Two Salisbury charities merge to protect city gallery's future
It means the Young Gallery can renew its Arts Council accreditation
Two Salisbury charitable trusts have merged, to help protect the future of the city's Young Gallery.
The former Edwin Young Collection and The John Creasey Museum are now joined together as the Young & Creasey Gallery Trust.
The change means the gallery, within Salisbury's Library, can renew their Arts Council accreditation.
It has a collection of over 4,000 artworks, prints, sculpture, books and photography.
That began with over 300 watercolour paintings showing scenes of Salisbury and the surrounding area by Edwin Young, as well as manuscripts and designs for book jackets relating to the crime and thriller writer John Creasey, which became part of the collection in the 1970s.
Artists featured in the collection now include Robin Tanner, Edgar Barclay and William Goldsmith, as well as prints by J M W Turner, John Constable, David Hockney and Henry Moore.
Leader of Wiltshire Council, Cllr Richard Clewer said:
“The Young Gallery is a real asset not only for Salisbury but the surrounding area as well. The work taking place recently has been vital to enable the gallery to move forward and become a vibrant space that can become part of a cultural quarter for Salisbury.”
Dr Emily Dunbar, Art Curator said:
"The merger of the trusts has been essential to the behind the scenes work at the Young Gallery and is as crucial step towards developing a dynamic, free art museum in the centre of Salisbury. It marks an exciting new phase for the Young Gallery, which we plan to build on over the rest of the year.”