I love Walsall Art Gallery, not least because of the free food they dish out at private views. They…read moreused to have school style dinner ladies, spooning out curry from big silver trolleys but last time I went they had the most amazing samosas. They probably don't even do free food any more due to all the cuts but the gallery is worth a visit any day time - private view or not - because it's a beautiful building and usually well curated. I can't say much for their shop as it's nothing in comparison to the Ikon shop but they do have some lovely pieces by Tatty Devine.

Looking like something out of Grand Designs New Art Gallery is a fresh, modern building in an…read moreotherwise outdated town centre. I think it's quite funny that it is called New Art Gallery even though it has been open since 2000. Housing the Garman Ryan collection which is a permanent fixture featuring works by the likes of Jacob Epstein alongside artists in residence such as Bob and Roberta Smith, the New Art Gallery also features various tempoarary exhibitions which are usually held on the upper floors. The New Art Gallery has a splendid mix of contemporary and historic artwork. I went recently specifically to see the touring exhibtion Transmitter/Receiver: The Persistence of Collage which features works by Grayson Perry, Eric Bainbridge and Margaret Harrison amongst others. Whilst I was there I took the opportunity to look at some of the other art on show, one of the standout areas for me was the section dedicated to Epstein's Rima which is a memorial sculpture that seems fairly innocuous to modern eyes but when it was revealed by the then prime Minister Stanley Baldwin it proved to be very controversial, as well as showing sketches of the design process there are also newspaper articles of the day which recount the outrage caused at its unveiling. On the whole I think the various areas are set out well but there was one piece which seemed out of place in iits section. David Shrigley's All The Arrows Missed Thank God was placed alongside traditional representations of religious artwork. Maybe I'm missing the point but apart from it using the words Thank God I couldn't work out why it was there. Perhaps one of the curators has a dark sense of humour!

The craft gallery is located inside Bilston library in Mount Pleasant…read more The Gallery can be accessed from the main entrance, and is located through the doors straight ahead when you enter. The Gallery has many different exhibits that change within a few months, giving the gallery a lot of variety all the time. The Gallery heralds a lot of the Black Country artists and showcases both professional and amateur artwork. There is a museum attached to the gallery as well which takes you through a history of the black country. School visits are very popular in the gallery, but there are lots of times to visit when it is quiet and you can enjoy the wide range of art.