The Dick Institute

The Dick Institute is a public library, museum and art gallery situated in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, in the west coast of Scotland. The building was originally opened in 1901 and has been recognised as a 4-star tourist attraction by VisitScotland. After only eight years of the building being open to the public, a serious fire engulfed the Dick Institute, with many of the items on display at the time of the fire being destroyed, however, many of the paintings were salvaged by staff who carried them from the building as they evacuated. It was reconstructed in the following years, and by World War I, it was serving as an auxiliary hospital before being reconverted into a library and museum following the war. Today, the Dick Institute is recognised as an important cultural venue in the south-west of Scotland, featuring the largest museum and art gallery space in Ayrshire as well as the central library for East Ayrshire. The Dick Institute has been described as "Scotland’s finest municipal gallery".