A former church, Stove Kirk in Sandwick, Shetland, has been converted into a pop-up art gallery and opens today with its first exhibition featuring five local artists. Curated by owner Gillian Bridle, the show includes painters Nina Price and Katie Leask, Orkney-based artist Maiwenn Beadle, digital folk artist Jordan Clark, and sculptor Fionn Arnett, with works loosely themed around storytelling, the sea, and Shetland landscapes.
The exhibition addresses a gap in Shetland’s arts infrastructure, where many creative individuals lack venues to display their work. By transforming a historic kirk into a temporary gallery space, Bridle provides a platform for emerging and established local artists, fostering community engagement and cultural visibility in a remote region.