Dovecot Studios
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Dovecot Studios is a tapestry studio in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Dovecot Studios was established by the 4th Marquess of Bute in 1912, as an offshoot of William Morris' workshops at Merton Abbey in London.[1][2] The Marquess commissioned the studios to produce large tapestries for Mount Stuart House, his home on the Isle of Bute.[3] Dovecot Studios' first home was in Corstorphine, which at the time was a village on the west side of Edinburgh. It was originally housed in a purpose built studio next to a sixteenth-century dovecot, the only remaining part of the medieval Corstorphine Castle.
After the Second World War, the studios became known as Edinburgh Tapestry Company.[2] In 2001 it lost its financial support and went into liquidation.[4]
Since 2008 Dovecot Studios has been residing in the refurbished Infirmary Street Baths in central Edinburgh, which gives a new life and purpose to what was a derelict building.[4] It now employs five weavers on a full-time basis, including two apprentice weavers.[1]
Artists who have worked with Dovecot Studios include:[citation needed]
- Edward Bawden
- Graham Sutherland
- Edward Wadsworth
- David Hockney
- Sir Peter Blake
- Peter Saville
- Paul Gauguin
- John Byrne (playwright)
- Alasdair Gray
- Elizabeth Blackadder
- Eduardo Paolozzi
- Jankel Adler
- Louise Nevelson
- William Crozier
- Alan Davie
As well as housing the Studio's Tapestry Studio, Dovecot's Infirmary Street home now also includes a cafe, shop, event hire spaces and three exhibition galleries. These spaces have shown a number Dovecot curated and touring exhibitions including Weaving The Century:Tapestry from Dovecot Studios 1912 - 2012, Jerwood Makers Open and exhibitions by artists as diverse as Ptolemy Mann, Wendy Ramshaw and Michael Brennand Wood.
During the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe a musical performance ' A Tapestry Of Many Threads' written by Alexander McCall Smith and Tom Cunningham received its world premiere on the weaving floor at Dovecot to critical acclaim. The performance celebrated a decade of Dovecot weaving and included performers from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. 'A Tapestry Of Many Threads' won a 2012 Herald Angel Award
