Sheffield Council leader says city has 'once-in-a- generation opportunity' to transform landmark building
The gallery will move to a temporary site while work takes place
A beloved gallery in Sheffield is set to close its doors this weekend as displays are moved to an interim home ahead of a proposed multi-million pound renovation.
Graves Gallery, on the top floor of Sheffield’s Central Library, is set to close on Saturday, October 31, following years of structural issues at the Grade II* listed building.
Located on Surrey Street - next to Tudor Square and The Crucible theatre - the library has been surrounded in scaffolding and hoardings since 2023 due to concerns with falling masonry.
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Leader of Sheffield City Council, Councillor Fran Belbin, said: “The Graves Gallery has a special place in Sheffield’s cultural life and in the memories of generations of people across our city. While its closure will understandably feel like an emotional moment, this is very much about looking to the future.
“We have a once-in-a- generation opportunity to transform this landmark building, unlocking the full potential of the Graves Gallery, Central Library and City Archives and creating a more accessible, welcoming and inspiring destination for everyone.
“We want to safeguard everything people treasure about the building while giving Sheffield’s remarkable collections and services the ambitious home they deserve for generations to come.”
Coun Belbin - who represents the Firth Park ward for Labour - has previously suggested that a £30 million estimate for the building’s renovation is “very much on the low side” while data unearthed by The Star shows that the council has forked out a total of total of £217,052 on repairs for the site since April 2023.
The gallery will be moved to a temporary location while renovation takes place.
It is understood this interim site will be in the city centre and open in 2027, however no specific details have been confirmed.
Despite these changes, the recently announced British Art Show 10 multi-site exhibition is set to go ahead as planned in autumn 2027, with artworks which were originally to be shown in the Graves Gallery being displayed instead at a temporary exhibition space at the Millennium Gallery.
Graves Gallery has been a part of the library since it opened on July 5, 1934 and has featured works from the likes of David Hockney, Grayson Perry, Picasso, and Andy Warhol.
“It’s humbling to hear and read from so many people about how much the Graves Gallery has meant to them, and the lives it has helped shape over almost a century,” Kim Streets, chief executive of Sheffield Museums, added.
“While we must bid farewell to the gallery for now, these cherished memories demonstrate the importance of safeguarding the gallery’s long-term future and the incredible, unmissable opportunity a reimagined and transformed Graves Gallery and Central Library building represents for Sheffield and its people for the century ahead.”