The organisation has been operating since 1991 and has re-established the use of a splendid Victorian art gallery.

The Storey Gallery presents a programme of exhibitions which includes artists with national or international reputations, together with educational activities, workshops and talks.

The adjoining walled garden includes a permanent environmental artwork by Mark Dion, 'The Tasting Garden'.

The Gallery employs practising artists and it is engaged in the development of regional artists' professional development programmes and networks.

Brief History

The Storey Gallery is part of the Storey Institute, a large Victorian building in the centre of Lancaster. This was built at the end of the 19th century by Sir Thomas Storey, a local industrialist, for the educational and cultural benefit of the people of Lancaster. Initially it housed the City Art Gallery, the Public Library, and the Girls’ Grammar School, while from the 1950s until 1982 it was Lancaster College of Art.

The Storey Gallery provides one of the best exhibition spaces in the north west of England. It is a splendid gallery with excellent natural light and its qualities have been highly praised by exhibiting artists.

When built in 1888 it was intended to be the City Art Gallery and features a rare marble statue of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The opening exhibition included works by Gainsborough, Constable, and Canaletto.In the 1950s and 1960s there were occasional exhibitions, including an Arts Council of England touring show of work by Picasso and Matisse, but by the late 1970s and early 1980s the Gallery was rarely used.

Programme

Starting in 1991, a group of Lancaster-based artists have re-established the Gallery and have mounted a continuous programe of nearly 100 exhibitions, together with related educational activities.

The programme has included one-person exhibitions by Gillian Ayres, Basil Beattie, Michael Brennand-Wood, Simon Callery, Andy Goldsworthy, Anthony Green, Albert Irvin, Michael Kenny, Sophie Ryder, a retrospective by John Hoskin, plus touring shows from the Arts Council, and also from Japan, Spain and Italy.

Educational activities for school and college students, and for adults, are organised to accompany most of the exhibitions. These activities include practical art workshops, informal tours of the exhibition, and lectures.

Garden

Adjoining the Gallery is a large walled garden which had also been neglected for many years. In 1998 the Storey Gallery succeeded in attracting the Tate Gallery Liverpool and the Henry Moore Trust, as artranspennine98, to fund the creation of a permanent environmental artwork in one half of the garden. This is The Tasting Garden, by US artist Mark Dion.This project enabled the Garden to be opened to the public for the first time, and created a tranquil green space in the centre of the city.

The garden is now an open-air extension of the gallery, and the remaining half is used for temporary display of artworks, educational activities and occasional events.

Management

The Gallery is currently staffed by a Director (4 days per week) and an Administrative / Financial Assistant (3 days per week), plus a team of about 12 occasional associate workers, and a few student volunteers. Most workers are practising artists.

The Storey Art Gallery Ltd is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. It has a board of directors/trustees which includes a bank manager, a health consultant, a local businessman, an art college course leader, a gallery curator, and a retired art teacher.

Development

The development of the Storey Gallery to date has been carried out very effectively by a highly committed and dedicated group of artists, with a large voluntary contribution and minimal stafffing. Although extremely cost effective, this mode of operation was not sustainable and did not provide sufficient capacity for further development of the Gallery to fulfil the aspirations of the founders.

In 2004 the Gallery undertook an Organisational Review led by external consultants, the Theophilus Partnership. This Review resulted in a Business Plan for development of the Gallery operation over the next few years, with a revised vision and a new management structure.

At the same time, Lancaster City Council produced plans to develop the whole Storey Institute building as a centre for Creative Industries. This development is a most significant and fortunate opportunity for the Gallery. The Storey Creative Industries Centre [SCIC] will provide a positive and supportive context for the Gallery’s own development. The scheme is intended improve the whole building and access to it, provide enhanced exhibition spaces for the Storey Gallery, and will establish bespoke Creative Industries workspaces, provide advice and support mechanisms, deliver tailored training programmes and aim to advance the development of contemporary visual and literary culture.

The Storey Gallery, plus Folly and Litfest, the two other arts organisations in the building, will provide the creative engine and public face for the revitalised building. This new context will provide increased opportunities for the Gallery to support artists’ professional development, to obtain new and increased revenue streams for the long-term sustainability of the gallery, and to expand its overall reach and operation.

In order to make the most effective benefit from this rare confluence of opportunities, the Gallery has obtained funding for a transitional period of consolidation, capacity building and organisational development to create the operational structure and resource levels recommended by the Organisational Review.

Funding

The Storey Gallery is funded by Arts Council England North West, Lancaster City Council and Lancashire County Council.
Over the past few years the Gallery has obtained grants and support for specific projects from the Granada Foundation, the Henry Moore Foundation, the Charities Aid Foundation, the Regional Arts Lottery Programme, and the Foundation for Sport and the Arts.