Saltwell Park Museum Opens at the Shipley
The new gallery is due to open on Saturday 11 June and features glassware and ceramics, taxidermy, bird eggs, insects, minerals, fossils and geology, as well as objects donated by Gateshead residents.
Helen White, Senior Manager for Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, said:
“We hope that the gallery will challenge expectations of what art, history and heritage is and how it can be presented and represented. We consulted with local residents to find out which objects they would most like to see on display. Not all of the items made the list but this display is designed to be flexible so that it can be changed in response to ongoing projects with people in Gateshead. We expect the gallery to evolve over time.”
Councillor Gary Haley, Cabinet member for Culture, Sport and Leisure, said:
“It was a huge surprise to hear that the exhibits from the old Saltwell Park Museum were still in storage – and a real delight to hear that they were going back on public display once more.
“Anyone who visited Saltwell Park as a child in the 1950s and 1960s is likely to have popped into the old Saltwell Towers museum at one time or another. In those days, it was an old-fashioned and slightly gloomy place, though it had a collection of exhibits which always fascinated and entertained.
“I’m delighted that almost 50 years after the old Saltwell Park Museum closed, its contents have found a new home at the Shipley Art Gallery and are once more going on display. I know there are lots of local people who will enjoy re-acquainting themselves with a bit of Gateshead’s past we all thought was lost, and explore all manner of strange and wonderful items they haven’t seen since childhood.”
The refurbishment of the gallery and the new display were made possible through funding from the DCMS Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund.
Paul Ramsbottom, Chief Executive of the Wolfson Foundation, said:
“This exciting project has transformed the way people can engage with and explore Shipley Art Gallery’s fascinating collections. The recently renewed DCMS/Wolfson Fund exists to help museums and galleries throughout England to improve interpretation of their collections, increase access to displays, and enhance public spaces. We’re delighted that it has enabled Shipley Art Gallery to bring to light such a diverse and important collection that has remained unseen for more than 40 years. It will also no doubt revive happy memories of the Saltwell Park Museum.”
Many of the items on display were on show in the museum at Saltwell Towers in Saltwell Park until the late 1960s, by which time the house had fallen into disrepair and the collections were at risk. In 1974, when Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums took over the running of the Shipley Art Gallery the collections were rescued and stored safely, but this is the first time that objects from the old museum have been brought together again for display.
CELEBRATION EVENT SATURDAY 11 JUNE
On Saturday 11 June from 2-4pm, there will be a celebratory event taking place at the Shipley Art Gallery to mark the opening of the gallery.
SPECIAL SUNDAY OPENING
The Shipley is normally open from 10am-4pm from Tuesday to Friday and 10am-5pm on Saturday, but will additionally open on Sunday afternoon 12 June from 1-5pm to enable people to see the new gallery.
