Maggie Ashmole

(she/her)

Maggie Ashmole is a Scottish curator and arts facilitator based between Glasgow and Edinburgh. She holds an MA in History and Politics from The University of Edinburgh, and recently completed an MLitt in Curatorial Practice (Contemporary Art) at the Glasgow School of Art and the University of Glasgow. Maggie currently works as a Marketing Intern for Glasgow Art Map, and is also part of the non-hierarchical team of volunteers that coordinates Six Foot Gallery’s exhibition programme, and an editor for the literary magazine Sextet.

Maggie’s current research centres on Artist Run Initiatives (ARIs) in Scotland, with a focus on creating infrastructures to support and sustain cultural work. Her practice frames curation as a ‘support structure’ that fosters connection and collaboration. She collaboratively curated The Thirdspace Toolkit with CPCA classmates, a publication and toolbox designed to document and facilitate DIY events and exhibitions in Glasgow. For her final Master’s Project, Maggie produced Edinburgh Art Map, a contemporary art listings platform, in collaboration with EMBASSY Gallery and Glasgow Art Map.

 

Edinburgh Art Map

Edinburgh Art Map (EAM)  is the graduate curatorial project of Maggie Ashmole, created in collaboration with EMBASSY Gallery and Glasgow Art Map. Building on the existing model of Glasgow Art Map, this project recalibrates the platform for the context of Edinburgh, producing a resource that is situated and attuned to the city.

‘(EAM) is an up-to-date and accessible platform that makes it easier to discover contemporary art in the city. The core of the project is an online map and exhibition listings website. Through these regular online listings, as well as social media posts and a weekly newsletter, EAM aims to connect artists and spaces to new audiences. EAM will also produce a bi-annually printed map of permanent galleries in the city, created by a local designer, to be distributed across the city.’

 

An accompanying thesis, ‘Mapping as Curatorial Practice: Infrastructures to Support Contemporary Visual Art in Scotland’ situates the Art Map within Edinburgh’s history of artist-run organising and justifies the need for the existence of such a platform in the city. Overall, the project is conceived as a critical and infrastructural intervention into the visibility and sustainability of Edinburgh’s contemporary arts ecology.

 

Please join us for the official launch of the Edinburgh Art Map website on 6 September, from 4–8pm at EMBASSY Gallery. 

 

Edinburgh Art Map Logo

2026, designed by Maddie Lennon.

Edinburgh Art Map website

2026, designed by Rodrigo Nava Ramírez. Currently under development.

Promotional postcard handout

2026, designed by Maggie Ashmole.

Conclusion

Extract from 'Mapping as Curatorial Practice: Infrastructures to Support Contemporary Visual Art in Scotland'. Maggie Ashmole, 2026.

The Thirdspace Toolkit

by Maggie Ashmole, Catriona Anderson, Cora Farr, Keely Mclavin, Ziruo Li, Jie Zhang

The Thirdspace Toolkit is a zine publication and physical toolkit containing practical tools, ephemera, and advice designed to document and facilitate DIY events and exhibitions in Glasgow. Together, they function not only as a practical manual and resource for running and organising a space or event, but also as a source of inspiration and motivation for those getting started. The Toolkit is catalogued in the Glasgow School of Art Library and available for students to borrow and use for producing their own events and projects.

Toolbox Manual
Co-Curators of The Thirdspace Toolkit

Pictured (left to right): Jie (Jorra) Zhang, Maggie Ashmole, Keely McLavin, Catriona Anderson, Cora Farr, Ziruo (Zero) Li. 2025. Photo credit: Ziruo Li.

DIY Spaces Workshop

CPCA Studio, 2025. Photo credit: Ziruo Li.

GSA Library Zine Culture Workshop

GSA Library, 2025. Photo credit: Ziruo Li.

Thirdspace Toolbox

2025. Photo credit: Ziruo Li.

Thirdspace Toolbox

2025. Photo credit: Ziruo Li.

Zine Launch Event

GSA Library, 2025. Photo credit: Ziruo Li.

Zine Launch Event

GSA Library, 2025. Photo credit: Ziruo Li.