01 Identity
Scottish charity record
- OSCR charity number
- SC014815
- Status
- Active
- Regulatory type
- Standard
- Designated religious body
- No
- Geographical spread
- Wider, but within one local authority area
- Volunteers
- 1-50 volunteers
- Staff
- 11
- Postcode
- KW16 3AA
02 Purpose and work
What the charity exists to do
The Pier Arts Centre is Orkney's principal art gallery and its leading independent museum. The Centre was founded in 1979 by Margaret Gardiner OBE (1904-2005) and its collection and buildings are held in trust for the people of Orkney. It cares for an important collection of 20th century modernist art and recently the collection has been extended to include significant 21st century works. The Pier Arts Centre also presents an accessible and engaging year-round programme of contemporary exhibitions, creative residencies and events featuring art from Orkney and beyond. The Pier Arts Centre is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, is a Scottish Charity, a Company Limited by Guarantee and an Accredited Museum. Its entire collection has earned the Scottish Government designation - Recognised Collection of National Significance to Scotland.
Charitable purposes
- the advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science
Beneficiaries
- No specific group, or for the benefit of the community
Activities
- It carries out activities or services itself
Constitutional objectives
(a) to establish and maintain for the benefit of the public a museum and gallery known as the Pier Arts Centre to house the existing collection gifted by Margart Gardiner to the people of Orkney and any further additions and, (b) to advance the education of the public without distinction of sex, political, religious or other opinions in the arts by the establishment and maintenance of a museum and gallery and by the promotion of artistic works, exhibitions and lectures to be held therein.
03 Annual returns
Income and expenditure history
| Year end | Income | Expenditure | Staff | Return received |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 March 2025 | £618,369 | £608,698 | 11 | 28 November 2025 |
| 31 March 2024 | £1,394,112 | £644,308 | 11 | 19 December 2024 |
| 31 March 2023 | £620,615 | £664,316 | 11 | 12 December 2023 |
| 31 March 2022 | £825,649 | £592,420 | 11 | 18 November 2022 |
| 31 March 2021 | £567,377 | £416,832 | 11 | 29 October 2021 |
Figures are those reported by the charity and supplied in the OSCR bulk download. Blank facts remain distinct from zero.
04 Contact record
Principal office or trustees address
- Address supplied to OSCR
- 28-30 Victoria Street, Stromness, Orkney
- Website supplied to OSCR
- www.pierartscentre.com
- Parent charity
- Not supplied
No direct external links on this profile. The official OSCR record and source documentation are available through BritDB’s dedicated source page.
05 Provenance
Source for this profile
© Crown Copyright and database right 2026. Contains information from the Scottish Charity Register supplied by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. BritDB is an independent service and does not claim to be the Scottish Charity Register.