The Scottish Arts Council launches a brand new contemporary visual arts listings guide for Scotland this evening (31 October), at the opening of the National Galleries of Scotland exhibition, Douglas Gordon: Superhumanatural.

Artupdate.com Scotland is a free visual arts listings guide which provides information about galleries exhibiting contemporary art, including details of current exhibitions, contacts and website links, a map of gallery locations and galleries taking part in the Scottish Arts Council’s interest free loan scheme Own Art, providing valuable information for visitors and people interested in exhibitions or looking to buy a piece of art in Scotland.

The directory also includes listings for London galleries and there are plans for a future issue of the guide to feature listings for New York to show that Scotland, with its vibrant visual arts scene and artistic talent, is on a par with some of the world’s most renowned centres for visual arts.

Artupdate.com Scotland was commissioned by the Scottish Arts Council in association with the National Galleries of Scotland in response to demand from galleries for a national listings guide. The directory is the first to give such a comprehensive national overview of visual art galleries in Scotland and will be printed bi monthly and distributed to a range of cultural venues, including galleries and museums across Scotland.

The guide, which will also be available online, has been produced by Artupdate.com, a contemporary art information service that has produced guides for London, New York and the Venice Biennale.

Wendy Law, Own Art Manager at the Scottish Arts Council said: ‘The purpose of the guide is to bring a wider audience to contemporary art, to make it as easy as possible for people to know where galleries are and what they offer. It is important to have something which shows just how rich and diverse the visual arts sector is in Scotland.’

Richard Ingleby, Director of the Ingleby Gallery in Edinburgh added: ‘This is a welcome and valuable initiative. For years Scotland's gallery goers have been faced with a rattlebag of different publications - to know there will now be a single authoritative guide is very good news for everyone.’