High Life Highland have announced that they intend to close Thurso Art Gallery, in an attempt to save costs.

GMB are calling for their members, the Caithness community and the wider Highland Region in opposing this closure, to ensure that their remains open public access to arts and exhibitions for the residents of Caithness and their visitors.

Thurso Gallery is the only fit for purpose non-commercial gallery space in the region other than Inverness. It offers a varied programme of touring exhibitions from national and international collections, bringing exciting and acclaimed contemporary art to Caithness.

The gallery has featured internationally celebrated exhibitions from the National Galleries of Scotland, the Fleming Collection and the V&A. The exhibition team’s connections with these world class institutes has been essential in keeping the programme fresh and exciting.

Caithness has a thriving art community. The society of Caithness Artists alone has more than 70 members, and notable artists based in the region include Lotte Glob, Neil Macpherson and Professor Jim Mooney. Local artists benefit not only from having a professionally run space where their own art can be shown but also from the wide variety of exhibitions which they would otherwise have to travel miles out of the county for. It’s important for artists’ career development to have access to these and so the closure will negatively affect those who are less able to make a journey to Inverness, Edinburgh or London.

Thurso College has an art programme which benefits from having a gallery showing touring exhibitions nearby. Students’ access to the contemporary arts will be limited by this decision, which in turn will negatively impact their own potential for growth.

The gallery is a welcoming and inclusive space which is always free of charge to enter. Access to such spaces is beneficial to the mental health and wellbeing of nearby residents who may struggle to travel or to pay for events. Talking to visitors from all backgrounds about art is part of the role of a gallery invigilator and having somebody present for a chat can help to reduce their feelings of isolation.

Thurso Gallery was renovated to a high standard in 2015 and has self-healing walls, black-out shutters and a professional lighting set-up for exhibitions.

Community groups incoming may not have the experience needed to utilise these features without the help of trained staff.

The loss of dedicated gallery staff leaves any exhibition put on by local groups at risk of harm. It is important for exhibitions including works that are fragile, delicate, or valuable to be invigilated to prevent damage. Without staff monitoring the space there is a significant risk of damage to artworks from accidents or intentional vandalism. Damage to the gallery space itself is also possible without supervision by someone who is adequately trained. In addition the design and professional presentation of exhibitions is a specialised skill which trained gallery staff have the knowledge and experience to deliver.

Promoting the area as part of a “North Coast 500” tourist trail whilst stripping its resources in this way is short sighted. A staffed gallery space showing internationally acclaimed exhibitions is a chance to showcase to visitors from around the world that art and culture in the north highlands are thriving, reflecting positively on the community as a whole.

This will be the last opportunity to save Thurso Art Gallery, please get behind the GMB and OPPOSE THIS CLOSURE!!!