A staggering 46,800 people flocked to The University of Nottingham’s Lowry exhibition in just 10 weeks.
A rarely-seen collection of works – loaned from private collectors – made Lowry the most successful exhibition ever held at Lakeside Arts Centre, drawing thousands of visitors from across the UK.
The exhibition’s popularity led Lakeside to extend its opening hours in the final weeks and peak periods saw visitors queuing to get in to the Djanogly Art Gallery.
The free exhibition focused Lowry’s work from the 1920s to the mid 1950s, and featured a large number of drawings, many of which had never been exhibited as a collection before, plus a substantial number of works loaned by The Lowry Collection in Salford.
Shona Powell, Lakeside director, said: “We have been utterly delighted by the response to this fantastic exhibition. From the very first day the exhibition opened, it attracted large numbers, from art enthusiasts to novices from Nottingham and beyond.
“The gallery has been brimming full of visitors since day one with many queuing to see this amazing collection of works together.”
The exhibition was held in association with the Crane Kalman Gallery, London, and generously supported by Sir Harry and Lady Djanogly and The Lowry Collection in Salford.
University Vice-Chancellor, Professor David Greenaway, said: “The number of visitors to Lakeside is a demonstration of the national importance of this unique retrospective of Lowry’s work.”
Neil Walker, curator of the exhibition, said: “Over the course of its ten-week opening, the Lowry exhibition was an overwhelming success and we’re thrilled with the number of visitors we had. We’ve had some incredible exhibitions at Lakeside Arts Centre and with the Edward Burra exhibition due to open next month, we’re sure that there will be plenty more to come.”
Next month, Djanogly Art Gallery is to host the first major exhibition in 25 yearsof works by artist Edward Burra. The free exhibition will run from Saturday 3 March to Sunday 27 May.
Lakeside: Cultural Impact is a key project within the University’s new appeal, Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, which is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future. Find out more about Lakeside and how you can support us at http://tiny.cc/UoNImpact
The accompanying image is: LS Lowry the Cripples (detail) 1949 , copyright The Lowry Collection, Salford. Reproduced with kind permission.
-ENDS-
Notes to editors:
The exhibition ran from 16 November until 5 February.
The University of Nottingham, described by The Sunday Times University Guide 2011 as ‘the embodiment of the modern international university’, has award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings. It was named ‘the world’s greenest university’ in the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking 2011, a league table of the most environmentally-friendly higher education institutions.
The University is committed to providing a truly international education for its 40,000 students, producing world-leading research and benefiting the communities around its campuses in the UK and Asia. Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest ever fund-raising campaign, will deliver the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future. For more details, visit: www.nottingham.ac.uk/impactcampaign
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, with almost 60 per cent of all research defined as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Research Fortnight analysis of RAE 2008 ranked the University 7th in the UK by research power.
The University’s vision is to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health. The University won a Queen’s Award for Higher and Further Education in 2011, for its research on global food security. More news from the University at: www.nottingham.ac.uk/news