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Funded by the Sultan of Brunei
Darussalem, this small gallery concentrates on African and
Asian art and culture.
The building, designed by Nicholas
Hare Architects and opened in 1995, has a light-filled reception
area topped by a circular drum which acts a "hinge"
between the two blocks. One is the teaching, office and
conference wing and the other is a three-storey wing, which
was originally for an Islamic Arts Centre but now has the
Brunei Gallery.
The galleries are windowless
spaces with vast barrel vaults opening onto a glass staircase
which rises to the top floor. Once an open-air water
garden, the top floor this was redesigned in 2001 as a Japanese
garden.
As the building no longer houses
a permanent Islamic Arts Centre it has no permanent collection
but displays changing independently funded exhibitions.
Past exhibitions have included
Chinese textiles, Islamic antiquities, 18th century Iranian
painting and contemporary Nigerian art.
Admission free
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