Plans to open new art gallery in Fife town

Ryan McPhee plans to open Affordable Arts on the Lower Methil High Street in the last week of April.

As well as selling a range of artwork, the shop will also stock products from Reid's Forest Revival, which makes hand-crafted items from locally sourced and reclaimed timber.

"I want to bring something different to Methil,” said Ryan. "There’s nothing like this in the town. I’ve always been passionate about art. The art that will be available in the shop will be affordable – it starts from £20. There are other art galleries which start at £100. I think that the price of artwork these days is going through the roof. I’m buying the art in bulk and passing on the savings to the customer.”

The gallery will stock a range of art produced by local and Scottish artists.

Ryan, from Kelty, said he has had an interest in art from an early age. His dad is a professional framer and passed on his passion to Ryan.

He said: “I’ve always been into art; when I was young my dad was constantly bringing new artwork home for us to enjoy.

"It was always a dream of mine to open an art gallery but I took another career path and became a gamekeeper and studied at Borders college at Newtown St Boswells .

“I then decided that It wasn't for me and went back to follow my dream of opening a gallery. I went back to work with my dad on a part-time basis and found a niche in the market for affordable art.

"I want to make artwork affordable to everyone so I found the shop in Methil and have transformed it into a gallery and gift shop.

“I’m just waiting on lockdown to ease so I can open. I have no worries about opening a shop in lockdown – I’m going to give it time, but as I'm affordable I see there being no problems.”

The announcement was welcomed by Levenmouth councillor Colin Davidson.

He said: “Excellent development. With discussions ongoing with councillors Ryan Smart and David Graham and our housing team to bring more affordable houses to the Methil area, this’ll be a great addition.”

If you would like to learn more about the Affordable Arts store, and keep up to date with plans for the opening, visit – www.facebook.com/Affordablearts.