New art gallery in Darlington Library off to a winning start

The new Crown Street Art Gallery, based in the central library in Darlington, was officially opened on Saturday, when the winner of the regional Dover Prize was announced.

The Darlington Borough Art Collection, which is currently in storage in the basement of the library and Darlington Arts Centre, is a collection of artwork put together over 150 years.

It features work by local, national and international artists and has been acquired through donations, bequests and purchases.

The Public Catalogue Foundation recently catalogued the collection as part of a national project set up to photograph and record all oil, acrylic and tempera paintings in publicly-owned collections throughout the UK.

The collection has previously been exhibited in The Myles Meehan Gallery, in Crown Street library, as well as in public buildings in the town, including the Town Hall and Dolphin Centre.

A council spokewoman said: "Crown Street Art Gallery will support the Borough Collection through exhibitions of artwork over the coming months and years."

The gallery has been set up to replace the community art spaces formerly based in the arts centre, which is due to close in July.

The first exhibition in the new gallery was the Dover Prize Exhibition, won by Carlton Piper with his mixed media piece called Hiroshima: Kengo Nikawa.

The Dover Prize Exhibition was started in 1998 by the former chairman of the Darlington Society of Arts, Peter Lofthouse. Mr Lofthouse's friend, Peggy Nonhebel, nee Dover, provided an endowment fund which is managed by the County Durham Community Foundation.

The theme of this year's Dover Prize Exhibition was Celebrate to fit in with London 2012 celebrations. About 60 pieces were submitted for the exhibition by a wide range of groups and individuals, including students and previous winners.

The Mayor, Councillor Paul Baldwin, attended the official opening of the gallery, along with members of the Dover Prize Board.