Travelling Gallery awarded Lottery funding for new vehicle!

The Travelling Gallery is delighted to announce the success of its funding application to the Scottish Arts Council National Lottery Capital Awards.

The £173,500 award will go towards the construction of a purpose-built mobile art gallery, replacing the current vehicle which is now more than 20 years old.

The City of Edinburgh Council, as custodians of the Travelling Gallery, has contributed £100,000 to the project.

The new Travelling Gallery will have:
· a pavement-level floor, enabling ease of access to the exhibitions;
· improved facilities for users with disabilities;
· an increased floor space to accommodate larger groups of visitors at schools;
· sophisticated, flexible audio visual equipment; and,

Other facilities will include an independent power supply and improved security for exhibitions.

The interior of the new gallery has been designed by award-winning architects Sutherland Hussey. Artists will shortly be invited to submit designs and proposals for the exterior of the vehicle.  It is expected to be on the road in 2007.

Cllr Ricky Henderson, Executive Member for Sport, Culture & Leisure, said: “The City of Edinburgh Council is committed to the Travelling Gallery service and continuing to operate it as a national service for Scotland. This award will ensure that audiences throughout the country, from Shetland to Stranraer, will continue to have access to quality contemporary art exhibitions within their own communities.”

Iain Munro, Head of Capital at the Scottish Arts Council said: “The Travelling Gallery is a versatile gallery space which covers the whole of Scotland, offering adults and children of all ages engagement with stimulating contemporary exhibitions.

“The Scottish Arts Council is excited to be involved in the development of the new Travelling Gallery, which will be of high quality, accessible for disabled people and will provide an excellent model for other mobile arts venues in the future.”

The Travelling Gallery is now hoping to secure a commercial sponsor for the new gallery and interested organisations should contact the Curator, Alison Chisholm, tel 0131 529 3682.

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Media contact:
Morag Ingram
Media & Communications Officer
The City of Edinburgh Council
Tel 0131 529 4430
morag.ingram@edinburgh.gov.uk

Notes to Editor
1. The Travelling Gallery is core funded by the Scottish Arts Council and supported by the City of Edinburgh Council to bring quality, contemporary art exhibitions to schools and communities throughout Scotland.  It is a unique service which was initiated by the Scottish Arts Council in 1978. In 1997 the service transferred to the City of Edinburgh Council’s Culture and Leisure Department and is now run by a small, committed team based at the City Art Centre.

2. The Travelling Gallery tours two contemporary visual art exhibitions every year, each touring throughout Scotland for around four months. The Gallery achieves attendances of more than 110 visitors daily and complements the exhibitions with an award-winning Education Programme of talks, artist-led workshops and quality interpretative materials.

3. Images of the designs and other visuals are available from Alison Chisholm, Travelling Gallery Curator on 0131 529 3682 or e-mail travgal@edinburgh.gov.uk