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Openspace The Vault Contemporary Art Gallery + Exhibition Venue GRANTOWN-ON-SPEY

17/10/2026

50MM · MAKERS IN THE MAKING.

Behind the scenes, with the next generation lending a hand.

Fifty blocks. Fifty years.
50 millimetres apart.

Created and curated by SCΛFF.

Until 30 October 2026
OPENSPACE · 59 High Street, Grantown-on-Spey
Window viewing only.
Illuminated daily, 6:30–11:45 pm.

Colin Lawson Builders · New builds, extensions and renovations. To discuss your project, contact the office:
[email protected]
www.colinlawsonbuilders.co.uk

10/10/2026

50MM_____MARKING A MILESTONE.
Fifty years, measured differently.

Fifty building blocks, placed 50 millimetres apart, mark fifty years of Colin Lawson Builders.

Between them, light gently brightens and fades in different rhythms, like breath beneath the foundations. These individual pulses echo the many people who have helped build the business each bringing their own skills, care and commitment to something shared.

The installation reflects on the foundations laid by Colin and built on together with Mark. It holds a history of working alongside one another, while leaving space for what comes next.

Created and curated by SCΛFF, 50MM offers a moment to pause and recognise the people behind what has been built. [Clare Waddle + Joanna Wilson]

Come and take a look through the gallery window, especially after dark, when the light brings the installation to life.

10–30 October 2026
OPENSPACE · 59 High Street, Grantown-on-Spey, PH 26 3EG

Window viewing only.
Illuminated daily, 5pm–11:45 pm.

Colin Lawson Builders • New builds • extensions and renovations. To discuss your project, contact the office:

[email protected]

www.colinlawsonbuilders.co.uk

50MM_____50 years in the making.A different way to mark a milestone.Colin Lawson Builders celebrates its 50th anniversar...
09/10/2026

50MM_____50 years in the making.

A different way to mark a milestone.

Colin Lawson Builders celebrates its 50th anniversary through a collaboration with SCΛFF, scaff_curate bringing building and contemporary art together in an installation at OPENSPACE Gallery.

10–30 October 2026
OPENSPACE Gallery, 59 High Street, Grantown-on-Spey. PH26 3EG

Window viewing only.

Curated by SCΛFF. [Clare Waddle + Joanna Wilson]

And that’s a wrap! Ed Smith’s UISGE SPÈ ___Where Water Shapes a Nation is now deinstalled at OPENSPACE.Thank you to ever...
08/10/2026

And that’s a wrap! Ed Smith’s UISGE SPÈ ___Where Water Shapes a Nation is now deinstalled at OPENSPACE.

Thank you to everyone who visited, left comments and supported the exhibition and to Ed for bringing a little of the River Spey into the gallery.

Huge congratulations also to Ed on winning Gold for this project at the 2026 Analog Sparks International Film Photography Awards ___a fantastic achievement! ⭐

For anyone who missed it, here are a few pictures and and the next stop for the photographic exhibition is Glenlivet Estate Visitor Centre, Tomintoul.

Opening evening: Friday 9 October, 6.30–8.30pm.
Exhibition runs 12–30 October, Monday–Friday.

Curated at OPENSPACE by SCΛFF, with support from Cairngorms Trust. The Cairngorms Trust

THE GAL OF IT. A different perspective on UISGE SPÈ — Where Water Shapes a Nation by award-winning photojournalist Ed Sm...
21/09/2026

THE GAL OF IT.

A different perspective on UISGE SPÈ — Where Water Shapes a Nation by award-winning photojournalist Ed Smith.

Following the River Spey from the Monadhliath Mountains towards the Moray Firth, Ed’s long-term project explores the river as a living system, its landscape, communities, industry, biodiversity and the changing climate.

At OPENSPACE | THE VAULT the journey moves beyond the photographs and into the gallery itself. The canoe and equipment used during Ed’s expeditions become part of an immersive installation created with SCΛFF (Joanna Wilson & Clare Waddle) and Ed Smith.

📍 OPENSPACE | THE VAULT, Grantown-on-Spey
11 September — 7 October 2026

Supported by Cairngorms Trust. The Cairngorms Trust

RiverSpey

PACE yourself this weekend.If you’re in town for North East Open Studios, make time to pop into OPENSPACE and see UISGE ...
18/09/2026

PACE yourself this weekend.

If you’re in town for North East Open Studios, make time to pop into OPENSPACE and see UISGE SPÈ — Where Water Shapes a Nation, by award-winning photojournalist Ed Smith | UK

Photography, expedition, landscape and the River Spey brought together in one immersive installation.

Well worth a visit.

📍 OPENSPACE | THE VAULT, 59 High Street, Grantown-on-Spey, PH26 3EG
11 September — 7 October 2026

Curated and installed by SCΛFF [Clare Waddle Yellow Broom & Joanna Wilson Joanna Wilson Art] with Ed Smith.
Supported by Cairngorms Trust. The Cairngorms Trust

ContemporaryArtScotland

UISGE SPÈ — Where Water Shapes a NationWant to hear more about the River Spey project directly from the artist?Ed Smith ...
14/09/2026

UISGE SPÈ — Where Water Shapes a Nation

Want to hear more about the River Spey project directly from the artist?

Ed Smith will be in OPENSPACE Gallery on Saturday, Monday, Tuesday & Wednesdays and is always happy to chat about the project, the journeys behind the photographs and the exhibition.

Pop in, say hello and have a blether.

11 September — 7 October
OPENSPACE | THE VAULT
59 High Street, Grantown-on-Spey

UISGE SPÈ is curated by SCΛFF [Clare Waddle Yellow Broom & Joanna Wilson ] with support from Cairngorms Trust. The Cairngorms Trust

UISGE SPÈ [River Spey] Where Water Shapes a Nation11 September — 7 October 2026OPENSPACE | THE VAULT, Grantown-on-Spey A...
11/09/2026

UISGE SPÈ [River Spey]
Where Water Shapes a Nation
11 September — 7 October 2026
OPENSPACE | THE VAULT, Grantown-on-Spey

A photographic study by Ed Smith | UK , following the River Spey from its source in the Monadhliath Mountains to the Moray Firth.

Through photography and repeated canoe descents of the river, Ed explores the Spey as more than a landscape — looking at the interconnected forces of environment, climate, community, industry, history and identity that have formed around it.

For its installation at OPENSPACE, the journey moves beyond the photograph and into the gallery.

The canoe, expedition equipment and material gathered from the banks of the Spey create a physical trace of the journey extending the exhibition into a three-dimensional landscape of object, material and experience.

Photography & project — Ed Smith Ed Smith | UK
Installation developed with Ed Smith and curated by SCΛFF (Joanna Wilson Joanna Wilson Art & Clare Waddle Yellow Broom)

With thanks to The Cairngorms Trust

Uisge Spè:Where WaterShapes a Nation11th September - 7th OctoberOPENSPACE the Vault, Granttown-on-SpeyUISGE SPÈ: WHERE W...
10/09/2026

Uisge Spè:
Where Water
Shapes a Nation
11th September - 7th October
OPENSPACE the Vault, Granttown-on-Spey

UISGE SPÈ: WHERE WATER SHAPES A NATION
Ed Smith

11 September — 7 October 2026
OPENSPACE | THE VAULT, Grantown-on-Spey

Opening tomorrow at OPENSPACE | THE VAULT, Uisge Spè: Where Water Shapes a Nation brings Ed Smith’s long-term photographic study of the River Spey into the gallery.

Following the river’s 170-kilometre journey from the Highlands to the coast, the work explores the people, landscapes, industries and histories connected by the Spey and the changing relationship between water, place and community.

For this exhibition, Ed’s photography moves beyond the gallery wall. The space has been transformed through objects, materials and equipment gathered from his journeys along the river, bringing something of the physical experience of the expedition into the exhibition itself.

Photography, landscape and installation come together to tell the story of a river that has helped shape a nation.

Exhibition by Ed Smith Ed Smith | UK
Curated and installed collaboratively by Ed Smith & SCΛFF (Clare Waddle Yellow Broom and Joanna Wilson Joanna Wilson Art)

With thanks to The Cairngorms Trust for their support.

11 September — 7 October
📍 OPENSPACE | THE VAULT
59 High Street, Grantown-on-Spey, PH26 3EG

Address

59 Highstreet
Grantown On Spey
PH263EG

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+447766445406

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