The New Art Gallery Walsall

Om museet

The New Art Gallery Walsall opened to the public in February 2000, and Queen Elizabeth II performed the official opening on 5 May that year. It replaced an older museum and art gallery that shared a building in Lichfield Street with the central library. The new building took about ten years to plan and three years to build, and cost around £21 million, paid for mostly by the Arts Lottery Fund with further money from European regional funding. It was designed by the London architects Caruso St John, chosen in 1996 after an international competition.

The tall, clad tower is a landmark beside the canal basin in the town centre. Artists were involved from the start: Richard Wentworth designed the paving and furniture of Gallery Square, and other artists documented the building work and the people who built it. Inside, exhibition spaces run over four floors, with a roof terrace on the top floor and an art library on the mezzanine.

The heart of the permanent collection is the Garman Ryan Collection, which Lady Kathleen Garman gave to the borough in 1973. It was formed by Garman and her friend, the sculptor Sally Ryan, and contains 365 works, more than a third of them three-dimensional. Artists represented include Jacob Epstein, Lucian Freud, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh. The gallery holds more than 4,000 works in all and is run by Walsall Council with regular funding from Arts Council England.

Højdepunkter

• Garman Ryan Collection with works by Epstein, Freud, Picasso and Van Gogh
• Contemporary exhibitions on the upper floors
• Landmark building by Caruso St John
• Panoramic roof terrace
• Free art reference library
• Free Bloomberg Connects digital guide

Permanent udstilling

• Garman Ryan Collection – A personal collection of modern and older art gathered by Kathleen Garman and Sally Ryan, with works by Jacob Epstein, Lucian Freud, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh, shown on floors 1 and 2.

Grundlagt

2000

Ejer

Walsall Council

Ledelse

Stephen Snoddy

Entrépriser & rabatter

Der er gratis entré.

Admission is free, including the permanent collections and exhibitions. The gallery is funded by Walsall Council and Arts Council England, and donations are welcome.

Tilgængelighed

• Kørestolsvenlig
• Elevator
• Handicaptoilet
• Handicapparkering
• Servicehunde tilladt
• Taktile tilbud: ingen oplysninger
• Rundvisninger på tegnsprog: ingen oplysninger
• Letlæste tilbud: ingen oplysninger
• Synstolkning: ingen oplysninger

The gallery has street-level access with automatic doors and a lift to all floors. There are three accessible toilets, on the ground floor, floor 1 and floor 4. Two manual wheelchairs can be borrowed (ask at reception or book ahead), and lightweight folding seats are available, with benches throughout. Several Blue Badge bays are next to the gallery, reached from Marsh Street. Alternative versions of printed materials are available on request. Staff are trained to support visitors with autism, dementia and visual impairments. Assistance dogs are welcome in all areas and water is available on request.

Børn og familie

Velegnet til børn og familier

• Familieomvisninger & workshops
• Opgavehæfte, skattejagt eller audioguide for børn
• Puslerum
• Børnefødselsdage

A seasonal family programme runs alongside the exhibitions, with free online workshops and free digital and STEAM worksheets, as well as Arts Award activities. A baby change facility is in the ground-floor accessible toilet, and the gallery is breastfeeding friendly. Artist-led children's birthday parties (ages 4 and over) cost £200 for up to 25 children and include a 90-minute workshop; they must be booked at least 12 weeks ahead.

Transport & parkering

The gallery is at the top of Park Street on the High Street. By car from the north, leave the M6 at junction 10 (A454) or the M6 Toll at junction T7 (A34); from the south, leave the M6 at junction 7 (A34) and follow the brown tourist signs. Free cycle stands are at the front, close to National Cycle Network route 5 and the canal towpaths. The gallery stands on the Town Arm of the canal, which has moorings for boats.

Service & spisesteder

• Café
• Museumsbutik
• Wi-fi

Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the gallery, and reception staff can help visitors connect. A Costa Café is on the ground floor. The gallery shop sells gifts, art books, exhibition catalogues, postcards and prints. A free art library and resource area is on the mezzanine and offers free internet access.

Arrangementer & udlejning

• Lokaler til leje
• Firmaarrangementer

Op til 250 personer.

Spaces for hire include the fourth-floor meeting room, two activity rooms (up to 26 boardroom style or 40 theatre style), the foyer (250 standing or 120 theatre style), the mezzanine and the Garman Ryan galleries. Guided tours of the Garman Ryan Collection can be added for an extra fee.

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