Interim Opening of the New Easton Rooms Extension

On 12 September, the Trustees of Rye Art Gallery were delighted to open the next phase of the new extension at the rear of Rye Art Gallery. This is part of the final phase of the development project started in 2004, aimed at creating "one gallery" from the Gallery's two heritage buildings: the Stormont Studio and Easton Rooms. The next and final stage will incorporate a linking staircase. To mark the current stage of the project, three exciting exhibitions are now open. In the newly extended Easton Rooms, coordinated by manager Sarah Money, internationally renowned local artist, Dave Mackean creates a narrative sequence of striking images reflecting the atmosphere of Rye. These sit very well with a series of thought provoking sculptures crafted in hard steel and bronze by another established and local sculptor, Brigitte Evill. These pieces express the uncertainty of key stages in life. In the adjacent Stormont Studio, the third exhibition is drawn from the Permanent Collection and curated by yet another award winning local artist, Paula Macarthur, who has compiled a series of images to place the Gallery's two images by Ivon Hitchens in context. This last show provides the backdrop for a Friends of Rye Art Gallery talk in the Festival programme on Ivon Hitchens by a national authority on the artist, Peter Khoroche. As all these events were being mounted, news came of successful Rye Art Gallery bids to Rye Town Council and Rother District Council, which will provide the funding to enable the integration project to be completed by Spring 2010.