The last twelve months have been challenging for all artists and makers in Scotland so we are delighted to be staging this exhibition both to showcase the excellent pieces our members produce and also to celebrate our 20th anniversary as an Association. One big positive born from the pandemic is the building of new and strong alliances, such as our partnership with Visual Arts Scotland. It’s been a really tough year for us all, so it’s heartening that we will be collaborating to present such a positive response to the lockdown.

In a year like no other, Visual Arts Scotland is delighted to be working in partnership with SFMA and City Art Centre to produce a digital exhibition that explores how living spaces have adapted and altered to meet our changing needs in these tumultuous times. We are energised by the prospect of inviting the public to view our collaborative digital showcase, whilst also creating an opportunity for artists and makers to exhibit and sell work after a period where this was challenging, and in many cases, impossible due to Covid-19.

Scotland is home to many world class artists, designers and makers. SFMA is a members-led organisation of 70+ stretching from the Scottish Borders to Orkney & Shetland that has worked to promote and represent the interests of those in the sector for two decades. The quality and diversity of work that will be showcased digitally speaks volumes about the immense creativity within the contemporary Applied Arts scene in Scotland. The show demonstrates the profound benefits to be gained by choosing to commission a local designer-maker to create a unique piece of furniture for one’s home and/or place-of-work.

The City Art Centre is delighted to be partnering with SFMA and VAS for this exhibition, for by celebrating the work of contemporary Scottish artists and makers it promises to bring a little light into the current gloom. We would have loved to showcase the work in the gallery itself, but by the turn of the year it became evident to us all that a physical exhibition just wasn’t going to be possible. So we appreciate all the work that has gone on behind the scenes to create this digital exhibition, proof if it were needed that great work can still be produced in testing times.