In Conversation With Ciara Gibson

Cafe

Located in the heart of Birnam Arts, our café is the meeting place and gathering space for everyone, from local friendly faces to new visitors from far and wide.

Opening times

Daily | 10 - 4

Highlights

The food scene in Dunkeld and Birnam is becoming a go-to for food lovers and we're proud to be part of the that story.

Birnam Arts has made such a difference to Birnam since its redevelopment 20 years ago, and attracts an incredible variety of high-quality arts performers. It's also a great Community space. We're very happy to make a contribution to such an asset.

Murthly Estate   |   Crowdfunder #savebirnamarts 2020

Shop

Our Shop has a unique selection of gifts sourced both locally and from throughout Scotland. With a range of design, jewellery and craft items there’s a little something for everyone. We also stock the largest range of Beatrix Potter merchandise in the country.

Opening times

Daily | 10:30 - 15:30

Highlights

We pride ourselves in supporting emerging and established makers alongside contemporary brands such as Harris Tweed, and offer a range of books on Perthshire, as well as V&A Stationery and gifts for the wee ones.

The comfortable and aesthetically pleasing cafe seating attracted praise and provided ideal places for small groups to gather at the tables, enjoying excellent food and drinks! Visitors remarked upon your new signage, now so much easier to navigate to the various rooms within the venue.

Fiona Ritchie   |   Birnam Book Festival 2022

Gallery

Birnam Arts delivers a programme of monthly exhibitions showing work by artists at varying stages of their careers within both solo and group exhibitions.

Highlights

We continually develop new opportunities to support the practice and development of Scottish based artists, whilst also bringing work that is inspiring, creative and different to the contemporary art scene in rural Perthshire.

You really are the heart of our community and we can’t afford to lose you. Thank you to everyone working so hard to protect our village treasure.

Cave Family   |   Crowdfunder #savebirnamarts 2020

Studios

Located upstairs of the original Victorian part of Birnam Arts, our Visual Arts and Performing Arts studios are where much of the creative magic at Birnam Arts takes place.

I have played at Birnam Arts as part of Blow and Blast for a number of years and never cease to be amazed by how many activities take place there - too valuable to lose!

Kenneth MacKenzie   |   Crowdfunder #savebirnamarts 2020

Auditorium

At the heart of Birnam Arts is a highly versatile space, otherwise known as the John Kinnaird Hall, our home for live music, film, theatre, public meetings, conferences and private events.

Highlights

Spacious Hall, New Tech

Birnam Arts is a unique venue, contributing enormously to many aspects of our lives - social, cultural, educational.

Linda Wolfe   |   Crowdfunder #savebirnamarts 2020

Beatrix Potter Exhibition

Within this dedicated space celebrating Beatrix Potter, her much loved characters and historical ties to the area, there is something for both kids and adults alike.

Opening times

Daily | 10:30 - 15:30

We had not planned to present a hybrid festival, however that changed when one of our main authors tested positive for Covid. I greatly appreciated how the team worked with us to pivot and present remotely in part, making full use of your enhanced video conferencing equipment. As a result, we were able to deliver quite complex events with several elements all showing on screen simultaneously. The audio-visual quality was excellent, and our audiences were delighted that these events could still go ahead, in spite of Covid. The author in question was really pleased that he could join us on screen and remarked that he had not been so well supported in this way at any other festival.

Fiona Ritchie   |   Birnam Book Festival 2022