New Museum Flagship Project For Sligo
Sligo County Council is advancing plans for the development of a new cultural quarter for Sligo, which will include a new museum, and extended and refurbished Model & Niland Gallery. A new civic space will host outside performances and will be linked to the city and the river through new pedestrian walkways.
The museum will be a landmark building close to the historic Green Fort and will form a prominent feature within the city. The two storied building will have an elevated section looking out over the city and harbour. The museum will house and present innovative and imaginative exhibitions based on the landscape of the Northwest – exploring the unique characteristics of the landscape and the societies that lived there. It will be oriented to the local and regional population as well as to the tourist and visitor igniting curiosity and interest in our past and in history as a dynamic and ongoing story. It will pursue county wide educational programmes and be a focus for learning for a range of diverse audiences from schools to third level institutions to community groups to archaeological and heritage groups etc. It will also be equipped with state of the art conservation and research facilities. Public consultation Sligo County Council recently hosted a major consultation process, involving meetings with individual groups associated with heritage in the region and with groups and bodies involved in developing the region. There was also a series of consultation events throughout the county, which provided the general public with a chance to contribute to the form and theme of the museum. Model Arts & Niland Gallery Sligo’s Model Arts & Niland Gallery is one of the leading contemporary arts centres in Ireland and one of the most important and dynamic arts organisations in the northwest. Since its opening in 2001 it has developed a strong national and international reputation for its exhibitions, performances and education programmes. In that time visitor figures have almost doubled from 36,000 to over 65,000 Irish and international visitors. Contemporary Arts space The redeveloped Model will actively contribute to the cultural economy of the northwest. The many new features will include a new façade and entrance, increased and improved gallery space, a purpose-built performance space and eight artists’ studios. The future vision of the Model Arts and Niland Gallery is to create a flagship contemporary arts space which will be dynamic, innovative and inclusive, with an artistic programme that will play a defining role in extending our cultural boundaries.