Walsall's New Art Gallery faces closure amid UK budget cuts
The New Art Gallery in Walsall, which opened in 2000 as a model of provincial cultural investment, now faces severe funding cuts. The Walsall Borough Council needs to save £85 million over four years, and the gallery's annual budget of just under £1 million is targeted for a £500,000 reduction by 2020. The cuts would eliminate free admission and could lead to closure if alternative funding is not found. The gallery, designed by Caruso St. John and nominated for the Stirling Prize, houses a collection including works by Vincent van Gogh, Lucian Freud, Edgar Degas, and Amedeo Modigliani from the Jacob Epstein bequest. A decision is postponed to February 2017. Meanwhile, Inverleith House in Edinburgh's botanical gardens has closed after its exhibition 'I Still Believe in Miracles', citing financial difficulties, ending a 30-year contemporary art program. A petition to save Inverleith House aims for 5,000 signatures.
Key facts
- New Art Gallery Walsall opened in 2000 with £21 million from lottery funds.
- Gallery designed by Caruso St. John, their first major public commission, nominated for Stirling Prize.
- Collection includes works from Jacob Epstein bequest (1973): van Gogh, Freud, Degas, Modigliani.
- Walsall Borough Council needs to save £85 million over four years.
- Gallery budget of under £1 million faces £500,000 cut by 2020.
- £100,000 cut in first two years, £400,000 in following two.
- Free admission at risk; closure possible if no new funds or ticketing introduced.
- Inverleith House in Edinburgh closed after exhibition 'I Still Believe in Miracles'.
- Inverleith House had run contemporary art program for 30 years.
- Petition to save Inverleith House targets 5,000 signatures.
Entities
Artists
- Vincent van Gogh
- Lucian Freud
- Edgar Degas
- Amedeo Modigliani
- Jacob Epstein
Institutions
- New Art Gallery Walsall
- Walsall Borough Council
- Art Council
- Inverleith House
- Artribune
Locations
- Walsall
- West Midlands
- England
- Edinburgh
- Scotland