Bury Art Museum wins £500k to keep collection safe

Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre has won £589,545 to carry out essential building works which will help to protect its many artworks.

The money, awarded under the government’s Cultural Investment Fund, will pay to repair and renew rooflights, guttering and rainwater pipes, as well as internal repairs to plasterwork. The works will enable the reopening of some currently closed gallery spaces.

Work is scheduled to start in the autumn. In order to keep the museum open, it would be phased so that only areas of the building directly affected by the work would be closed off to the public.

Bury Art Museum opened in 1901 and was purpose-built to display the Wrigley Collection of Victorian art gifted to the people of Bury; a condition of the gift was that a gallery was built to house it. It is a Grade II listed building, situated in Bury’s conservation zone and houses the borough’s treasures.

The Wrigley Collection contains work of influential British painters (early 1800s) including works by JMW Turner, John Constable, Sir Edwin Landseer and Sir George Clausen. The collection is of international significance.

Councillor Charlotte Morris, cabinet member for culture and the economy, said: “This is excellent news. Bury Art Museum is one of our most iconic buildings and has been at the heart of our cultural life for more than a century.

“These works will enable us to carry out vital repair work so that our residents and visitors can continue to appreciate the many wonderful works of art we have, as well as attend the many events and activities the building also hosts.

“Making these repairs will also enable us to develop our commercialisation plans which will make the organisation more sustainable, both financially and environmentally.”

ENDS

Press release issued: 25 March 2024.