New LED lighting system at Leeds Art Gallery is '˜vital for a world class collection'

As previously reported in the YEP, the gallery and its neighbour the Central Library have been part of a major revamp project which included a £1m roof repair job.

And now, Leeds City Council bosses have signed up a specialist firm which will put in modern lighting to make the most of the gallery’s vast collections. It will be in place in time for the new-look gallery’s re-opening in October this year.

A report just signed off by the city’s culture bosses says: “This is a significant refurbishment project for Leeds Museums and Galleries.

“The outcomes will be important as a visible improvement to facilities in advance of re-opening Leeds Art Gallery for October 2017.

“These galleries have not been refurbished since the early 1980s and lighting is a particular problem where both lighting tracks and fittings are obsolete and failing completely in some areas.”

The report says that most standard off the shelf LED fittings are “not suitable for a major art gallery hosting world class artwork and which are compatible with existing fittings in use at the gallery and the lighting track”. The new system “also provides an opportunity to continue the move to more environmentally friendly light fittings in the gallery,” it adds.

The lighting will be funded from an existing Arts Council grant to the council.