New Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery taking shape
Councillors and a local MP have been given a tour of the new museum and art gallery which is taking shape at the old Music Hall in Shrewsbury
Shropshire Council officials overseeing the work to transform the old Music Hall into a new museum and art gallery gave the group, which included the MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, Daniel Kawczynski, a sneak preview recently.
As part of his visit, Mr Kawczynski was also given a painting of the Libyan capital Tripoli to help with his ongoing research into Libya. Mr Kawczynski is a Government adviser on Libya and chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Libya.
The painting, which dates from the early 19th Century, was painted by Flag Lieutenant George Harnage, who was on board the HMS Boyne which sailed to Tripoli to collect Christian slaves in 1816.
The piece is part of the Shrewsbury Museum collection, which will be moved to the new museum and art gallery at the old Music Hall building when work is due to be completed in 2013.
Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member responsible for tourism and culture, Councillor Mike Owen, said the new museum would be a huge boost for Shrewsbury and Shropshire as a whole.
He said:
“There is still quite a lot of work to be done as it’s such an ambitious and involved project, but things are certainly starting to come together. I am really excited at how the new museum and art gallery will look, and I’m sure it will become a major draw for people visiting the area, as well as people who live and work in Shropshire.”
Andrew Bannerman, Shropshire Councillor for Quarry and Coton Hill, was also part of the tour, and said:
“We are all looking forward to the reopening of the new museum and art gallery. It will be the flagship of our new Visitor Economy Strategy – the starting point of many explorations of the town and the county.
“Peeling back years and layers of building material is a delicate and often frustrating business, and it is a pity that the project is taking longer than first envisaged, but our tour of the site gave a vivid picture of how the new museum is taking shape. We will have a very exciting window on our past to delight the thousands of visitors we are aiming to attract.”
Mr Kawczynski added:
“It was superb to see the excellent work that’s taking place on the new museum, which when finished will be a much- welcomed addition to our town’s tourist attractions. As a result of the visit, I have written to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in order to invite him to the museum to see this top class facility come to completion.”
