New trust established to create 'sustainable museum for the future'

Wiltshire Council has said that the merger of the former Edwin Young Collection and The John Creasey Museum into one charity will enable the Young Gallery to renew its accreditation through Arts Council England and develop a sustainable art museum for the future.

The Young Gallery is a free art museum located on the first floor of Salisbury Library.

It has a collection of more than 4,000 artworks, prints, sculpture, books and photography.

The collection began with more than 300 watercolour paintings showing scenes of Salisbury and the surrounding area by Edwin Young (the namesake of the museum).

It also has 2,000 books in over 20 languages, as well as manuscripts and designs for book jackets relating to the crime and thriller writer John Creasey which became part of the collection in the 1970s.

Artists featured in the collection now include Robin Tanner, Edgar Barclay and William Goldsmith, as well as prints by J M W Turner, John Constable, David Hockney and Henry Moore.

The Young Gallery’s full exhibition programme will launch in October, enabling more artworks from its collection to be displayed, as well as collaborations with local artists and projects.

Minster Street by E A Phipson © Young & Creasey Gallery Trust (Image: Wiltshire Council)

Leader of Wiltshire Council, Councillor Richard Clewer said: “The Young Gallery is a real asset not only for Salisbury but the surrounding area as well.

"The work taking place recently has been vital to enable the gallery to move forward and become a vibrant space that can become part of a cultural quarter for Salisbury.”

Dr Emily Dunbar, Art Curator said: ‘The merger of the trusts has been essential to the behind the scenes work at the Young Gallery and is as crucial step towards developing a dynamic, free art museum in the centre of Salisbury.

"It marks an exciting new phase for the Young Gallery, which we plan to build on over the rest of the year.”