Leamington Art Gallery and Museum set to be officially re-opened next week

Located iat the Royal Pump Rooms, in Leamington’s Parade, Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum, shut its doors in mid-March, but is set to welcome visitors back to the venue, after a successful trial period in July.

Martyn Darvell, the gallery and museum's customer services manager, said: “The reopening of the Royal Pump Rooms including the Art Gallery and Museum is really positive for Leamington.

"The trial opening was very successful and it was fantastic to see visitors’ reactions to some of the new and existing works on display, whilst ensuring we operate safely with social distancing in place. We are delighted to be open again”

The Art gallery and museum has also received the “We’re Good To Go” mark, which is the official UK mark to signify that the venue has worked hard to follow COVID-19 guidelines and has the appropriate processes in place to maintain these.

Visitors are now able to book onto either a Thursday to Sunday morning (10am to 12pm) or afternoon slot (1pm – 3pm/ 1pm – 4pm weekends) through the gallery website – prebooking is one of the measures the art gallery has put into place to limit the spread of Covid-19.

Other safety measures introduced are increased cleaning regimes as well as social distance floor markers and hand sanitizing stations.

Viewing points have also been introduced for visitors to take in art for a little while longer, whilst allowing other visitors to safely walk past them.

One visitor said: “I’ve loved being back in the gallery, it’s definitely a change from my daily routine, and a positive one for sure! It felt incredibly safe and spacious and the staff took great care of me during my visit.”

As well as the safety measures, the art gallery has introduced better methods for viewing and experiencing the art work, including producing engaging video content for those who are not ready to visit the gallery yet (available on the YouTube channel), showcasing online exhibitions and collections, as well as creating a new audio tour which is due to be finished shortly.

For those wishing to book a gallery visit for this weekend, prebook on the gallery website here www.warwickdc.gov.uk/royalpumprooms