City Art Centre Exhibition Explores Story of Edinburgh’s North Bridge

As part of the City Art Centre’s free Summer Exhibition programme, the story of Edinburgh’s iconic North Bridge is being explored through film, historic artworks and objects uncovered during its recent restoration.

Running from Saturday 18 July until Sunday 13 September 2026, Study for North Bridge is a new film by artists Rachel McBrinn and Jonathan Webb. Created during the bridge’s restoration, it offers a fresh perspective on one of Edinburgh’s best-known landmarks ahead of its reopening in August.

Commissioned by the City of Edinburgh Council as part of the North Bridge restoration programme, the film explores not only how the bridge has been repaired, but also how we care for and remember the places that shape our city.

Following the restoration as it unfolds, the film combines real-life footage with imagined scenes to ask how today’s events become tomorrow’s history. Through the voice of a fictional art historian looking back from the future, it encourages visitors to think about how stories are recorded, preserved, and retold over time.

The title, Study for North Bridge, refers to the sketches artists often make while developing a final work. In the same way, the film focuses on the work in progress rather than the finished bridge, revealing the people, processes and hidden details that are normally out of sight.

Alongside the film, visitors can see original pieces removed from the bridge during restoration, displayed with paintings and other artworks from the City of Edinburgh’s Fine Art Collection that show North Bridge over the past 300 years.

The exhibition is accompanied by a programme of guided walking tours, delivered in partnership with Invisible Cities. Beginning and ending at the City Art Centre, the tours explore the people, places and stories that have shaped North Bridge, bringing the exhibition to life in the streets around it.

Councillor Margaret Graham, Culture and Communities Convener, said:

North Bridge is one of Edinburgh’s most important civic landmarks and has connected communities across the city for more than 130 years.

As we look forward to the bridge reopening this summer, this exhibition offers a fascinating opportunity to reflect not only on the engineering achievement of its restoration, but also on the stories, memories and meanings attached to the structure.

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