Ripping Up the Rule Book: Reimagining Art, Access and Community

What happens when you remove the invisible barriers around art?

 

For fifty years, The Action Group has worked to break down the obstacles that separate people from opportunity, choice, and full participation in their communities. As we mark our 50th anniversary, Ripping Up the Rule Book stands as one of the most joyful expressions of that commitment — a collaborative exhibition created with the National Galleries of Scotland that has genuinely reshaped what access to art can look like for the people we support.

 

A Shift We Could Feel

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From the beginning, we knew this project had the potential to be special — but none of us could have predicted just how deeply it would resonate.

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Our journey started with a group visit to the Resistance exhibition at National Galleries Scotland: Modern Two, led by Jj Fadaka. What might have started like a typical gallery visit became something much more: a space for open conversation, shared reflection, and genuine connection. It set the tone for what followed — art not as something distant or delicate, but something living, human, and shared.

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Next, we visited the Granton Art Centre — a space usually dedicated to the preservation and protection of Scotland’s art when it isn’t on display. It offered even more to reflect on. The people we support were invited not just to look, but to step closer. To slow down. To notice details that are often hidden from view. They were even encouraged to draw among the artworks, turning a behind-the-scenes environment into a space for curiosity and creativity.

 

Watching this unfold, we saw assumptions begin to soften — assumptions shaped over a lifetime that galleries are not for everyone. Being welcomed so openly into a space that usually feels exclusive was deeply powerful, both for those we support and for us as an organisation.

 

Creating Together

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When we returned to our own building, the energy of those visits carried straight into our creative workshops, led with warmth and imagination by Community Development Co-ordinator Holly Yeoman and artist Sam Rutherford, and facilitated by our Involvement Officer, Gayle Forsyth, and L&D Training Officer, Gareth Timms.

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We began creating the art that would appear in our exhibition. People drew freely — from memory, imagination, or whatever caught their eye. Acetates were layered with reinterpretations of artworks from the collection, each one adding a new voice and perspective. These personal creations were then transformed by Sam into a collaborative mosaic, a single artwork made of many contributions. It is the perfect reflection of our community

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The second workshop expanded the scale even further. Frames were painted, ideas refined, and compositions developed. Importantly, we ensured that everyone who wanted to contribute could, even those who couldn’t attend in person had the opportunity to ake part. This inclusivity is at the heart of who we are, and the exhibition reflects that richness in every piece.

 

Art for Everyone — Truly

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One of the most meaningful parts of this project has been witnessing how differently each person responds to art. There is no single “right” way to experience it, a concept our exhibition embraces fully. Art speaks in colour, in lines, in choices, in questions. In the joy of making something, or the quiet confidence of seeing your work on display for the first time.

 

By removing the stereotypical barriers associated with art galleries — “don’t touch,” “keep quiet,” “stand back” — this project opened the door to curiosity, delight, and creative confidence. For many people we support, this was not just an art project; it was an invitation into a world that can feel out of reach for many.

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A Celebration of 50 Years — and the Future

 

As we celebrate our 50th anniversary, Ripping Up the Rule Book feels like a perfect reflection of our mission and our values. For five decades, we have worked to make a difference — to ensure people are included and empowered recognised as full participants in community life.

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Our exhibition at Granton Art Centre is more than a display of artwork. It is:

• a celebration of our whole community: the people we support, the carers who champion them, and the staff who support them every day

• a testament to what meaningful access can look like,

• and a reminder that creativity belongs to everyone.

 

Standing in Granton Art Centre, surrounded by works created with such individuality and pride, we feel honoured and delighted to be part of this partnership with National Galleries Scotland.

 

This project is not only about seeing art differently — it’s about making sure everyone can find their place in it.

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JohannaMR

Communications Lead at The Action Group