Aberdeen Art Gallery — Attraction in Aberdeen City

I'm not sure what to write about this re-vamped and well-beloved old haunt I've been joyously visiting since I was a teenager. I have no tendency to the Luddite ... in fact, I pride myself in having an appreciation of all things aesthetic in art and, more importantly here, architecture. The focal point of this refurbished gallery is and always was what greets the visitor's eye as he or she walks through the door. Pleasantly enough, the layout, at first sight, appears a whole bit like it was before they inpoured the taxpayer's £millions. Then a sharp left glance hits the new cafe. My wife and I ate soup there which was rustic, tasty and filling ... they called it minestrone, but Italiophiles, might have said, "Country Vegetable'. The architecture over the rest of the building makes bold claims to extra space, ... in fact, extravagant use of that available throughout ... but usable enough ... and still the quite clever curating helps greatly. Call me old fashioned, but a lot of the cosy permanence of what was there before is surely now sadly missing. However, kiddies under ten and their adult counterparts were playing with the new touchscreens enthusiastically ... So ... maybe ... everything, as they say above the door at The Museum of Modern Art in Edinburgh, is going...

I was surprised how much I enjoyed visiting the museum. Their collection is really impressive and I think they did a good job with their mission.

It's hard describing why this is such a fantastic museum. Part of it is that they take their many impressive works and put them into context. For example, I'm not the biggest fan of art based on the World Wars or the period in between but the way the art was contextualised made me appreciate it more (and not just in a "this is an important period of time lets remember it" type of way). There were helpful signs up, many meant for children, which also helped have a greater understanding of what was being looked at.

Another great way in which the collection was contextualised was the way that they dealt with pieces of art in their collection which are racist. They didn't hide it away but when they showed it they explained why the pieces were racist and had a diverse group in which both explained the pieces and brought more meaning. While I don't enjoy that racist art exists, I did enjoy learning from the perspectives of the people whom were featured.

The collection is fantastic, with both new and old pieces. While we got though the collection in a couple of hours I think it is also possible to spend a...

Impressed by the accessibility - lifts big enough for a mobility scooter, smooth and level floors, wheelchair available, magnifying glass for vision impairments, small chairs that can be easily picked up and placed where needed if you're someone who struggles to stand for an extended period of time. Visitors are encouraged to create themselves, with visitor sketchbooks. I enjoyed putting a chair down in front of pieces to draw. There was still life drawing, and a digital drawing tablet that would display your finished piece on a tablet once finished as interactive displays. There was a large range of mediums and eras of art, and the text about each art piece was informative but not overwhelming. We didn't get a chance to see the whole gallery but we hope to come back again to see some more. It's probably best to spend a day trip as there's plenty to see. It wasn't too busy (although bear in mind this was in the morning on a Wednesday during school/work hours) Staff were helpful. We apologize to the person who gave us a map as we totally forgot...