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Gray’s 140 will be a major public programme marking 140 years of Gray’s School of Art. It features a major exhibition, new commissions which will Perform the Archive, bringing collections to life with contemporary artists, offsite public programme, and family-friendly community projects.

Alongside this, there will be pedagogic opportunities for staff and students, an international forum, and a significant publication, positioning Gray’s as both rooted in heritage and forward-looking in shaping art education and culture.

The programme will explore how Gray’s past can act as a catalyst for new directions, inspiring future generations to rethink and reimagine the art school environment and its evolving ecology. 

History of Gray's 140

Gray’s School of Art was formally opened on 16 November 1885 and named after philanthropist John Gray. Established ‘to promote education in drawing, painting, modelling, and all branches of art,’ it was built in 1884 on Schoolhill, next to the Aberdeen Art Gallery and on the site of the old Grammar School. Designed by architects Matthews & Mackenzie, the building was an impressive structure of pink granite from Corrennie Quarry and sparkling white Kemnay granite, complementing the architectural style of the gallery. In accordance with Gray’s wishes, the design provided coherence between the two institutions.

John Gray began his working life as a carpenter but rose to become a full partner in McKinnon & Co, Iron Founders of Spring Garden Works. In 1859, he was appointed a director of the Aberdeen Mechanics Institution in Market Street, a key centre for adult education. In the early 1880s, Gray offered to finance a new School of Science & Art in Aberdeen, on the condition that it was named Gray’s School of Science & Art. His patronage was driven partly by the challenges he had faced in obtaining adequate training.

The school opened with 96 students enrolled in the day classes and 322 in the evening classes. It fostered an atmosphere of experimentation, aiming to elevate aesthetic and intellectual aspirations while providing practical skills. With a direct link to Aberdeen Art Gallery via a bridge to a life-drawing room, Gray’s reflected the pragmatic educational reforms of the Mechanics Institution, combining an atelier model of workshops with a complementary programme of lectures exploring art history, philosophy, science, technology, and sensory perception. The driving force behind its foundation was not only an ethical commitment to education but also an urgent response to modernity and the need to prepare future generations to imagine and shape the world to come.

Schoolhill to Garthdee 

By 1964, facing overcrowding, Gray’s relocated to the banks of the River Dee. Despite the move from the city centre, strong ties to the art gallery remained, with departments such as ceramics and applied arts continuing to occupy spaces in Schoolhill. This transition coincided with Aberdeen’s modernist expansion, as the Granite City evolved into a hub for the booming oil and gas sector. The new site, including Garthdee House, was gifted by Thomas Scott Sutherland, an Aberdonian architect, town councillor, and entrepreneur, ensuring Gray’s School of Art remained part of the city’s architectural and cultural legacy. 

The new purpose-built art school was designed by Michael Shewan, an alumnus of the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture. Inspired by his experiences abroad and particularly by the work of Bauhaus émigrés, Shewan took Mies van der Rohe’s S.R. Crown Hall as a guiding influence. The resulting modernist structure embodied the ethos of the art school—open, collaborative, and deeply engaged with its surroundings. Its light-filled spaces, cantilever staircases, and studio organisation reflected the progressive spirit of art school reform that had swept across Europe and the U.S. However, Gray’s is more than just a building; its setting remains integral to its identity. Situated on a bluff west of Garthdee House, the school is surrounded by mature parkland that slopes towards the River Dee, where trees cast reflections onto the building’s glass walls. Shewan’s vision was not just about constructing a structure but about embedding artistic practice within an environment that fosters creativity and engagement with nature. The interplay between the modernist steel and glass framework and the landscape reinforces the connection between art, place, and light. Art schools, like all institutions, are never static. They evolve in response to social, economic, and political changes, and Gray’s is no exception. While this exhibition will introduce a new generation to its history, it also considers the art school as a continuum. 

Gallery

Events

The exhibition will culminate in a conference and associated events hosted at Cowdray Hall, Aberdeen Art Gallery and other sites across the city. Our aim is to bring together invited speakers with those participating in the exhibition to explore the site-specific art school, how artists teach us how to see our surroundings in new ways. The project will provide a dynamic platform for artists to contribute, reinforcing Gray’s identity as an Art School that remains deeply connected to place, fostering dialogue, and creative exploration of art, environment, and society.

Help us celebrate during our events and workshops planned throughout the year.

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Contact

If you would like to get in touch with a member of the team with any questions about the anniversary, to give a story of your time at Gray's School of Art, or to get involved with any of the events, please email:

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