Monday December 22nd 2025
Ascus Art and Science lab in Summerhall, Edinburgh
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Tucked away in Edinburgh’s Summerhall, is Scotland’s first and only art-science lab providing an open science space for public use.
Encouraging the unique mix of art and science, Ascus Art and Science Lab began in 2008 with the vision of getting artists and scientists into the same space to collaborate, moving into their home in Summerhall in 2016.
Due to being open for anyone to use, the lab attracts both small artists looking to create solo projects and companies such as ALGACRAFT, a small biotech company currently using lab space in a collaborative project with LNER.
Describing what Ascus is, manager Keira Tucker, explained:
“There is nothing like this anywhere else in the UK that’s publicly accessible. As far as we know, we are the only publicly accessible art lab and I’d be bold enough to say in the UK.
“A lot of artists think that science isn’t for them and we try to bring down that barrier. So definitely from an art perspective we are very unique.”
After receiving funding from the Welcome Trust in 2016, Ascus made Summerhall their home, making an easy transition due to existing lab space left over from when the building was the Royal Dick Vet School.
Keira explained that the lab itself was a result of conversations between artists and scientists who were looking for a creative space.
“Even though conversations were happening, it was still very much artists needing to actually understand the practical side of science”, she explained, “So through funding we started the lab. We are basically all about trying to make science accessible, make the tools of science accessible, abnd bring together artists, scientists, designers, everybody.”
The lab has become a popular space, drawing in around 300 people a year who either join for a one off workshop or take up lab space for a certain amount of time. After recently hiring a lab technician, after years of Keira running the lab on her own, she was encouraged by the technician to apply for the Creatuve Edinburgh Awards, where they received recognition for the first time after winning the award for Innovation.
Keira explained:
“It was quite a challenge to figure out what category to apply for but we chose innovation because we thought, well, we have people from London and from Northern Ireland coming to use our space. So we figured innovation was the right category and we won, so I am really touched by that.”
To see more about Ascus and their lab space, watch the video below.
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