Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Aberdeen art gallery fundraising closes in on £1million

Residents should see work progress quickly on the renovation with massive roof lights installed within the next few weeks before copper plates are put on the side of the building.
Residents should see work progress quickly on the renovation with massive roof lights installed within the next few weeks before copper plates are put on the side of the building.

A long-running fundraising campaign to drum up £10million for renovation work to Aberdeen’s art gallery is closing in on its first £1million.

The £30million renovation, which council chiefs have vowed will make the attraction among the “best regional galleries in the world”, has been funded by £10million from the authority and £10million from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

A fundraising campaign is currently ongoing for the remaining cash.

On Thursday, the council’s education committee heard that a total of £650,000 had so far been banked.

And last night council sources said that an anonymous donation of £250,000 had just been left for the project.

Added to this the Press and Journal’s long running donation drive has netted £30,000 bringing the total to an impressive £930,000.

In March, the building was covered in a shroud urging more donations and further support has come from recruiting renowned north-east percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie to be the face of the campaign.

Residents should see work progress quickly on the renovation with massive roof lights installed within the next few weeks before copper plates are put on the side of the building.

It will then be made completely wind and water tight, before internal works are carried out and the art works are finally moved into place.

Aberdeen Art Gallery redevelopment.        Scaffolders working in the Cowdray Hall.     Picture by Kami Thomson    27-04-16
Scaffolders working in the Cowdray Hall

The A-listed building is scheduled to reopen next winter.

Last night the council’s finance convener Willie Young said that officers at the local authority had estimated the city’s art collection to be worth around £200million.

He said: “We are eternally grateful for this anonymous donation which is just one of a number we’ve had.

“We have £200million worth of art in this city but we have struggled to display it which is one of the major reasons we went for the renovation.”

The drive has proved controversial in some quarters but Mr Young insisted the work was not in jeopardy.

He said: “We have underwritten the money so the fundraising will continue indefinitely until the money is raised.

“The most important thing is that people will soon get to see the incredible work that has been done.”

The gallery was opened in 1885, partly funded through public donations.

The current work includes the creation of 21 gallery spaces in place of the existing 11, as well as a community gallery in a new wing at the rear of the building.

Those wishing to support the project can visit www.aagm.co.uk/donate or phone 01224 523670.

Donations can also be made by SMS by texting AAGM001 to 70970 to donate £5 and AAGM001 to 70191 to donate £10.

Donors can also send a cheque, made payable to Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums Development Trust, to: Inspiring Art and Music Campaign, Aberdeen Maritime Museum, Shiprow, Aberdeen, AB11 5BY.

Alternatively, call 01224 523670.