THE Swindon Museum and Art Gallery will host three new exhibitions and a series of art talks this year.

As part of its Art on Tour programme, displays will be set up at Steam Museum, the Civic Offices and Highworth Museum with more than 50 paintings, prints and ceramics from Swindon’s modern and contemporary art collection.

First, Steam will have The Art of Industry exhibition from January 19, celebrating the town's railway heritage with work by by nationally-renowned artists including Swindonian Ken White.

A Celebration of Colourat the Civic Offices from January 31 will examine the way colour is used in paintings and ceramics from the collection, with modern approaches to exploring colour through painting and the technical skill involved in achieving the correct ceramic glaze. This accompanies the updated special exhibition, Highlights from the Swindon Collection, which was installed in 2019.

At Highworth Museum from February 15, Local Legacies presents studio ceramics from Swindon Museum and Art Gallery. The selected pieces have local roots and provide links to broader narratives of 20th Century and contemporary ceramics. This celebration of Wiltshire-based makers is co-curated with Highworth Historical Society, and includes works by Katherine Pleydell-Bouverie, Ivan Martin and Jo Taylor.

Katie Ackrill, Swindon Borough Council’s Art on Tour engagement officer, said: “Art on Tour is all about sharing Swindon’s art collection more widely throughout the town. It is wonderful to be able to exhibit such a variety of artworks, some of which are being shown for the first time since entering the museum’s collection.

“Working closely with our partner venues has given us the chance to draw out different narratives within the collection. We look forward to doing more of this work with our partners as we move into 2022.”

Councillor Robert Jandy, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet member for culture, said: “Art on Tour is a fantastic way to showcase our superb art collection to different audiences across the borough.

“Having three exhibitions in three separate locations is a great start to the new year and I would encourage anyone who has an interest in art and hasn’t had the chance to visit Swindon Museum and Art Gallery to see for themselves some of the great pieces we have in our collection.”

A free Lunchtime Talks programme will accompany the exhibitions. Visit www.swindonmuseumandartgallery.org.uk/artontour

STEAM is open Monday – Saturday: 10am – 5pm, Sunday: 11am – 4pm.

The Civic Offices are open Monday – Friday: 9am – 5pm.

Highworth Museum is open Tuesday – Friday: 10am – 3pm, Saturday: 9am – 2pm.