On the move

As we announced last week, the Gallery's main building will open its doors on September 3 - but there's still a lot of work to be done behind the scenes in the coming months!

Hawkins are putting the finishing touches on the building (which you can continue to peek at on our webcam), while staff are preparing to move back in after three years in 'exile'.

Our security team has already settled into the developed building, and next up are the conservation teams. They're not exactly light packers, though - here are some pictures of the painting conservation lab as they prepare for the move:

Tools of the trade

Boxes...

... and more boxes...

... and there's still all this to be packed up!

Meanwhile the paper conservation lab is giving the moving crews a good workout. There's all manner of heavy, unwieldy and fragile equipment, and it all has to come down from the ninth story of one building, across Queen Street and up to the new space.

You might not think this would be a problem - after all, that's what burly moving crews and moving trucks are for, right? Well, not in the case of this instrument:

This is a microscope used by the paper conservators and it can't be exposed to the kind of vibrations caused by moving vehicles. So it has to travel 'on foot', which means a painstaking voyage with two moving men, two bits of carpet and one conservation assistant (not shown) to supervise.

It's going to be a long day for these guys!

*Because of the move, the NEW Gallery will be closing one hour early (at 4pm instead of 5pm) on Thursday 9 June. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.