Central Warwickshire’s top galleries: A guide to navigating the art scene in the heart of Shakespeare’s county

Having a close proximity to art is a well-known essential for maintaining mental wellbeing. Farnsworth Art Gallery’s website puts it best, explaining that “viewing art can make you feel better and improve your mood.” I’m sure all of you reading this have got only one thought at the back of your mind: where is the closest art gallery, and exactly how far is it from your accommodation? Yet this sort of idle speculation could be seen as the biggest problem with today’s art world as it ignores something even more important: the actual quality of the art space which you are near to. This article aims to reset the entire narrative on the subject, and we can surely expect action from both Arts Council England and the Art Fund forthwith. By examining the qualities of gallery spaces in the region, with regards to their proximity to the nearest student accommodations, I aim to coherently contextualise that age-old question: “when can I go back to the Mead Gallery?”.

The first port of call for all new Warwick students shouldn’t be the Freshers’ Fair, the Icebreaker, or even the SU pool tables, but the Mead Gallery. This gallery, located inside the Warwick Arts Centre, is presented by their website as “a place where people can meet, create, discuss and discover the arts.” Whilst certainly containing many verbs, this description may fail to capture the emotions one experiences upon stepping over the gallery’s threshold. “Ethereal”, “liminal” and “transcendent” were the words that sprung to mind amongst its visitors.  What, in my eyes, makes the gallery achieve this universal praise, can be chalked down to its impressively high ceilings. This feature defines every major gallery of note, creating an amazing sense of space that allows the individual to really disconnect with reality – a prerequisite for seeing many of the abstract works in the Mead Gallery.

Another obstacle to the Mead Gallery’s future as Central Warwickshire’s finest institution is its sheltered existence

The Mead Gallery space itself does not feature a permanent collection, but rather operates with a series of temporary exhibitions, coinciding with the University term time – an understandably grating situation amongst local residents who have to live without a gallery for months on end. On the subject of the art itself, the gallery’s high ceilings allow for a range of installations, the most recent of which featured a massive loom installed in the centre. The loom held a huge tapestry, which moved through the loom, creating a moving artwork that appeared differently whenever you viewed it. This unique format definitely has potential. I say potential as the artist could have gone further than simply the initial concept. The tapestry that moves through the loom is noteworthy more for its blankness (occasionally it changes from lilac to a light blue), than for the variety of mediums that could be explored through the format.

Another obstacle to the Mead Gallery’s future as Central Warwickshire’s finest institution is its sheltered existence. Whilst featuring on Warwick’s campus itself, you could certainly forgive the average Warwick student for not knowing the space existed due to the small entrance and minimal signage. This factor contributed to my inability to discuss anything other than the loom in the autumn exhibition, as prior to this, I was completely unaware of such a high-ceilinged room on campus. Nevertheless, whilst the Mead Gallery has a very high ceiling (potentially the highest in the region), its often unusual artworks and hidden existence may hold it back from being crowned Central Warwick’s best gallery.

After a few hours deep in thought, I concluded that the Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum was eclectic, wonderful but deeply, deeply baffling

The natural alternative to the sleek modernism, chalky walls and high ceilings of the Mead Gallery is the classical elegance of the Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum. Nestled in the former Pump Rooms, the main gallery is situated in the former ladies’ bathing pool. However, the curators peculiarly do not continue this theme within the space, with a significant proportion of the work coming from male artists. How relevant this fact is I cannot say, but I can confess to being completely baffled by this main space. One enters to a collection of “Old Masters” on the left-hand side, with a painting by Thomas Gainsborough among them. Then in the left corner hang five sleeping bags from the ceiling, followed by a series of display cabinets featuring glassware and then contemporary art. You find yourself circling around the room, growing ever more confused by where to start. The only cogent explanation is that the display cabinets are relics of a past museum space, with the sleeping bags are unable to be explained by a rational mind.

I spoke to a member of staff after this experience, wondering when the gallery would perhaps be revamped. The response was genuinely shocking. The space had been renovated the previous year and there were no further plans for overhaul. Naturally, I turned and ran. Where did I run to, I hear you ask? Through the museum space, which features a ceiling so low anyone over 6ft would suffer, and I then found myself in the temporary exhibition. This space proves equally confusing. The previous exhibition, entitled 25 Years, 25 Objects, 25 Artists, aimed to commemorate the space’s 1999 opening, however the work presented is hard to follow. Mapping out the elements of Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum splits the space into three distinct parts. The first features objects, such as a shoe, and paintings including stripes by Bridget Riley. The second is a collection of paintings by a man named Mark Elsmore. They’re actually very impressive, but what the connection is with the first section is left unanswered. The third, and by far the largest section, is arguably the exhibition shop, which features jewellery, books and other paraphernalia by local creatives. After a few hours deep in thought, I concluded that the Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum was eclectic, wonderful, but deeply, deeply baffling. Why did any of it exist is a question I am still unsure about.

I urge you all to look at yourselves and to ask yourselves one question: “when can I go back to the Mead Gallery?”

Moving on to perhaps the most venerable of the Central Warwickshire art institutions, we have the prestigious Herbert Gallery. Taking pride of place in the city of Coventry, the space, opened in 1960, has both temporary and permanent collections. In the grand main atrium lies ‘Dippy’ the Diplodocus, on loan from the Natural History Museum. You now might want to go towards Dippy and embrace the 26 metre long skeleton, but the reception will stop you, leading you into such a spiral that you suddenly find yourself upstairs (your experience may differ to mine).  Upon arrival, I then was face to face with an entire wall of fans. Not the ornamental fans that Georgian women used to signal attraction to men at dance parties but industrial fans, which buffeted you with Gale Force 9 winds if you stood on the wrong section of floor. If you managed to make it past the fans without being blown all the way back to Finham, I’m very proud of you. You also will have the pleasure of viewing a very unique timeline of Coventry’s past, present and future. Events include Coventry becoming net-zero in 2030, having a better quality of life than Finland by 2066 and becoming the UK capital by the end of the century. The theme of craziness is continued in the next galleries, which offer the victim (it’s universally agreed that anyone who steps into the temporary exhibition space becomes one) the chance to smell different animal droppings via a synthetic oil and a pipette. I really have no words about this one. The real argument over the Herbert Gallery concerns the 1972 Local Government Act, which created the West Midlands country and wrestled Coventry away from Warwickshire’s grasp. Fierce and violent debate continues over whether Ted Heath was right to do this, yet both sides fail to recognise that because Ted Heath was Ted Heath, Ted Heath was wrong. Nevertheless, the Herbert Gallery still stands strong as a beacon of art in Central Warwickshire.

I’m sure all of you are all very tense awaiting for a winner to be crowned in the very relevant race to be Central Warwickshire’s Top Gallery. Unfortunately, I feel that the environment surrounding it has become too charged, and that crowning one would result in mob rule, and me being dragged from my home by the many passionate fans of the losing galleries. Therefore I urge you all to look at yourselves and to ask yourselves one question: “when can I go back to the Mead Gallery?”