Millennium Gallery facts for kids
The Millennium Gallery is a cool art gallery and museum in the center of Sheffield, England. It opened in April 2001. This gallery was part of Sheffield's big city improvement project called Heart of the City.
You can find it right in the city center. It's near the main train station, the Central Library, and the Graves Art Gallery. It's also close to Sheffield Hallam University and Sheffield Theatres. The building was designed by architects Pringle Richards Sharratt. It's mostly made of concrete and glass. Inside, different gallery spaces branch off a main walkway. This walkway connects Arundel Gate to the Sheffield Winter Garden. In 2011, it was one of the most visited free places in the country. The gallery is managed by Museums Sheffield.
The Millennium Gallery has two main collections that are always there. It also has two spaces for temporary shows. Plus, there's room for events like weddings and a cafe and shop.
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The Ruskin Collection: Art for Everyone
A very smart person named John Ruskin started this collection. He was a famous scholar from the Victorian era. He wanted to inspire workers in Sheffield. So, he gathered many items for his St George's Museum in Walkley, Sheffield, in 1875.
This special collection includes many things. You can see beautiful watercolours, drawings, and prints. There are also plaster casts, minerals, and old books with pictures. Plus, you'll find old writings and coins. The Guild of St George owns these items. Museums Sheffield takes care of them at the Millennium Gallery. The gallery where these items are shown was updated in 2011. This allows them to change the display more often. The collection is very large and some pieces are delicate. So, not everything can be shown at once.
Sheffield's Amazing Metalwork Collection
Sheffield is famous for its metalwork. The gallery's metalwork collection has over 13,000 items! It's so important that it has a special "Designated Collection" status. This means the DCMS sees it as a top collection. It's considered very important for England and even the world.
This collection has probably the biggest group of Sheffield-made cutlery. This includes knives, forks, and spoons. It also has many "holloware" items. These are things like bowls, teapots, and containers. The collection was put together to be a reference. It shows examples of amazing design and high-quality work from all over the world. This was meant to inspire Sheffield's own makers and designers.
Craft and Design: Where Creativity Shines
The Craft & Design gallery is a space for changing exhibitions. It continues the idea of the Ruskin and Metalwork collections. It aims to inspire creativity by showing excellent examples. These shows focus on old and new craft and design.
Some past exhibitions have been very interesting. These include Kill Your Darlings by Kid Acne and Graphic Nature in 2011. There was also Under the Sea in 2012. In 2013, Designed to Shine celebrated 100 years. This show marked a century since stainless steel was discovered in Sheffield.
Big Exhibitions You Won't Want to Miss
The special exhibition space is the largest in Sheffield. It was built to host big traveling shows. These often come from national partners. Famous places like the V&A and Tate send their exhibitions here.
Many exciting exhibitions have been held in recent years. These include Vivienne Westwood: the Exhibition in 2008. There was also Watercolour in Britain and Restless Times in 2010. In 2011, you could see John Martin: Painting the Apocalypse. Then, in 2012, came The Family in British Art and Paul Morrison: Auctorum. Finally, in 2013, there was Force of Nature: Picturing Ruskin's Landscape.
