Walsall art gallery to celebrate anniversary with series of events

Since opening its doors to the public on February 20, 2000, the popular gallery has welcomed more than 3.5 million visitors.

To mark the occasion, the gallery will bring together works of contemporary art collected over the last 20 years, from artists who have featured in the exhibitions and Studio programmes.

20:20 - Twenty Years of Collecting Contemporary Art will reflect overlapping themes such as the changing urban landscape, the Black Country, the impact of globalisation, and people and places, and will feature work from a selection of international artists as well as those closer to home. Artists include Mohamed Bourouissa, Romuald Hazoumè, Juneau Projects, Hew Locke, Yinka Shonibare, Dayanita Singh, Bob and Roberta Smith, Soheila Sokhanvari and many others across floor three and throughout the building.

20:20 also includes a range of works by artists who have engaged with the culture and landscape of the Black Country including Rita Donagh, Laura Oldfield Ford, Martin Parr and Mark Power.

Artists from the West Midlands region include Ruth Claxton, Andrew Jackson, Andrew Tift and Stuart Whipps. A series of portraits by photographer Ming De Nasty commissioned during the construction of The New Art Gallery Walsall feature people who were involved in the creation of the gallery, from the architects Caruso St John to engineers, construction workers and gallery staff, including a few who still work for the gallery.

In an exhibition in the ground floor Community Gallery will be a selection of works by director Stephen Snoddy, representing each individual year of the Gallery’s 20 year history. 20 for 2020 will include works by Gavin Turk, Christopher Le Brun, Soheila Sokhanvari and Jane and Louise Wilson.

Mr Snoddy said: "For our 20th birthday celebrations, we are bringing together works of contemporary art from our collections that mark significant moments in our history.

"Our beautiful building will be bursting with a wide range of art works by local, regional, national and international artists. We are immensely proud of our strong track record in supporting artists and exploring fresh and creative ways of connecting artists with audiences.

"We firmly believe that art has the power to inspire, to challenge and to bring people together and hope to continue to advocate the importance of the visual arts for many years to come.”

A celebratory preview event, open to all, will be held on Thursday, February 20.