The venue features diverse art galleries, a museum, workshop spaces for hire, a shop and craft gallery, the town’s tourist information centre and a French bistro café. The gallery prides itself on relationships with national institutions such as Tate, Cristea Roberts Gallery and the Arts Council Collection, bringing internationally renowned artists to a little corner of North Devon while also regularly showcasing local talent through its Open Shows. A strong engagement programme includes workshops for adults and children, while also bringing creativity to local community groups and young people.
The Burton is currently planning improvements to their building to increase the quality of their visitors’ experience, as well as improving accessibility to enable even more ambitious projects and exhibitions. As a charity which relies on public funding from the local council, the Arts Council and other grantmakers, this Programme was an opportunity to develop the commercial arm of the organisation.
Mentoring with retail specialists identified the need to address low spending per visitor by introducing more affordable products; this change has been implemented, and increased spending has already been identified in the run-up to Christmas 2024.
The Tourist Information section of a shop has also been reviewed, leading to its digitisation with external funding support. This has created space in the shop to expand its offerings of local maps, books, and gifts, increasing the number of spending opportunities.
Highlights this year have included a number of high-profile exhibitions, including Louise Bourgeois in collaboration with Tate Artist Rooms and the internally curated Pop Art and Pottery exhibition. They have also hosted a record number of exhibitions of local artists,
Tate helped fund the Burton Youth Collective, a group of young people who come together to learn creative skills and make work in response to the exhibitions
In 2024, a new Director was appointed after two years of unstable leadership. This is a hopeful time for the gallery, which is looking forward to attracting funding and creating important relationships with stakeholders to expand the building in the future.
The Burton team plans to extend its education programme and grow wider engagement across Devon. They are designing a new website that will integrate an online shop, manage workshop bookings, and improve its online presence. It is due to be launched in Summer 2025. The five-year goal is to secure funding to extend The Burton’s footprint and serve an ever-growing audience.
“We have thoroughly enjoyed being part of the Programme, particularly the connections we made with other Devon-based organisations. The mentorship and workshops helped to see the business from a different perspective and have allowed us to explore change.” Sarah Edwards, Commercial Operations Manager