Southampton City Art Gallery will welcome visitors back on Saturday, March 7, 2026.

The opening will come more than a year after the Grade II-listed building shut its doors and it will launch with a solo exhibition by British artist Emma Richardson.

Cllr Alex Winning, leader of the council, said: “After a lot of hard work and a complex refurbishment programme I’m really excited that we will be reopening in March next year.

“We look forward to welcoming residents and visitors back to our beautiful art gallery – all part of creating a vibrant cultural destination.

“We are honoured that our opening exhibition is by an artist born right here in our city.

“It’s great to be able to play a small part in supporting Emma Richardson’s artistic journey, alongside her successful musical career, and she is just one example of the amazing talent we have right here in Southampton.”

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The exhibition, titled Levitate Me: Desire, Ecstasy and The Sublime, will showcase new oil paintings exploring themes of desire and euphoria, with nature interpreted through a female perspective.

Ms Richardson, who was born in Southampton and spent much of her life in the city, has selected a selection of works from the city’s collection to display alongside her own.

The pairing is intended to highlight the influences and connections between historic and contemporary art.

Newly acquired artworks will also go on public display for the first time, alongside rarely seen works on paper that were digitised during the gallery’s temporary closure as part of the Unlocking Collections project, supported by Arts Council England.

A photographic series documenting the refurbishment process, captured by award-winning Southampton-based architectural photographer Joe Low, will also form part of the displays.

The refurbishment, supported by a £2.23 million grant from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND), ensures that this part of the Civic Centre and the nationally important art collection are preserved for current and future generations.

The funding was awarded by Arts Council England.