Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art facts for kids
.jpg) |
|
| Established | 27 January 2007 |
|---|---|
| Location | Centre Square, Middlesbrough, England |
| Type | Art Museum |
MIMA, which stands for Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, is a cool modern art gallery. You can find it right in the middle of Middlesbrough, England. The gallery officially opened its doors on January 27, 2007. Since 2014, it has been a part of Teesside University.
Contents
The Story of MIMA: How it Began
MIMA's opening was a big moment for Middlesbrough's art collection. This collection had been growing for many years. The town's early art history included the Linthorpe Art Pottery, which made beautiful pottery. There was also a School of Art that opened in 1870.
For a long time, Middlesbrough didn't have a permanent home for its art. In 1904, land was given for the town's first art gallery. But due to funding problems and a war starting, only a garden was built there. The art collection was kept in places like the Carnegie library from 1927.
A permanent home for the art finally came in 1957. The Council bought an old doctor's office for this purpose. This building was used until 2003.
Old Art Spaces: Cleveland Galleries
Before MIMA, there were other art spaces in Middlesbrough. The Cleveland Crafts Centre held a collection of modern British pottery and jewelry. This center closed as an exhibition space in 2003. It then became MIMA's offices while the new gallery was being built.
Another place, the Cleveland Gallery, was in old school buildings. It closed in 1999. Today, these buildings are used by University of Teesside to help new businesses start up.
Building the New MIMA Gallery
After the old galleries closed in 2003, work began on the new MIMA building in 2004. The famous architect Erick van Egeraat Associated Architect designed it. The new building has gallery spaces, an education area, an auditorium, a café, a shop, and even a roof terrace!
While MIMA was being built, they held art shows in other places. They featured works by many artists during this time.
Leaders of MIMA
The first director of MIMA was Godfrey Worsdale. He later became the director of the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. Kate Brindley then took over as director. After a few changes, Alistair Hudson became director in 2014. He later moved on to lead the Manchester Art Gallery and the Whitworth. The current director of MIMA is Laura Sillars.
Special Exhibitions at MIMA
MIMA has been part of the Tate's special program called Artist Rooms. This program brings famous artworks to different galleries. MIMA has shown works by artists like Gerhard Richter and Louise Bourgeois.
In 2009, the cast of the TV show Top Gear held an exhibition at MIMA. Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May showed off their "automotive art." This event was featured on their TV show and brought a record number of visitors to the gallery!
The Middlesbrough Collection: Art for Everyone
MIMA is home to the Middlesbrough Collection. This collection has amazing fine art and crafts from the 1800s to today. Many of these pieces were collected by MIMA's earlier galleries.
The collection includes works by many well-known artists. Some of these are Frank Auerbach, David Hockney, L.S. Lowry, and Paula Rego.
In 2015, a group called Tees Valley Arts gave a collection of important artworks to MIMA. This included pieces by artists like Vivan Sundaram.
See also
- Vleeshal Middelburg
Images for kids
-
The Cleveland Gallery was once housed in this old school building.
