Pier Arts Centre facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Pier Arts Centre

The Pier Arts Centre from opposite pier
Established	1979
Location	Stromness, Orkney, Scotland
Type	Art Gallery & Museum

The Pier Arts Centre is a cool art gallery and museum located in Stromness, a town in Orkney, Scotland. It opened in 1979. The main reason it was created was to house a really important collection of art. This art was given to Orkney by Margaret Gardiner, who was an author, a peace activist, and someone who helped others. She wanted the art to be kept safe for everyone in Orkney to enjoy. Besides its permanent collection, the Centre also has new exhibitions and events all year round.

History of the Centre

Curved Form (Trevalgan) by Barbara Hepworth

Early Days: 1700s and 1800s

The buildings where the Pier Arts Centre is located have a long and interesting history in Orkney. The main house, which faces the street, was built way back in the 1700s. For most of the 1800s, a rich merchant named Edward Clouston lived there. He was also an agent for the Hudson's Bay Company, a famous trading company.

Behind his house, on the pier, Mr. Clouston built storage areas and offices. His house even had a fancy drawing room with wooden panels, lots of books, family pictures, and a piano.

When the Hudson's Bay Company ships arrived each summer, it was a big event in Stromness. In June 1840, Mr. and Mrs. Clouston hosted a group of ladies who were traveling to join their husbands working for the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada.

Later, in 1872, the buildings were bought by John Aim Shearer. He ran a general store business there for almost 100 years. In the late 1800s, Stromness was a busy place for herring fishing. Mr. Shearer built another shop across the street and a cooperage (where barrels are made) on the pier. He had his own schooners (sailing ships) named Maggie, Janet, Mary Ann, and Minnie, three of them after his daughters. These ships often brought goods to the pier.

From the 1900s to Today

After the herring fishing boom ended, the pier became much quieter. During World War II, the upper part of the pier store was used by the Royal Engineers to plan army camps. Later, it was even used as a home.

In 1977, The Pier Arts Centre Trust bought the original house and the pier store. This was a big step towards creating the art centre we know today.

Margaret Gardiner first visited Orkney in the 1950s. She decided to turn the old quayside building into a home for her amazing collection of modern paintings and sculptures. Margaret was born into a wealthy family and studied at Cambridge University. She was an early activist against fascism in the 1930s. In the 1960s, she helped organize a big international campaign against the Vietnam War. She also wrote several books, including one about the famous sculptor Barbara Hepworth. Margaret was friends with many important writers of the 1900s, like Louis MacNeice and W. H. Auden.

Margaret didn't like to be called a "collector" because she never planned to collect art. She simply gathered a very personal and important collection through her friendships and by supporting artists. Her collection shows how British Modernism, a style of art, developed over time. Her close friendship with Barbara Hepworth connected her to many key artists of the 20th century, including Hepworth's husband, Ben Nicholson.

In the 1930s and 40s, Margaret was a big supporter of artists who found a safe place in St Ives, a town in Cornwall. She also helped the Cornish painter and sailor Alfred Wallis. After World War II, she encouraged a new generation of artists. These included Peter Lanyon, Patrick Heron, Terry Frost, Margaret Mellis, John Wells, and Roger Hilton. They were all drawn to St Ives because it was becoming a famous place for new and exciting art.

The art collection at the Pier Arts Centre has grown a lot since 1979. It now has over 180 artworks. Most of these are from the Modernism art style, covering the period from 1929 to today. More recently, the Centre has added works by international artists like Sean Scully, Eva Rothschild, Martin Boyce, Camilla Løw, and Olafur Eliasson.

In 2025, students from primary schools all around Orkney, including Stromness Primary School, shared their artwork with the Pier Arts Centre for a special art exhibition.

Building Design

Looking out from the Arts Centre to the traditional fishing activities on the pier

The Pier Arts Centre reopened in July 2007 after two years of construction. The original historic buildings and pier, which used to be offices and stores for the Hudson's Bay Company, were expanded. Architects Reiach & Hall designed a new building right on the edge of the harbor, blending the old with the new.

Artists in the Collection

The Pier Arts Centre has artworks by many talented artists. Here are some of them: