GLASGOW.- Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum has welcomed over 14 million visitors since the restored and redesigned cultural gem reopened to the public ten years ago, on 11th July 2006, following a three-year, £27.9 million refurbishment.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary since Kelvingrove reopened, Dr Jim Hunter, Honorary Director of Music and Chris Nickol staged a unique organ recital. They played ten pieces of music selected by the public, including another rendition of David Bowie’s Life on Mars, which made Chris a social media sensation earlier this year. The organ, which was built in 1901 by Lewis and Co, of London, holds the record for playing the only free daily organ recital in the world. Musicians have already performed more than 3,000 concerts, which have been enjoyed by over 70,000 people a year.
The impact of the reopening of Kelvingrove Museum on tourism in Glasgow and the city’s position on the international stage is indisputable. Glasgow is Scotland's cultural, creative and economic powerhouse. It is the fifth most visited UK city by international tourists and domestic visitors made more than 2.1 million trips to Glasgow last year. Kelvingrove received in excess of 1.3 million visitors during 2015. It remains the number one thing to do in Glasgow and is Scotland’s third most popular free visitor attraction; it has also just been awarded a TripAdvisor 2016 Expert’s Choice Award.
Chair of Glasgow Life, Councillor Archie Graham, said: “Kelvingrove is a magnificent and much-loved building, which has brought the world of art, history and natural history to life for visitors for more than 100 years. The outstanding refurbishment, which was unveiled to great applause ten years ago today, preserved the building and collection – and all the joy and discovery that comes with it – for generations to come.
“An astonishing 14 million people have wandered through and wondered at this Aladdin’s cave. It is an exceptional legacy of Glasgow’s proud past and it has been instrumental in placing the city on the must-visit list of the world’s top travel guides.
“One of Kelvingrove’s major innovations is that it’s a genuinely flexible museum. By changing stories we ensure our displays remain up to date, responding to new discoveries and reflecting public interest. Whether you’re an old friend or a new visitor I invite you to explore life, art and culture in all its amazing diversity, in this truly wonderful free to enter museum.”
Scottish author, broadcaster, journalist and Kelvingrove aficionado Muriel Gray added: “Is it really ten years since the striking restoration of this marvellous building was revealed to almost unanimous praise by all who poured through its refurbished doors?
“Ask any Glaswegian for their memories of Kelvingrove and emotions will flood out, emotions not normally associated with a museum. Many remember a first date or, like me, marvelling as a child at the amazing and occasionally bizarre array of animals on display. Others easily recall a favourite painting or exhibit, but common to all is a love of the building itself. It is beautiful and that beauty is enduring. It is a symbol of our city’s ambition of international status, yet underlines the value we place on social equality.
“Glasgow is a different city now, compared with 10 years ago. Creativity thrives here and the city continues to blaze an internationally acclaimed trail in culture, contemporary art, design and music. I think it’s fair to say we punch well above our weight and our renowned museum offering is pivotal to our appeal.
“I’m pleased to see Kelvingrove has refreshed the stories on display; it gives me a reason to return and an excuse to come back and enjoy my favourite pieces. Ten years on this breathtaking building is still very dear to me and I’m delighted to see future generations are also taking it to their heart.”
Muriel Gray and Councillor Graham marked the special occasion by posing for pictures alongside Sophie Cave’s iconic floating heads installation in the East Court. The giant decoupage number ‘10’ was created by local visual artist Rebecca Scott. It was decorated with images of key pieces from the city’s collection on show at Kelvingrove, reflecting Rebecca’s other work that often takes inspiration from the museum's diverse collection of artworks and natural history exhibits.
One of the largest civic museum and art gallerys in the UK outside London, Kelvingrove is, to a very unusual degree, deeply embedded in the life of its city. It combines the qualities of a friendly local museum with world-class scale and quality, displaying a collection of international importance that reflects Glasgow’s global links – and global vision.
The Learning and Access team, which has developed and delivered a programme of events, activities and talks that bring the city’s collection to life for everyone from the very young, to the not so young, have also organised an activity programme to mark the occasion.
At the turn of the century the architectural strategy for the refurbishment of Kelvingrove was agreed. It was simple: to restore it to its Victorian just-built condition while modernising all the services for 21st century visitors and 21st century technology.
Inside however, for the time was revolutionary. Those tasked with redesigning the museum’s offering created new displays rather than simply updating the old galleries, a mammoth task that involved a complete rethink of the philosophy of the museum. Today’s displays are based on an assessment of the most interesting objects, or groups of objects, amongst the 1.2 million in the city’s vast collection. Curators proposed over 200 stories, whittled down to the 100 on show. Each of the 8,000 objects – 4,000 more than had been on display when the museum closed in 2003 – was cleaned, and if necessary, restored by conservators and each had to have a new display mount designed and made.
Museum managers made the bold decision not to opt for one single display method; instead every story is communicated in the way that works best for the objects on display and the stories they tell our audiences. Rather than addressing subjects like art history or archaeology, Kelvingrove concentrated on telling the most interesting stories about the most interesting objects. By focusing on the strengths of the collection curators didn’t need to ‘fill gaps’ with graphics and they were able to ensure the displays were accessible to the novice, yet engaging for the more knowledgeable visitor.
When it reopened in 2006 the public could explore 22 galleries, each of which introduced the visitor to between four to eight separate stories, grouped under a broad theme. This was recognised as a major improvement, allowing individual stories to be refreshed without having to redisplay the entire gallery. The result was a genuinely flexible museum, which by changing three of four stories a year could evolve over time and remain current. Only this April the museum’s popular Life Gallery was completely redesigned, enabling visitors to learn about intriguing new specimens from the Natural History collection that had never been on display before.
The project also involved designing and building the £7.4 million Glasgow Museum Resource Centre to house the 200,000 objects formerly stored at Kelvingrove, freeing up the basement for new public facilities. Throughout its 100 year history before it closed for refurbishment, the museum played host to a number of popular temporary exhibitions in the main hall, including an exhibition of the now Queen Elizabeth’s wedding dress in 1948, which drew 139,175 visitors in 13 days, Dali’s Art in Jewels in 1973/4 and the enormous hit that was Rembrandt by Himself in 1990.
Since Kelvingrove reopened in July 2006 over 1 million people have enjoyed a number of temporary exhibitions in the newly created space. Their subjects have been as varied as the collection that hangs above them. One of the first, Kylie – The Exhibition, in September 2007, attracted over 165,000 visitors. Dr Who proved incredibly popular with more than 132,000 people taking the opportunity to see the Time Lord while he was in town. Painting exhibitions by The Glasgow Boys and Jack Vettriano drew a combined total of over ¼ million people, while others have learned about everything from dinosaurs and ancient Egypt to our costume collection and ACDC memorabilia.
Kelvingrove has always been free to enter. It first opened to the public in 1901 when it was a major part of the Glasgow International Exhibition and its original collections came mainly from the McLellan Galleries and the City Industrial Museum, which had been opened in 1870 at the former Kelvingrove Mansion. The building originally cost more than £250,000 to complete, using profits from the 1888 International Exhibition at Kelvingrove Park, public subscription and funding from the Town Council. In 2006 it reopened after a three year £27.9 million restoration, which included almost £13 million from the Kelvingrove Refurbishment Appeal, Scotland’s most successful ever cultural fundraising campaign. The successful restoration of one of Glasgow’s most loved public buildings has ensured that Kelvingrove is in a position to serve the city and its visitors for another 100 years.
