Alistair Hardaker
Image: A design for the The Light was revealed earlier this year (Image: DCC)
The venue will house the county’s only contemporary art gallery and serve as sister venue to The Story.
Durham County Council is to create a new cultural venue in 2026, at the site of the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) Museum and Art Gallery, which closed in 2016.
The former home of the museum, which told the story of the DLI – a British Army regiment that served from 1881 to 196 – is being stripped down to its basic structure and almost completely rebuilt as ‘The Light’.
The venue will house the county’s only contemporary art gallery, a dedicated ‘DLI Gallery’, and offer facilities for events and conferences.
The council said ‘The Light’ will “bring together art and science in an engaging space where visitors will be able to view internationally significant exhibitions; artists will be able to create and collaborate, and communities can gather.”
The name of the council-run venue has been inspired by the building’s history, with its links to military history.
Housing the county’s only contemporary art gallery, The Light will also “provide a beacon for creativity, arts and culture when it opens, with light art also set to play a prominent role”, the council said.
Alongside an exhibition space, The Light will offer facilities to host private events and conferences, and a café.
The Light will be a sister venue to The Story, which provides the permanent home to the DLI Collection.
The two venues will work together, along with other attractions across the county, to support a local, regional and national visitor offer.
Col Ted Shields MBE, chair of the DLI trustees, said: “The redesign of the building, including the dedicated DLI Gallery, is truly impressive and will surely put The Light – and The Story – at the very forefront of the culture and heritage sector.”
