The design for the creation of the Gallery started in the 1950s. The efforts of the members of the association “Friends of Ioannina” were successful, thanks to the persistence of their President G.Vilaras. Patrons in this effort stood all city leaders and important personalities of that time such as M. Calligas, S. Dakaris, L. Vranousis, A. Pallis etc. The contribution of the painter from Ioannina Kostas Malamos for the substantial collection and organisation of the artworks was significant.
The City Gallery opened its gates in September 1960, covering this way an essential need of the city of Ioannina, a city with significant cultural tradition. The objects in the collection belong to the greatest modern Greek artists and had been collected through purchases and donations of collectors and artists. The operation of the Gallery, after five successful years, was temporarily interrupted in 1965 due to housing problems and part of the collection was since housed in the Archaeological Museum of Ioannina.
Since February 2000, the new City Gallery has been housed in the renovated Pyrsinella building at the junction of October 28th and Korai streets. The date of the opening, on February 20th 2000, was respectively defined by the initial opening of 1961, combined with the historical anniversary of the liberation of Ioannina, on February 21st 1913.

History of the building
The building where the City Gallery is now housed, has neoclassical elements (lintels, balcony corbels, window frames) and was built around 1890 by the civil engineer Vergotis, on behalf of his brother in law, Vasileios Pyrsinellas, who was appointed Mayor of Ioannina in 1920, and elected in the same position in 1924.
Lover of books and arts, Pyrsinellas converted the mansion at Korai Street in a lounge for the intellectuals.
He had an extensive library and a large collection of silverware, paintings and other works of art. Fond of his hometown, in 1958 he spent his entire movable and immovable property in Ioannina municipality. Since then and for several years, the building served as Sunday church school and later it housed the offices of the City Regional Theater of Ioannina.
The collection of the Gallery includes about 500 works, paintings, drawings, prints, engraves and sculptures, which have been collected during the last forty years. A significant part is exposed in the premises of the Gallery outlining the evolution of Modern Greek Art.