Date: 01/09/06
Source: Yorkshire Evening Post
By Stuart Robinson
A STUNNING collection of art work will grace West Yorkshire's Hepworth Gallery.
ARTY IMPRESSION: How the Hepworth Gallery will look. The Yorkshire Evening Post was yesterday given a sneak preview of some of the work as Wakefield Council revealed developers Laing O'Rourke are the preferred bidder to put the city's Hepworth project together.
Preparation work at the waterfront site to clear away old buildings and tidy up the area is now set to begin within the next six weeks.
The £22m 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 local sculptor Henry Moore.
The building has been designed by renowned English architect David Chipperfield, who was appointed CBE for services to architecture in 2004, and was made Honorary Member of the Florence Academy of Art and Design in 2003.
The only British architect to be shortlisted for the commission to design Tate Modern, Mr Chipperfield also designed the award-winning River and Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames along with many other buildings in Japan and Germany.
Coun Peter Box, Leader of Wakefield Council, said: "This is a major public sector contribution to the regeneration of the waterfront area and will transform that part of the city centre. The building will be of national and international significance and I am especially pleased that our preferred bidder is a company with strong local links.
"The Hepworth Wakefield will be a fitting home to the city's outstanding collection of work by 20th century artists and it will put the city on the cultural map of Britain."
The gallery is due to open in 2008, with the total cost of the building and its public garden estimated at around £22 million.
Dan Doherty, director of Laing O'Rourke in Yorkshire and a Wakefield resident, said: "We are delighted to be involved with The Hepworth Wakefield project. It is a scheme that will truly put Wakefield on the map, locally, nationally and internationally and will act as a catalyst to regenerating the waterfront."
Wakefield Council has secured funding from The Arts Council to the tune of £5 million and £4.98m from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Other funding his set to come from Yorkshire Forward and the European Regional Development Fund.
