New Moray Art Centre Opens

21 July 2007

With the opening today of the brand new Moray Art Centre, the long-held vision of artist Randy Klinger has finally come to fruition. At 2pm Randy with his family and friends cut the ribbon to open the state of the art studios and gallery space for visual arts, at The Park, Findhorn that have been his dream and life’s work. After a short ceremony, the public was invited into the calm, beautiful and creative space that took more than nine years of dedication and fundraising to manifest.

Moray Art Centre houses four artists’ studios, two teaching studios, and a young people’s studio. The final touch will be the addition of a 37 square metre museum-quality gallery space, which Randy is still fundraising for. The building itself is almost entirely energy self-sufficient, utilising geothermal technology and solar panels to provide power and heat.

The opening day’s theme was Building Bridges, and the first exhibition offered by the centre is a celebration of Thomas Telford, the Scottish engineer who built bridges and roads throughout Scotland, instrumental in linking island communities to mainland Scotland. Photographs and diagrams have been lent to the centre by the Institution of Civil Engineers, which Thomas Telford helped to found in 1818. Randy Klinger hopes that local people will use the new centre to build bridges to their own creativity.

The Moray Art Centre is a resource for all the people of Moray, bringing together artists and art lovers. The project has been supported by local architects Greig and Kathleen Munro, and by local company Ivan Russell Joiners from Elgin. Sponsors of the project include Moray Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise Moray, The Big Lottery Fund, and Philips Lighting UK who have supplied energy-efficient museum-quality lighting. Hundreds of people have also made donations large and small, in cash and in time and support, to enable Randy to raise ££570,000 so far. Another ££85,000 is needed to add the final touches to the Moray Art Centre and fulfil his dream. For more information send an email to Moray Art Centre at