August is one of the most exciting times of the year at Dovecot Studios. As Edinburgh comes alive for festival season, we're welcoming visitors with a packed programme of exhibitions, talks, tours and shopping experiences. Whether you're discovering our latest exhibitions or simply taking a break from the city's busy streets, there's something to inspire every visitor. Here's what's happening at Dovecot Studios this August.
Costume Couture: Sixty Years of Cosprop
Until 16 January | 10:00-17:00 | Gallery | Paid admission
Featuring over 80 costume from film and television, celebrate sixty years of Cosprop’s creativity. Featuring garments worn by Helena Bonham Carter in A Room with a View, Meryl Streep in Out of Africa, Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey, Colin Firth as Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, and Leslie Manville in Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris.
Cedit: Credit: © Cosprop - Jon Stokes, Julia Buckmiller
Elizabeth Blackadder: A Life in Colour
Until 14 November | 12:00-15:00 (Mon-Fri), 10:00 - 17:00 (Sat and 9, 16, 23, 30 August) | Viewing Balcony | Free
Marking five years since the death of Elizabeth Blackadder, this exhibition looks at her enduring fascination with colour across paintings, drawings, tapestries and rugs, revealing shared approaches to colour, texture, and composition.
Dovecot Colour & Form
Until 30 August | 10:00-17:00 | Shop, Café & Stairwell | Free
This display across the building presents artworks woven by our most recent apprentices, all of which showcase Dovecot’s distinctive approach to colour and form.
Terry Macey Pop-up
6-9 August | 10:00-17:00 | Meeting Room | Free
Terry and Angelika return to Dovecot Studios with their gorgeous collection of late summer and autumn clothes.
Dazzle Contemporary Jewellery Exhibition
7-30 August | 10:00-17:30 | Ladies Baths | Free
Renowned for championing innovation and originality, DAZZLE provides a platform for some of the most exciting voices in contemporary jewellery. Each year, a carefully curated selection of makers pushes the boundaries of materials, technique and form, offering visitors the opportunity to discover pieces that are both expressive and enduring.
Tapestry Studio Tour
7 August | 11:00-12:00 | Tapestry Studio Viewing Balcony | £12.50
A guided tour of the Dovecot's world-renowned tapestry studio with Director Celia Joicey. Gain unique insight into the Tapestry Studios' current projects and collaborations, and the history of the building with a birds-eye-view from the Tapestry Studios Viewing Balcony.
Costume by Hitchcock Breakfast
13 August | 09:45-10:45 | Gallery | Paid admission
Join Edinburgh author Caroline Young as she discusses her new book Fashioning Hitchcock: Stories Behind the Costumes in conversation with Dovecot Director Celia Joicey. They will explore and contrast Hitchcock’s approach with the ways that celebrated costume house, Cosprop, collaborates with designers and directors.
Credit: Universal/Allstar
Costume by Cosprop Breakfast
20 August | 09:45-10:45 | Gallery | Paid admission
Dovecot Curator Heather Carroll discusses the importance of craft and character to Cosprop through 10 key costumes in the exhibition.
Credit: Merchant Ivory/Goldcrest/Album/Alamy
Van Gogh & Me
13-30 August | Various times | Meeting Room | Paid admission
Au Contraire Productions presents a new play written by John Retallack from an original idea by actor Jack Ellis. Experience a deeply personal new play exploring the relationship between Van Gogh and Gauguin. With over 20 paintings, it tells the extraordinary story of the intense, nine-week collaboration between Van Gogh and Gauguin in Arles in 1888.