Plans drawn up for gallery to house Demarco collection

Published on Friday 24 July 2009 10:34

ARTS impresario Richard Demarco is hoping to build a new gallery in Granton to house his huge collection of modern art.

Leading architects have drawn up plans for the ambitious project, set in several pavilions on the waterfront. It would be surrounded by landscaped grounds and have close links with nearby Telford College.

They are now applying for grants to help meet the estimated 3 million cost of the project.

Over the last 50 years, Mr Demarco has built up a collection which represents some of the most important figures in 20th century art. It also includes around a million photographs.

The building has been designed by Linlithgow-based architects EK:JN, and would include a lecture theatre and cinema. As well as being open to the public, it would be used by staff and students at Telford College.

Mr Demarco regularly puts on exhibitions showing some of the collection, but now hopes to find it a permanent home.

He said: "I'm absolutely determined that I do something to celebrate my 80th year. I've got to find a proper home for this collection. They're in temporary storage at the moment. I want it to be gifted to the people of Scotland.

"This tells the story of Scotland's cultural history from the 1950s, and includes some of the world's greatest artists.

"Essentially it's an archive covering all aspects of the arts – literature, theatre, and visual arts. There are at least 5,000 major artworks. We've already done some very satisfying work with the students of Telford College. They want to make the archive part of their curriculum."

The collection includes paintings by the German artist Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter and Polish painter Joanna Przybyla. There is also work by Scottish poets George Mackay Brown and Hugh McDermott. Around 52 countries are represented in the collection.

Thousands of the photographs have already been digitised in a project by Dundee University, following a grant by the Scottish Arts Council. Many of them document 60 years of the Edinburgh International Festival.

Some of the work is on display in an exhibition at Traquair House, near Peebles, until the end of August. Much of it is currently stored at Skateraw, near Dunbar.

Architect Ed Kelly, of EK:JN, said he had designed the building to complement the local landscape. The firm has negotiated with Waterfront Edinburgh to rent the land near Caroline Park.

Mr Kelly said: "We don't want to impose too much on Caroline Park. It would help to regenerate the area. Telford College has a very strong and lively art department. This would be a natural progression."

The Demarco Archive Trust is planning to apply to various bodies, including the National Lottery, to help fund the project. It applied for the 3m Scottish Community Foundation's Arts Funding Prize earlier this year, but was unsuccessful.

Trust chairman John Martin said: "We're very keen to engage with the community in Granton. There is a huge amount of support for it, but obviously it is going to require a big fundraising drive."