore the full online launch of the Partner Gallery programme, set to go live alongside EAF’s events on 28 May.