Gallery opens up for first time since lockdown of March 2020
‘IT’S THE RIGHT TIME’ - OWNERS OF CITY CENTRE BUSINESS
AN art gallery in Leicester city centre has opened for the first time in almost a year-and-a-half.
Wingates Gallery, Loseby Lane, closed towards the end of March 2020 when the first coronavirus lockdown began, and remained shut until Wednesday, September 1 - when owner Andrew Cartwright welcomed customers into the gallery once again.
Andrew said: “With Leicester, we went from national to local, back to national and back to local and national lockdowns, and then we just had to wait for the footfall and the businesses to start picking up again.
“In Loseby Lane, there’s lots of lovely little independents in a pedestrianised area, so we needed to wait until people were confident enough to come and shop again. We think confidence is now coming back.”
Andrew and his wife Kathryn took ownership of the Leicester gallery in October 2019 - just five months weeks before the first lockdown hit.
The couple also own a gallery in Market Harborough, which reopened in April this year.
“Market Harborough is different because we’re not in a pedestrianised area,” said Andrew. “We have a car park directly outside and it’s more of a destination gallery. It has been established for more than 50 years and people travel some distance to come to us.
“The Leicester gallery is still an infant as far as galleries go, so we wanted to make sure it wasn’t going to be open, then closed again, open then closed again.”
During the lockdowns, Wingates Gallery continued to trade online, but Andrew said it is not easy when dealing with original artwork.
“We spend a lot of our year saying to customers, make a shortlist on the website but then come in and see it in person because you can’t get the depth of colour or texture by just looking at a picture online when it’s an original piece.”
Customers visiting the Leicester gallery will find 130 pieces of original artwork hanging on the walls, by around 30 different artists.
“Our mantra is high quality, original art at affordable prices. Customers have the choice of oneoff pieces, rather than paying the same money for a print,” said Andrew.
“We’re very excited about our Leicester gallery opening again. It’s a very positive step forward and we’re convinced it’s the right time to do it.”
The city gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am until 5pm.