Date: 17/05/06
Source: Wakefield Council
Wakefield’s new major art gallery will change history, guests at the launch of The Hepworth Wakefield Trust were told this week.
David Lammy MP, Minister for Culture, said it was important to have buildings that gave a sense of awe because by doing so it helped stimulate creativity. The Hepworth Wakefield was such a building.
Referring to the gallery and to the three major regeneration projects at The Waterfront, Marsh Way and Westgate, he said: “It takes vision and Wakefield Council has been incredibly ambitious.”
He said that the development was changing history; the Waterfront had been private land but that would change for future generations and there would be a sense of ownership.
Earlier, Sir Alan Bowness of the Barbara Hepworth family trust, referred to the unique collection of 30 original plasters used by Barbara Hepworth when casting her bronze sculptures.
“These are the works that are coming to Wakefield. The trustees felt there was no better place for these original works of Barbara,” he said.
Guests at the launch were able to view a model of The Hepworth Wakefield. The building’s architect David Chipperfield spoke about its design and said a characteristic of the site was that the building would be highly visible from every side. The gallery has been designed as a collection of volumes, which reflect the differing shapes of the gallery spaces within. Instead of being conventionally square, the rooms are all slightly shifted, and sculptural in quality.
He also paid tribute to Wakefield Council’s support for The Hepworth Wakefield. “Their enthusiasm has been unbelievable and it bodes well for the future,” he said.
The newly formed Trust will support the development and future operation of The Hepworth Wakefield, an exciting and vibrant new art gallery and centre for the creative arts on Wakefield’s historic Waterfront. It is due to open in 2008.
The total cost of The Hepworth Wakefield building and the public garden around it is £22 million while the whole project, which includes a footbridge across the River Calder and access works to link The Hepworth Wakefield and the Waterfront to the city centre, will cost £26 million. Wakefield Council has secured funding from The Arts Council (£5 million) and a Stage One pass from Heritage Lottery Fund (£4.98 million). With other funding secured or identified from the Council, Yorkshire Forward and the European Regional Development Fund, a further £2 million is needed to see the whole project through to completion.
The gallery will feature Wakefield Art Gallery’s outstanding collection of works by Barbara Hepworth and other major 20th century British artists, including Anthony Caro, Ben Nicholson, LS Lowry and Henry Moore, who, like Barbara Hepworth, was born just a few miles from the proposed gallery site.
Before and after the launch speeches there was music, living sculptures, dancing from Dhanya from Kala Sangam, a street circus and theatre as well as the opportunity to view models and plans of The Hepworth Wakefield.
