MacArts is run by the Duncan MacKinnon Music and Arts Trust – a charitable organisation inspired by the visionary spirit of Dunc Mackinnon, a prominent Borders promoter who brought high profile acts to the Scottish Borders in the 1960s. The Trust was formed to fulfil an ambition to create a state-of-the-art music and arts venue and community space in a disused listed building of historic and architectural significance in the centre of Galashiels with an emphasis on involving everyone in the community ;
this space is now known as
MacArts.