The Usher Gallery is set to re-open its doors on Saturday 2nd October after a year’s closure.

After undergoing a £1 million revamp to improve disabled access the museum is ready to open once again for visitors.
Visual Art Co-ordinator Jeremy Webster, who led the improvements, said “We are now tantalisingly close to the re-opening and we can’t wait.”

The gallery now has a new ‘pavilion-style’ entrance in Danes Terrace, towards The Collection, while the traditional front entrance in Lindum Road will be closed but will remain a feature of the gallery.

The new entrance has made access easier to everyone but it’s especially friendlier for people with mobility difficulties. The improved gallery now features a new lift for even easier visitor access.

“We have a few special things planned to celebrate the opening,” said Jeremy. “The first temporary exhibition in the Usher is the BP Portrait Award 2010, coming directly from the National Portrait Gallery. This opens on the 2nd October – it’s a fantastic show and always very popular with the public.

“We are also working with the Lincoln Art Programme which has commissioned Mark S Gubb to produce some flags for the Usher. These are being raised over the gallery on Saturday 25th September as a precursor to the opening.

“The Lincoln Art Programme is hosting a special flag raising event in the grounds of the Usher that day which is an open invitation.

“We are also installing two new outdoor sculptures to mark the occasion, one by Peter Randall Page and the other by Edward Allington,” he added.

The new and improved pavilion entrance now hosts an outside exhibition space where sculptures and larger artworks can be displayed.

“I am very relieved that at long last the gallery will be fully accessible,” said Jeremy. “It will make a huge difference to all those people who may have struggled and perhaps even given up trying to get into the gallery in wheelchairs or with pushchairs.”