Scottish Art Highlights: July 2025

From 12 July until May 2026, works by Louise Bourgeois, Helen Chadwick and Robert Mapplethorpe are on view at the National Galleries of Scotland: Modern One. Think giant spiders representing maternal kinship and flowers cast from snow-filled moulds shaped by streams of piss. ARTIST ROOMS: Bourgeois, Chadwick and Mapplethorpe is free and perhaps the perfect accompaniment to the recent publication of Helen Chadwick: Life Pleasures, the first critical biography of the feminist sculptor.

At Talbot Rice, Wael Shawky presents the UK premiere of Drama 1882, an operatic film that chronicles the nationalist Urabi revolution, a café fight in Alexandria and the conflict that led to Britain’s 70-yearlong colonial domination of Egypt. The work was a must see at the 60th Venice Biennale, forming Egypt’s Pavillion and runs in Edinburgh until 28 September.

Artist Mike Nelson creates arresting and politically imbued installations from scavenged materials. Framing Fruitmarket’s Warehouse (until 5 Oct) as the 'driving force' for a new body of work – Humpty Dumpty: a transient history of Mardin earthworks low rise – that spills across three rooms in the gallery. Nelson found inspiration in photographs taken between London and a city in Eastern Turkey, the installation refers to political leadership during the early 2010s.

In Glasgow, Margaret Salmon: Assembly continues at the Hunterian until 19 October. This solo exhibition by the socially engaged artist-filmmaker foregrounds the diverse voices of residents in Kelvinside and Maryhill. Provoking reflections on power hierarchies, Assembly interrogates the impact of years of austerity on Glasgow’s communities.

On 13 July, the Art Car Boot Sale takes over SWG3. Dreamt up by Patricia Fleming Gallery, the Art Car Boot Sale offers an affordable alternative to traditional art fair, bringing together artists and artist-led organisations from Glasgow and beyond. Numerous artists including Sam Ainsley and Xinyi Yang, as well as arts community Project Ability, will be there to sell their goods. Ticket prices vary.