The new mezzanine level which will create a new space inside York Art Gallery has been completed as part of the gallery’s £8 million development.

The mezzanine will become a new first floor above the main gallery within the original roof space of the building.

When finished, the space will be one of the galleries dedicated to the new Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA), showcasing part the gallery’s world class ceramics collection.

The construction work for the project has been carried out by York firm SIMPSON.

Dr Janet Barnes, CBE, chief executive of York Museums Trust, said: “When I first saw this fantastic Victorian roof space more than ten years ago I was certain that it had to be a key part of any major development we undertook at the gallery. For decades it has been hidden away but with the mezzanine now finished you can see the potential the space has and how it will become a superb home for star works from our ceramic collections.”

An online virtual tour of the gallery is now possible at www.yorkartgallery.org.uk

The new mezzanine level is one of several ways in which the £8 million development will create an additional 60 per cent exhibition space within the original footprint of the building. This includes a new first floor above the South Gallery, which together with the mezzanine level, will become CoCA. On the ground floor the gallery will expand into rooms previously occupied by York Archives. This will create a suite of three galleries to show ambitious and high profile exhibitions.

Extra learning space and a new artists’ garden, which will link to the existing York Museum Gardens, are also keys part of the changes at the gallery.

The development will also include:

A second entrance at the rear of the gallery into the new area of the York Museum Gardens.Better visitor facilities including  new cafe, shop, toilets and lift.

Much improved storage for the collections.

Full list of funders so far

National Lottery through Arts Council England – £3.5 million
Private Legacy – £2 million
City of York Council – £500,000
Anthony Shaw Trust – £400,000
DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund – £300,000
Garfield Weston Foundation – £250,000
The Foyle Foundation – £150,000
Holbeck Charitable Trust – £100,000
Sir Siegmund Warburg’s Voluntary Settlement – £100,000
Friend of York Art Gallery – £70,000
The Feoffees of St Michael’s of Spurriergate – £50,000
J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust – £50,000
Shepherd Group – £50,000
Headley Trust – £40,000

York Museums Trust is continuing to seek other funding opportunities for the project.

Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA)

York Art Gallery now holds the world’s most extensive and representative collection of British studio ceramics, thanks to the acquisition of collections from Dean Milner–White, WA Ismay and Henry Rothschild and the recent loan of Anthony Shaw’s collection. Opening up the roof space and creating a new upper South Gallery will make use of the height of the Victorian building. This will add some 450m² of high quality gallery space.

These two new galleries will become the Centre of Ceramic Art, showcasing our world class collections of more than 5,000 British studio ceramics which span the twentieth century and come right up to the present day.

Our displays and special exhibitions will be supported by archives and visible open storage for much of the collections.