Swindon councillor gives update on museum and art space

Councillor Marina Strinkovksy says she hopes the museum will open well within the next couple of years

Work is under way on moving a town museum and art gallery into its new home.

Swindon Museum and Art Gallery was based at Apsley House before being moved to the borough council offices during the coronavirus pandemic.

It is now moving in to a new space on the first floor of the Euclid Street building

Councillor Marina Strinkovsky said she believes that the museum will be open well within "the next couple of years".

"Bringing more people through the building will be good for the art, for the politics and for the civic function of the building," she added.

The ground floor of the borough council offices is currently being used to host temporary displays from the museum's collections.

The museum's new location is expected to provide about 40% more display space than its former home at Aspley House.

Space on the first floor of the council offices is available as many employees now work from home

The project has faced many delays due to the amount of work that needs to be completed in the building, including new fire doors, flooring and a lift.

Frances Yeo, Swindon Museum manager, told BBC Radio Wiltshire that the opening exhibition will be called Origins, and look at how artefacts have ended up in the town.

"We look at everything from 100 million years in the Jurassic period, all the way through up to the present day Swindon, and that present day Swindon gallery will change on a regular basis as we engage with more and more communities", she added.