Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art facts for kids
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| Established | 27 January 2007 |
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| Location | Centre Square, Middlesbrough, England |
| Type | Art Museum |
MIMA, which stands for Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, is a special art gallery in the heart of Middlesbrough, England. It focuses on showing modern art. The gallery officially opened its doors on January 27, 2007. Since 2014, MIMA has been a part of Teesside University.
Contents
The Story of MIMA
How Middlesbrough Got Its Art Gallery
MIMA's opening was a big moment for Middlesbrough's art collection. The town, which grew a lot from industry, started its art journey with the Linthorpe Art Pottery. This pottery made beautiful art pieces between 1879 and 1889. It was co-founded by Christopher Dresser.
An art school, the School of Art, opened in 1870. This helped grow the town's interest in art. For many years, Middlesbrough dreamed of having its own art gallery.
Finding a Home for Art
In 1904, a space for the town's first art gallery was given by Sir Arthur Dorman. However, due to money problems and the start of a war, only a garden was built there.
For a long time, the town's art collection was kept in different places. From 1927, paintings were shown in the Carnegie library and a church. It wasn't until 1957 that the town council bought a building just for art. This building was a former doctor's office.
Old Art Spaces
Before MIMA, there were other art places in Middlesbrough. The Cleveland Crafts Centre showed British pottery and jewelry. It closed as an exhibition space in 2003. Another place, the Cleveland Gallery, was in old school buildings. These buildings are now used by University of Teesside for new businesses.
Building the New MIMA
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 art spaces, classrooms, an auditorium, a cafe, a shop, and even a roof terrace. While MIMA was being built, it still held art shows in other locations around town.
MIMA's Leaders
MIMA has had several directors who help guide the gallery. Godfrey Worsdale was the first director. The current director is Laura Sillars. She joined MIMA after working at Sheffield's Site Gallery.
Special Art Shows
MIMA has worked with the Tate gallery on a program called Artist Rooms. This program brings famous artworks to different places. MIMA has shown art by artists like Gerhard Richter and Louise Bourgeois through this program.
In 2009, the cast of the TV show Top Gear held a special car art exhibition at MIMA. This show brought a record number of visitors to the gallery!
The Middlesbrough Collection
MIMA is home to the Middlesbrough Collection. This collection includes amazing fine art and crafts from the 1800s to today. Many pieces were collected by MIMA's earlier galleries.
Famous Artists in the Collection
The collection features works by many well-known artists. Some of these include:
- Frank Auerbach
- Elizabeth Blackadder
- David Hockney
- L.S. Lowry
- Paula Rego
- Lucie Rie
- Stanley Spencer
- Kara Walker
In 2015, Tees Valley Arts gave a collection of important artworks to MIMA. This included pieces by artists like Vivan Sundaram and Len Tabner.
See also
- Vleeshal Middelburg
