Walsall Art Gallery
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The New Art Gallery is sited in the centre of the West Midlands town of Walsall, England. It was built with £21 million of public funding, including £15.75 million from the National Lottery. Designed by the architects Caruso St John after winning an international design competition, it opened in 2000, superseding the town's old gallery and an Arts Centre that had been closed by the Council in the early 1990s. The New Art Gallery's stark building won several architectural awards. The Gallery houses the fixed Garman Ryan collection of sculptures and paintings by modern masters including a large selection of work by Jacob Epstein, and also hosts visual-arts exhibitions. The five storey building is clad in terracotta.
Its first Director was Peter Jenkinson. After he stepped down, no further Director was appointed by the Council for over two years; the Gallery's curatorial direction & finances consequently faltered. Finally in May 2005, the gallery's board of trustees appointed former BALTIC director Stephen Snoddy and he took up his post in September 2005. Admission to the Gallery is free.