Ref: PR1539
Date: 03/10/07
A dedicated new website has been launched for The Hepworth Wakefield.
The new website will be developed and expanded over the coming months as the new gallery progresses to opening in winter 2009/10.
And visitors to www.hepworthwakefield.com will be able to watch the work in progress thanks to a webcam.
Cllr Denise Jeffery, Deputy Leader of Wakefield Council and Cabinet Member for Regeneration, said: "We are very excited by the new website for The Hepworth Wakefield as it enables everyone to see the exciting designs for the new art gallery and follow progress as the gallery is constructed over the next two years.
"Visitors to the website can also see some of the current work that the project team is doing with local communities, including the Building Bridges project which involves four artists and five local schools in developing their own artwork inspired by the building designs and Barbara Hepworth's sculptures."
The Hepworth Wakefield is a new and exciting world-class gallery, designed by David Chipperfield Architects for Wakefield Council. The website has online photo tours of the architectural models of the building and some of the art collections that will be displayed in the finished gallery.
Visitors to the site can find out about Barbara Hepworth, who the gallery is named after, and the generous gift from the Hepworth family trust of 30 of Barbara Hepworth's original plaster sculptures together with tools, materials, photographs and film about her designs and the processes involved in her works.
They can also find out about how they can get involved, make donations and support the work of The Hepworth Wakefield and The Hepworth Wakefield Trust (Charity No. 1120590).
Cllr Clive Hudson, Cabinet Member for Culture, Tourism and Sport, said: "There is a lot of interest in the new gallery and with construction work due to start in the next few weeks, there is currently no public access to The Hepworth Wakefield building site at the Waterfront.
"To overcome this, we have installed 'HEPCAM', a live webcam link to the construction site. This will enable citizens to see the gallery being built and share our excitement as the new gallery develops over the coming months.
"Images from 'Hepcam' will also be archived throughout the development and a selection of images will be made available on the website each month so that visitors can monitor progress."
Funding for The Hepworth Wakefield has been secured from Arts Council England, the Heritage Lottery Fund, Wakefield Council, Yorkshire Forward, the European Regional Development Fund and English Partnerships.
Cllr Jeffery added: "The Hepworth Wakefield is a major public sector contribution to the regeneration of the city's historic Waterfront. It will be an inspiring centre for creativity and new home for the gallery's art collections, works by Barbara Hepworth and an exciting programme of exhibitions and family activities"
