15/05/07 - Cllr Tomlinson, Promise 27 - Swindon Art Gallery

Arts Festival - Swindon Town Centre

Promise 27, Swindon Council 50 Promises: We will find a new home to exhibit Swindon's modern art collection, and will re-house our museum collections.

The nationally renowned collection of Modern Art in Swindon is a shining example of the excellent cultural offering that is available in the town. 

Swindon has one of the best collections outside London of Modern British Art. It is a collection of national standing with lots of the top names among modern British artists represented.  It includes paintings by LS Lowry, Lucien Freud, Henry Moore and Ben Nicholson.  The collection continues to develop and people's expectations of art galleries are changing so the collection has outgown its current  home on Bath Road.  The exhibitions change about three times a year and the collections staff rotate the work to make the most of what we currently have, however the search is now on for improved premises to house the art in what will be focal point for the regeneration of the town centre along with the new central library.

Councillor Justin Tomlinson, Lead Member for Leisure and Culture, said: "We are proud of our remarkable art collection but recognise that we need to make it more accessible to people. We currently own some outstanding paintings that are out on tour and are being shown in galleries across the country and as far afield as Japan. We are continuously trying to increase our collection by securing external funding from grant giving organisations.   I believe that having a new home for the collection will really raise its profile and put Swindon on the cultural map.
 
"We are currently carrying out an options appraisal on potential sites for the new Museum/Art Gallery and hope to make a decision this summer.  It is important that we find a site that is accessible to all and that has enough space to allow us to display as much of our art and museum collections as possible.  We also need to have space to continue to provide additional facilities for local displays, not just from local artists but also from local children.  It would be ideal if we could find additional space for art works to be created on site as well as to be able to hold more corporate and educational events."

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