Aberdeen · Scotland · contemporary Urban Art
Aberdeen
deserves
this
A free, open, living building where contemporary urban art transforms the walls and the city has one more unique cultural home it can be proud of.
— Our VISION
not a gallery.
not a venue.
a living building
We’re transforming a historic Aberdeen building into Scotland’s most exciting cultural destination: a permanent home for contemporary urban art and music, immersive, free, and unapologetically ambitious.
Free to Enter. Always
Free, open, welcoming — not a private members’ club. Aberdeen’s culture belongs to Aberdeen.
Aberdeen Forward
Aberdeen’s artists are leaving. Its city centre sits quiet. UnderWorks Art is how Aberdeen stops losing its talent — and starts attracting the world’s attention.
Regeneration
Vacant buildings become living destinations. Culture is not a cost. It is a catalyst. Artists, musicians, and makers grow here — with real space, real support, real community.
Collaboration & Mentoring
The walls will be painted — then repainted. The music will be loud and honest. The community will feel it as theirs, because it will be.
— WHY now. why here
Aberdeen is at a
crossroads.
We choose culture.
Proposals for Aberdeen’s empty landmark buildings keep arriving: flats, offices, another leisure centre. None of them answer the question the city is actually asking. Why should people come here? Why should artists stay?
We’ve seen what happens when cities get this right:
- The Baltic in Gateshead.
- The SWG3 and The Briggait in Glasgow.
- The Biscuit Factory in Edinburgh.
Culture didn’t follow regeneration — culture caused it.
UnderWorks Art is that moment for Aberdeen. The team is here. The community appetite is proven. The building is waiting. What’s missing is the belief — and the backing — to make it real.
0
Dedicated mid-scale cultural venues in Aberdeen city centre. The gap is real and measurable.
50/50
North-East/Scottish talent alongside national and international artists. Local is the foundation — the world is the ambition.
Year-
Round
Not a pop-up, not a festival. A permanent anchor for footfall, creativity, and economic activity.
— What underworks is
every surface is
the exhibition.
Walls, ceilings, stairwells, lift shafts — the building becomes the canvas. Artists don’t work on the architecture. They work with it. And then, in a city that’s never seen anything quite like it, the music starts.
Urban Art at Scale
Large-format, site-specific murals and post-graffiti installations from local legends and international names. Renewed in cycles — never static, never finished.
Intimate Music
Rising artists and touring acts in a space built for real connection — close enough to feel every note. No genre monoculture here.
A Historic Building, Transformed
Aberdeen’s architectural heritage, reimagined as a living canvas. The space itself tells a story of renewal — from derelict to destination.
Mentorship & Community
Workshops, employment pathways, and open access for makers, artists, and musicians who need space to grow — not a waiting list or a membership fee.
Free to Enter
No velvet rope. No exclusive membership. Families, students, tourists, professionals — everyone walks in off the street and finds something that surprises them.
Built to Last
Multiple revenue streams — separate ticketed exhibitions, events, tours within, workshops, communities space — create a resilient model that doesn’t depend on a single ticket sale to survive the month.
— the team
built by people who
actually believe in
aberdeen
Every member of the UnderWorks Art team is volunteering their time alongside full-time jobs. We’re doing this outside working hours because we know Aberdeen deserves it — and because we’re not prepared to wait for someone else to do it first
Kristiina Isabelle Nimmo
Founder
The driving force behind UnderWorks Art. Executive assistant and project manager by trade, citizen of seven countries, culture-builder by conviction. Built on one belief: Aberdeen doesn’t need saving – it needs believing in.
Michael Fenton
Creative Manager
Fine Art graduate, jazz drummer, former creative manager for US non-profits. Raised in Aberdeenshire, back home in Scotland, and bringing an international eye to a local story.
Jim Ewen
Local Expert
Aberdeen native. Artist, musician, and founder of the Anatomy Rooms. 20+ years building artist-led cultural infrastructure in this city — the institutional memory UnderWorks Art needs.
Andrew Aslak Cruz Nimmo
Next-Gen Associate
With UnderWorks Art since day one. Now 20, his perspective keeps us honest about who we’re building this for — and ensures we speak to the generation that will fill it.
Nadia Chervnsik
Next-Gen Associate
Houston-born Arts Management and Music Industry graduate. Bringing fresh creative energy and social media instincts to the UnderWorks Art team — the outside voice that keeps us sharp.
Incognito
Other
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Peter Culley
Strategic Advisor
Architect and urban regeneration specialist. Has led transformations for the Southbank Centre, London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY and Memphis’ Crosstown Concourse, US. Now resident of Aberdeenshire bringing world-class ambition to Aberdeen’s brief.
Contributors
Photography & Digital Design
Michal Wander (Photography) and A Megahed (Digital Design) are shaping how UnderWorks Art looks and feels to the world — even before the first wall is painted.
Don’t watch
Aberdeen
miss this.
UnderWorks Art is looking for investors, funders, collaborators, and champions who believe culture is how cities thrive — not a luxury for after everything else is sorted. If that’s you, let’s talk.