Carlisle’s Tullie will unveil its new-look entrance in February.
The area has been redeveloped and will feature a new café, shop, events space and an additional exhibition space – the Carlisle Gallery.
Tullie has been working with a design team led by De Matos Ryan architects, who recently worked on the transformation of the Young V&A.
The museum’s new Carlisle Gallery will showcase the diverse history of Carlisle through the museum’s unique collections. With a focus on local stories, the gallery invites visitors to explore themes such as wild, social, industrial and revolutionary.
Cultural identity and resilience are at the heart of the new Carlisle Gallery. Visitors can explore objects from the diverse communities that have called Carlisle home.
The gallery will also feature Faunus, a new work by Nicole Bishop, drawing inspiration from Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre’s earliest record from 1512.
Art will also extend out of the gallery into the new welcome area. Hold Fast, Stand Sure, I scream a revolution, a large-scale installation of ceramic mushrooms by Serena Korda will hang from the ceiling.
The work was acquired with support from Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, Art Fund, and the Henry Moore Foundation.
It will open its doors to the public on Saturday, February 15.
The revitalisation of the café and purpose-built shop are designed to complement the museum’s ethos of inclusivity, creativity and sustainability, featuring locally sourced, bespoke products.
The shop will be curated much like the museum and galleries, representing local makers, producers and businesses, with unique ranges that are exclusive to Tullie.
It is hoped the transformed café will provide a destination dining experience in its own right. It will also be available for private dining events, and weddings, cementing its place as a key part of Carlisle’s hospitality scene.
Properties on Castle Street, unused for years, were transferred to Tullie from Cumberland Council, parts of which will form brand new spaces for the museum’s popular community programme.
Tullie’s iconic Gatehouse entrance building has received some attention alongside this work with the help of a grant from Historic England.
The Grade I listed building, which is a prominent part of Carlisle’s streetscape, was taken off the Heritage at Risk register following a full refurbishment.
This work is part of a comprehensive redevelopment plan focusing initially on the initial welcome and social spaces of the museum. The next phase, which begins in late spring 2025 is set to modernise the 850sq m main first floor gallery spaces and create new learning facilities.
While work on this second phase is ongoing, the museum has continued to welcome visitors and has recently opened a stunning new Sheila Fell exhibition.
The exhibition is the first major retrospective in over 30 years, Cumberland on Canvas.
Fell, from Aspatria, is arguably one of the 20th century’s greatest landscape painters. Her dark and evocative paintings of the Solway plain led LS Lowry to regard her as the greatest artist of her generation.
Sheila Fell: Cumberland on Canvas runs until March 16, and brings together close to 100 works from private and public collections with the generous support of the Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund.
The redevelopment work has been made possible with funding by the Government, including support from the Government’s Town’s Fund and Future High Streets Fund.
It has been further supported with public funding from Government administered by Arts Council England. The café refurbishment is supported by the Government through the Shared Prosperity Fund.
Cumberland Council councillor Anne Quilter, portfolio holder for vibrant and healthy places, said: “Carlisle is being transformed by a series of projects that will support the economy and strengthen the city as our regional capital. Tullie is one of our main attractions and their exciting plans will provide a boost to our cultural offer. Providing lasting legacies for all to enjoy.”
Emmie Kell, director, museums and cultural property, Arts Council England, said: “We’re delighted to see the unveiling of the new entrance and additional exhibition space at Tullie.
“It’s fantastic that the local community and visitors to the area will be able to enjoy finding out about the city’s cultural history through the museum’s collections in the new Carlisle Gallery. We’re also pleased to support Tullie through our national portfolio programme for its programme of activity.”
