A new gallery devoted to contemporary art officially opens on January 28 in the ACE building, and according to director of exhibitions Julie Sylvester Cabot, it will add a different and special dimension to the local art scene.

"The aim is for the ACE Gallery to be an international exhibition spot," she says. "I have contacts all over the world, and we will be borrowing from some very prestigious institutions."

While ACE supported art through exhibitions in the Atrium Gallery of its original building on the corner of Woodbourne Avenue and Pitts Bay Road, and also purchased art for its office walls, original plans for its new world headquarters on the former Bermudiana Hotel site did not include a gallery.

Instead, it was during a general conversation about art between chairman and CEO Brian Duperreault and Ms Sylvester Cabot that the concept for the present gallery evolved.

"Brian made a very interesting point that, although he was quite interested in art and liked to support artists, he would never want to form an art collection for ACE," Ms Sylvester Cabot says. "He very carefully explained that, in most cases, he did not believe such collections were of great value, that they reflected the often narrow view of the corporate collector, and were for the most part confined to corporate offices. I was really impressed that Brian had given so much careful thought to the subject."

The director of exhibitions then had an idea.

"I realised that ACE's greatest service to the Bermuda art community would be to make a gallery in the new building, modelled after kunsthalles (funded municipal spaces without permanent collections) in Europe, which would exhibit the finest international contemporary art," she says.

"This would be a great service and inspiration to local artists. Brian immediately loved the idea, and we planned for a gallery in the new building."

It was decided that the present location, just down the corridor from the main reception area, would be ideal in terms of public accessibility, and so it has come to pass. If, at 16 feet by 17 feet, the purpose-built gallery seems small, Ms Sylvester Cabot is quick to disagree.

"It is a very, very nice dimension for doing an exhibition of a small collection," she assures.

The gallery is also climate-controlled, and she has no doubt that it has a great future as a showcase for contemporary art.

"The concept is modelled on the Caixa in Madrid, Spain. A number of years ago the bank built a separate area in one of its branches to be an art gallery supporting contemporary art. Now, 15 years later, the gallery is one of the most prominent venues for contemporary art in Spain."

The ACE Gallery's premier exhibition features works on canvas and baked enamel steel plate by American artist Jennifer Bartlett, a previous exhibitor in the Atrium gallery.

"I imagine that some of the Bermuda public is familiar with her work because she has spent two summers here, and created 19 pastels which were shown in the Atrium. Seven of them are now owned by ACE and exhibited in the main corridor leading to the gallery," Ms Sylvester Cabot says.

Current plans call for four exhibitions a year, each of three months' duration, with a high-quality catalogue being published by ACE for one of them, and the director of exhibitions is already working with art institutions and museums to bring in future shows.

"I am talking with the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York about working together on an exhibition, perhaps taking one of their exhibitions and bringing it here, or having an exhibition such as Jennifer Bartlett's which would travel to another institute," she says.

When borrowing from prestigious institutions Ms Sylvester Cabot suggests plans could include something "in the range of working with a young artist doing a project that works specifically for this space, and which could also travel to other locations. That would be great because it would be an ACE-commissioned project."

Appropriately, the insurance giant will provide cover for art in transit.

"Insurance is a big part of travelling an exhibition, so ACE can really make that aspect a lot easier," Ms Sylvester Cabot says.

She also notes that future exhibitions will be of a standard where security will also be required.

In addition to her association with ACE, Bermuda resident Ms Sylvester Cabot is a recognised authority in the art world, and is a curator at the famed Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, where she also maintains a home.

Of her role at Bermuda's newest gallery, the director of exhibitions says: "I am thrilled. There will be exhibitions in this gallery on a level that has never really been accomplished in Bermuda before."

Meanwhile, ACE continues to purchase and hang work by Bermudian and resident artists throughout its new corporate headquarters.

Anyone wishing to be included on ACE's mailing list for future openings is asked to telephone 295-5200 and leave their name and address with the receptionist.