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Museum & Art Swindon facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Euclid street civic offices swindon
The Civic Offices building in 2007

Museum & Art Swindon is a cool place in Swindon, England, where you can see amazing art and learn about history. It used to be called the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery. The local council, Swindon Borough Council, runs it. Since 2024, you can find it inside the council's main offices on Euclid Street in Swindon.

How the Museum Started

The art collection at Museum & Art Swindon began in 1944. A kind person named H. J. P. Bomford gave a lot of artworks to start it. For many years, until June 2021, the art was shown at a place called Apsley House. This was an old house built in the 1800s in Swindon's Old Town.

Moving to a New Home

In 2021, the Swindon Borough Council decided that Apsley House needed a lot of repairs and wasn't suitable anymore. The museum had already been closed since March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. So, the art collection was carefully put away in storage. The council promised to find a new home for the museum and art gallery.

The museum reopened in July 2024 with its new name, Museum & Art Swindon. The council spent money to change the first floor of its Civic Offices building into the new museum space. This building was finished in 1939 and has a cool, modern design.

What You Can See

The museum's art collection mainly shows British art from the 1900s and 2000s. Many artworks were given by groups like the Art Fund and the Contemporary Art Society.

Famous Artists and Artworks

You can see works by many well-known artists, including:

The collection includes different types of art, like paintings, photographs, and special pottery made by artists.

Swindon's History and More

When the museum was at Apsley House, it also had displays about local history. You could learn about:

  • archaeology (studying old things people left behind)
  • geology (the study of rocks and the Earth)
  • Swindon's Jurassic history (when dinosaurs lived!)
  • The town's connection to the Roman Empire
  • The everyday history of Swindon

Events and Activities

The Swindon Museum and Art Gallery used to be one of the places that hosted events for the yearly Swindon Festival of Literature. This festival brings together writers and readers for talks and activities.

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