AHRC infrastructure fund MIMA

Since the formal integration of MIMA (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) into the University structure in 2014, Teesside has accelerated its already ambitious plans to position itself at the heart of the regional cultural economy. During that time, the MIMA has played host to more than half a million visitors from across the world. Inspired by its extensive event and exhibition programme, as well as its commitment to showcasing both emerging and established artists, a substantial and fast-growing proportion of these visitors arrive from universities and other research-based and educational institutions. In just the past few years, MIMA has welcomed has welcomed leading academics, scholars and thinkers from across the world and across disciplines, including Professor Sonia Boyce OBE, who led a research project into Black Artists and Modernism; Tony Juniper, the well-known environmentalist and Chair of Natural England, who supported a year-long inquiry into the culturalization of climate change; and Otobong NKanga, a leading artist and major figure within the international contemporary art landscape.

These and numerous other high-profile visits attest to the gallery's standing in the international art world. They also attest to the considerable, if sometimes under-recognised, importance of its collection. Certified by Arts Council for its outstanding significance and national importance, the collection - which comprises three main strands (Fine Art, Ceramics, Jewellery) - unites the holdings of Middlesbrough Art Gallery (1957-2003), Cleveland Craft Centre (1983-2003), and Cleveland Gallery (1973-1999). As a whole, the collection provides both fascinating insights into the economic, social and cultural life of the Tees Valley (and its people) over the past two hundred years, and important perspectives on the local regional manifestations of major artistic movements, such as new materials experimentation in craft and Twentieth Century British ceramics studio practice. Its wide array of ceramic works is perhaps particularly notable in this regard, charting as it does the rise and evolution of the British Studio Pottery movement from 1920-2020, as well as its many connections to, and influences on, contemporary art.

For all its richness, however, the collection is badly lacking in supporting infrastructure. Indeed, as a result of its sheer size and complicated storage and display requirements, the collection is currently fragmented: while many of its key pieces are available for public display, many others are currently held off-site in temporary facilities. Similarly, while MIMA is dedicated to showcasing as much as possible of the (often backgrounded) work of its technical and curatorial staff, much of its conservation and collections care work also takes place at a distance from MIMA's home in central Middlesbrough. Not only is this highly labour-intensive, it also inhibits the collection's ability to grow and to realise its potential as a central asset within the MIMA engagement, audience and research strategy.

The purpose of this project, therefore, is to radically transform the galley's facilities and the way that it displays its collection. Centred around the transformation of the gallery's under-utilised teaching spaces into a state-of-the-art conservation suite and collections room (complete with library, archive and digital content system), the project has the potential to significantly accelerate the gallery's - and the wider university's - research ambitions. Indeed, it is our intention for these spaces to serve as a hub for research conducted by colleagues from across the University.