Celebrating 25 years of Rugby Art Gallery and Museum

The Little Elborow Street venue's silver anniversary celebrations were approved last night (Monday 4 November) at a meeting of the council's cabinet.

Since first opening its doors in 2000, Rugby Art Gallery and Museum has cemented its status as the borough's cultural hub - providing a permanent home for the acclaimed Rugby Collection of contemporary art, the borough's social history collection and the Tripontium Collection, the trove of Roman artefacts excavated from a site on the outskirts of Rugby by the town's archaeological society.

To date, the venue has welcomed more than 1.5 million visitors and educated more than 50,000 school pupils through its learning programme.

The 25th anniversary programme includes Blueprints, a special exhibition which traces both the architectural foundations of the Rugby Art Gallery and Museum building, and the history of the Rugby Collection.

The anniversary plans also include commissioning an artist to create a sculptural play space for children in the building's grounds and working with local artists to create new products to sell at the Rugby Visitor Centre shop.

Heritage takes centre stage during the programme with displays of seldom seen gems from both the social history and Tripontium collections, together with monthly talks celebrating significant chapters in the borough's history.

And schools play a significant part in the venue's anniversary celebrations, with plans to completely revamp the school learning programme and host exhibitions showcasing the borough's young artistic talent - Future Faces, an exhibition of self-portraits by eight to 16-year-olds, and When I Am 25, an exhibition which challenges school pupils to imagine, design and create objects which could play a pivotal role in everyday life when the pupil reaches 25-years-old.

Cllr Maggie O'Rourke, Rugby Borough Council portfolio holder for partnerships and wellbeing, said the anniversary programme aimed to celebrate Rugby Art Gallery and Museum's contribution to the borough over a quarter of a century, while also inspiring the next generation to embrace the arts, heritage and culture.

"Rugby Art Gallery and Museum has nurtured the arts and heritage in the borough for 25 years, creating a legacy of innovation and inspiration," Cllr O'Rourke said.

"After attracting a record number of visitors last year, we want the anniversary celebrations to look back at what the venue has achieved and look to the future, encouraging the borough's young people to discover the wealth of benefits the arts, heritage and culture can bring.

"We can promise a few surprises during the 25th anniversary programme - with one major part of our plans remaining under wraps for now," Cllr O'Rourke added.

"But we want the whole borough to have the opportunity to mark this milestone and take part in the celebrations next year."

Cllr Neil Sandison, Rugby Borough Council's Liberal Democrat group spokesperson for partnerships and wellbeing, said: "This celebration of Rugby Art Gallery and Museum's anniversary is welcome.

"The diversity of the exhibitions and events which take place at the venue, together with the work carried out by the team in our wider communities, make it more than a museum and more than an art gallery."

For more information about exhibitions and events at Rugby Art Gallery and Museum, visit www.ragm.co.uk