The Hepworth, Wakefield

Wakefield Council is developing The Hepworth, Wakefield as a major new art gallery on Wakefield’s historic waterfront, which will replace Wakefield’s current Art Gallery in 2008. It will feature the unique collection of Barbara Hepworth’s original plaster sculptures, Wakefield’s important art collections and a range of inspiring and creative activities.

Our vision for The Hepworth, Wakefield is that it will be an exciting and vibrant new building on Wakefield’s historic waterfront and a place where everyone can see the work of famous artists, enjoy Wakefield and Yorkshire’s heritage, get involved in creative and learning activities or just relax in the informal spaces.

We have involved local people throughout the development of the project and they have told us that they want The Hepworth, Wakefield to be a lively and welcoming facility where everyone can see more of our wonderful art collections and get involved in activities, exhibitions and events. People are excited by the waterfront location and the mix of spaces and things to do. They also want to see the investment in this project stimulate new pride in Wakefield’s heritage, attract visitors to our region and support other new developments in Wakefield City and District – especially in the Waterfront Conservation Area.

To read more click http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/Galleries/HepworthGallery/default.htm

What's going to be done with the old art gallery? I imagine it's either gonig to offices or apartments, the later would be good as it is a beautiful area to live around that part of Wakefield, and conveniant for the city centre.

I havn't seen any full sized renderings for the gallery yet, so I can't comment on the design, but the city does need a new purpose built gallery, the other one feels too much like a house.

An intresting article on the Wakefield First site re the residential development on the city waterfront.

Wakefield Waterfront (http://www.wakefieldfirst.com/?i=335&s=1111)

Story on the New Hepworth Gallery feature in the Wakefield Express.

http://www.wakefieldtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=702&ArticleID=1512702

I emailed the council and the gallery to see if I could get hold of any larger renderings of this. I have had no reply as of yet. I do believe though that this will be a amazing piece of architecture as David Chipperfield has produced some wonderful buildings in the past. I shall try and keep track of this construction.
Wakefield has all of a sudden gone in to a development frenzy. Also using well known architects to make sure that all developments are of a high quality. Such as David Adjaye working on the new market hall in the Marsh Way development.

http://img271.imageshack.us/img271/5776/2005112911191819918821ej.jpg

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/7784/untitled8hf.png

Alsop's also working on a pavillion for the orangery, there was a render posted a while back I think, it looked lovely.

Hi all

I was just browsing through webpages on the Wakefield Waterfront scheme and came accross this

http://www.wakefieldwaterfront.com/skylift.htm (http://www.wakefieldwaterfront.com/skylift.htm)

A little strange - may look like its part of a building site but would definately be different add you thoughts to this......

I particularly like this idea which is part of a project by a University student thoughts?

http://www.wakefieldwaterfront.com/studentproject.htm

In this weeks/last weeks Wakefield Express there was a intresting supplement about the regeneration of the waterfront with some renders. it also included a summary of everything being done in the 5 towns area.

I was going to post the image but as always having problems - dont know why. Anyway, here's the link to the picture of the Waterside Development, Wakefield.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/budapest1956/161141431/

Link to story below.


http://www.wakefieldtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=702&ArticleID=1598427

Alsop's also working on a pavillion for the orangery, there was a render posted a while back I think, it looked lovely.

When you say "also", do you mean the corpulent surrealist has another project in the city? :(

nice idea but a visit to wakefield doesn't really appeal to me

Just a number of questions about this development as I don't know Wakefield that well as I havn't been to Wakefied for years are how will this development intergrate with the city centre and how extensive will this art gallery be and is there any decent renders anywhere yet?

Also a couple of general questions about Wakefield are that are they still moving Westgate station 100 yards to open that location for development and is it still the case that shopping is exclusively in the Ridings Centre which when it opened seemed to have killed off existing shopping streets in Wakefield. Is this still the case or has retail provision improved since the 1980s?

The Waterfront development isn't integrated with the city centre at all - I think the fashionable way to describe it is as a "gateway location".

I don't know what is actually going to happen to the station, though I'm hoping for good things...

As for shopping, there is more to it than just the woeful Ridings Centre - there are other "pedestrian" shopping options in the pedestrianised streets around the cathedral, and we have all the ubiquitous depressing-looking retail sheds not far from the centre (Comet, B&Q, PC World, Toys R Us, Staples, etc. etc.)...

The waterfront project is about a 15 minute walk to the centre so not to far to get to. They are two major projects that will extend the city centre these are the marsh way development on the site around the market and bus station. This will include a Debenhams department store, Sainsbury supermarket, new market hall and new central libary. The council recently started compulsory purchase orders on the buildings which fall in this development. Work should start on site early next year.

As for the train station, yes they are moving it 100 meters down the track and the current location will be turned into a hotel. The station is part of a larger project that will include shops, 250 apartments and 323,000 sq ft of office spaces.

As for the ridings shopping centre there have been rumours that they might be extending which in my opinion is not good for Wakefield.

Now back on to the topic very few renderings of the Gallery have been released . if you follow this link and click through all the pages about the gallery some small thumbnail pictures and rendering’s are shown. Not very clear though.

http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/Galleries/HepworthWakefield/AboutTheHepworth/default.htm

According to the Wakefield Express Phase one of the redevelopment is underway, with the Grade II* listed Calder and Hebble Navigation Warehouse being redeveloped with of office and leisure being the central feature of the development, with one block of 56 apartments being built and two office blocks in the which will become known as Navigation Walk. To see the full article in the Wakefield Express please follow the following link at the Wakefield Express.

http://www.wakefieldtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleID=1996258&SectionID=702

Wakefield Westgate proposals (Martha Carey Jones)

Westgate Redevelopment, Wakefield
Client English Cities Fund
Status Ongoing
Construction cost £80 million


One of three major regeneration town centre projects in Wakefield, the site is a former goods yard adjacent to the town’s Civic Centre.

The scheme has been developed through close collaboration with Wakefield District Council, Network Rail and local groups to form a cohesive development plan. Using both physical connections and vistas to create both identity and sense of place.

The master plan proposes relocating Westgate Station to create a new gateway into the town centre and create a heart to the project. The master plan incorporates the concept of the ‘emerald ring’ (streets for people) and overcomes highway problems by the creation of a one way system.

Outline planning consent was granted in 2005.



http://www.careyjones.co.uk/images/upload/arch_urbmast_lrg/1_westgate_410.jpg



http://www.careyjones.co.uk/images/upload/arch_urbmast_lrg/2_westgate_410.jpg



http://www.careyjones.co.uk/images/upload/arch_urbmast_lrg/5_westgate_sketch_410.jpg

Website for keeping up with news on The Hepworth; complete with live webcam....

http://www.hepworthwakefield.com/

From the Architects' Journal:


David Chipperfield's Hepworth Gallery takes shape in Wakefield

Author: Rory Olcayto
Published: 15 August 2008


http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/images/Hepworth%20Gallery_overview_tcm23-1799242.jpg


David Chipperfield's Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield is now midway through its construction programme. The project sees the relocation and expansion of the town's existing art gallery to a conservation area at the headland of the River Calder.

The architect describes the gallery as being formed from a conglomeration of differently sized trapezoidal blocks, responding to the scale and rooflines of the surrounding small-scale industrial buildings. It will house a collection of 30 original plasters by the locally born artist Barbara Hepworth, alongside the gallery's existing collection of British and European artworks.

Galleries on the upper floor are sized according to the scale of the works, with smaller rooms for earlier works and larger rooms for contemporary works. A performance space, educational workshops, public facilities will form the lower level.

Chipperfield beat off competition from Zaha Hadid and Snøhetta to land the commission in 2003. The gallery is due to open in 2010.

The project forms part of a wider regeneration project in the West Yorkshire town. David Adjaye's market hall building has recently opened, and funding is being sought for Will Alsop's extension to the town's historic Orangery building.

Not sure if this is the right thread for the news reported in the YEP but it was the only Wakefield thread I could find that related to the waterfront:


£100m waterfront project opens in Wakefield

Ambitious scheme in Wakefield
http://editorial.jpress.co.uk/web/Upload/LEED//TH1_411200841SJS-Wakefield%20launch%20image.jpg

04 November 2008

By Stuart Robinson

THE first phase of Wakefield's ambitious £100m waterfront project will be officially opened this week. Civic dignitaries will be joined by Lord St Oswald for a prestigious opening ceremony this Friday.

Developers have started a mammoth project to change the city's waterfront into a mixed-use development including offices and apartments. Roland Stross, director of developers CTP St James said: "The first phase of this imaginative mixed-use scheme not only provides beautiful, unique river settings for commercial occupiers and residents, but also offers so much to Wakefield. We believe that our scheme adds a new dimension to the city's urban renaissance."

From the YEP:


Hepworth Wakefield: Building work finishes on landmark art gallery

Published Date: 24 February 2010

Building work has finished on a stunning new £26m landmark art gallery in Wakefield. All major construction is complete at the Hepworth Wakefield, on the banks of the River Calder in the city's historic waterfront.

The purpose-built galleries, learning centre, café, shop and 100-seat auditorium will be fitted out this Spring. When the gallery opens in spring 2011, it will be one of the largest purpose-built galleries outside London and will feature 30 sculptures by internationally renowned Wakefield-born sculptor Barbara Hepworth.

The sculptures have been donated by the Hepworth Estate. A team of curators are working with galleries, including the Tate gallery in London, to loan exhibits to complement the Hepworth's collection.

The Wakefield Council-led project has been designed by award-winning David Chipperfield Architects and constructed by Laing O'Rourke. Coun Denise Jeffrey, deputy leader of Wakefield Council, said: "We're delighted to see this ambitious project near completion.

"The internal spaces are truly inspiring and we can't wait to see works of art on display in the galleries.

"Chipperfield has given us a stunning building that will give the city an enormous sense of pride."

Simon Wallis, director of the Hepworth Wakefield, said: "This is another major milestone as we now prepare our opening collection, displays, exhibitions and education programme."

Dan Doherty, director of Laing O'Rourke Construction North, said: "This iconic gallery stands to enhance Wakefield's reputation as a capital for art and culture in the North of England."

"This iconic gallery stands to enhance Wakefield's reputation as a capital for art and culture in the North of England."

Shame it isn't Leeds they're talking about, but I can't wait to visit (the gallery that is, not so much Wakefield!)

Shame it isn't Leeds they're talking about, but I can't wait to visit (the gallery that is, not so much Wakefield!)

Well Wakefield is in greater Leeds. How far is it from Leeds centre. Ten miles centre to centre ?
Stand well back and wait for flack.:lol::lol:
I'm not quite sure that Wakefield has a reputation for being a capital for art and culture. How many capitals can you have ? Surely by definition the capital is exactly that, the capital. Where is northern England anyway ? One could go on.

I think The Hepworth looks god awful.
Thinks it's the worst architecture I've ever seen in my life. Could they make it anymore concrete, bland and ugly?? That bridge couldn't be made any worst looking or more boring.
Didn't they withdraw funding from the new shopping development near the bus station for this??

From today's YEP:


Hepworth comes to Wakefield
Published Date: 12 April 2010

Next year will see the opening of the new showpiece Hepworth Wakefield art gallery – and the city's image will be changed forever. Wind the clock back seven years and the idea of Wakefield becoming a centre for the arts to rival major cities like London would have seemed fanciful at best.

Whatever Wakefield's image, it certainly was not that of a cultural centre. But next spring, years of hard work will finally see the notion of a world-class £35m gallery in the city become reality. And it is hoped its presence will help catapult the city into a different league. Already, such is its draw that hundreds of people have been to look around what is currently a completely empty space.

The gallery is named after Wakefield-born artist Barbara Hepworth, who would no doubt be pleased because a sense of community, she once wrote, is an important factor in the life of an artist. And as the spectacular venue edges ever closer to finally opening its doors, her work will play a huge role in changing the city's cultural landscape forever.

Project bosses are hoping The Hepworth, as a major part of the city's newly-developed waterfront, will be an economic and cultural catalyst in Wakefield's regeneration. Director Simon Wallis, who has 15 years' experience curating exhibitions in some of the UK's leading art galleries and museums, told the YEP: "It will bring a significant number of people to the city and in turn that will have a real galvanizing effect on the sense of civic pride people feel. We're expecting 160-170,000 visitors to The Hepworth each year and by creating that footfall, we'll be helping people to realise that there is a waterfront in Wakefield."

Designed by award-winning architect David Chipperfield, once it opens The Hepworth Wakefield will be the largest purpose-built exhibition space outside London. It will include a gallery dedicated to Wakefield and Yorkshire in Pictures, making sure it stays in touch with its roots, alongside a collection featuring work by 20th Century British artists Ben Nicholson, Graham Sutherland, Paul Nash, Duncan Grant, Patrick Heron and Walter Sickert.

Loans through the Tate Connects scheme will also mean a changing programme of work by internationally-renowned artists. An education programme and a £2.5m learning centre will also play a big part, inspiring the next generation of young, local artists with workshops and seminars.

But the cornerstone of the gallery's collection will of course be a landmark selection of work by Dame Barbara Hepworth herself – fitting considering the lasting influence Wakefield and West Yorkshire had on shaping her early life and career.

Born in Wakefield in 1903, the artist attended Wakefield Girls High School. She won a scholarship and studied at the Leeds School of Art from 1920, later winning a scholarship to the Royal College of Art. More than 35 years after her death, her career will come full circle, with the new Wakefield gallery promising an unparalleled display featuring 30 previously unseen works as its centrepiece – a gift from The Hepworth Estate.

And Mr Wallis said by working in tandem with the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, which already attracts thousands of visitors to Wakefield, the Hepworth can realistically make the city a cultural hub for the North. It's an opinion echoed by renowned modern day sculptor Antony Gormley, who has gone so far as to say The Hepworth will become "a place of pilgrimage for all lovers of sculpture."

High praise indeed, but Mr Wallis could not agree more: "I think with us opening next May, it creates this critical mass where we've got these two organisations that are so close together. The sculpture park has this wonderful outdoor experience and when we open we suddenly have this amazing focus on the creative arts in Wakefield for those that are interested in finding out more about both Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore," he said.

Last week the gallery opened up to members of the public for the very first time, taking its place as part of a regular art walk event around the city. And Mr Wallis said the level of interest in what is currently a completely empty gallery can only bode well for the future.

"We thought it went really well – the numbers of people who came along to just have a look round was really positive. We had around 400 people and it was good to be a part of the Artwalk," he said.

Collections are due to be installed later this year ahead of the grand opening the following spring. Mr Wallis said nobody would be more proud of the impact the gallery is set to make on the district than Barbara Hepworth herself.

He said: "I think she would be absolutely delighted. Her father was a civil engineer who worked in the West Riding. She went on to become one of the 20th Century's most important artists and she had a real sense of place about Wakefield."

It's all good for Wakefield, and the city/town is easily accessible from main-line train networks, but Wakefield is imo one of the least inspiring smaller settlements in Yorkshire and is probably going to get some stick from the metro-bourgeois journos who will make the trip next year.

It's all good for Wakefield, and the city/town is easily accessible from main-line train networks, but Wakefield is imo one of the least inspiring smaller settlements in Yorkshire and is probably going to get some stick from the metro-bourgeois journos who will make the trip next year.

In which case, the proper response is to tell them to fuck off back to their dens in Canary Wharf before we set the whippets on them.

For what it's worth, I rather like Wakefield. It's a bit rundown, I know, but at least it's got a bit of life about it.

Germaine Greer's take on the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Cost of my last cultural visit to London: £70 (booking in advance)


Hidden heritage
The Arts Council has 7,500 sculptures - why won't it put them somewhere we can see them?


For 60 years, the Arts Council has been collecting sculpture on your behalf; it now owns more than 7,500 pieces, most of which you will never have the chance to experience. If you can manage to get yourself to West Bretton near Wakefield, you may see some of them dotted round the 500 acres of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park; others may be displayed in four indoor galleries. The park is seven miles from the nearest railway station and a taxi will cost you a tenner, which Londoners have to add on to the £112.50 - the least the day return will cost a single adult. So even if you choose to do without the Essential Sculpture Guide at £4 a pop, it's a formidably expensive day out. Admittance to the park is free, as well it might be, as the taxpayer has already stumped up for the cost of the collection. Some of the pieces in public ownership are occasionally lent to exhibitions hither and yon, but the rest of the time we go on paying for storing and insuring an ever-expanding collection of goodness-knows-what.

The mountain accumulated by 60 years of collecting last year produced the mouse of an exhibition of 60 works, less than 1% of the total. Even what you are likely to see at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park is as likely to belong to someone else: to the Henry Moore Foundation, or the Elisabeth Frink or Eduardo Paolozzi estate, or Habitat, or the Tate. The Winter/Hörbelt Basket No 7 on Oxley Bank is on loan. The current Andy Goldsworthy exhibition is sponsored by Roger Evans and the Henry Moore Foundation. As far as I can tell, a complete catalogue of the collection has never been published, which is extraordinary seeing as the acquirers of the works are acting on behalf of the public.

When the suggestion is made that the Arts Council sculpture collection should be unhoused and distributed across the land for us all to see, hands are thrown up in horror. We, the people, might touch the works. Our children might climb on them. Birds might shit on them. The insurers might refuse to insure them! All good, in my view. When I served on the Fine Arts panel of the Arts Council, I suggested that the works be placed in the grounds of hospitals and schools, but my colleagues objected that this was tantamount to throwing them away. Now, to return to the theme of my last column, I would suggest placing some of them where they can be seen but not touched, along the motorway, along the same endless M1 that you have to endure as far as exit 38 if you are travelling by car to the Sculpture Park. Imagine what Andy Goldsworthy would do if you gave him a motorway to play with! Goldsworthy is only one of many contemporary sculptors whose work is meant to degrade; the blurring of the work by time is one of its designated functions. Walling it up in an archive, freezing it in photographs, making people schlep to it in a sculpture park; all this is perverse.

As we can't know what the Arts Council has acquired on our behalf, we can't know whether some of our best-loved works have survived. Did anyone acquire for posterity Anish Kapoor's fabulous Taratantara? The installation was made for the Baltic when the flour mill had been gutted, and the four walls stood empty and roofless. It was a stupendous double-ended trumpet, with gaping bells 80ft high and 150ft apart, their shared throat vibrating with the winds off the Tyne. Is it lying bundled up in some warehouse somewhere? Will anyone ever see it again? It was, I think, erected once more, in the Piazza del Popolo in Rome, and it could be erected again, to take its chances with the elements, alongside one of the roads we all must travel. If it lasted, so much the better; if it gradually wore into filthy, blood-red tatters, like the battle-stained pennons of some titanic army, so much the better. It seems strange and wasteful to hide it from human ken.

I miss Monument, Rachel Whiteread's installation in Trafalgar Square, just as much. I barely had a chance to see it before it was gone. We all regret the destruction of Whiteread's Ghost, the concrete cast of the interior of 193 Grove Road, but it would have been physically impossible to relocate. Monument was equally site-specific, but if Whiteread herself would select a home for it, and a replica plinth was made to stand under it, we could see it again and the herculean effort that went into making it would not be entirely wasted. If I were to breast a hill on the M1 to see winter sunlight slanting through Monument, I'd cheer. I'd cheer, too, if I saw against the indigo sky of December the glowing outline of a Gerard Hemsworth rabbit made of stainless steel and LEDs. That's the sort of art I dream of. Last night, I dreamed my own installation: a 30ft replica Bowie knife plunged to the hilt in the swelling green bosom of a roadside field.http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/artblog/2007/dec/17/hiddenheritage

Germaine Greer's take on the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Cost of my last cultural visit to London: £70 (booking in advance)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/artblog/2007/dec/17/hiddenheritage

So she's upset that those poor Londoners will have to pay to travel to Yorkshire ... shock horror; something isn't in London and they will have to travel outside the M25!

:bash:

1. Good for Wakefield. At £35 million this sounds like a bargain. The Ashmolean refurb in Oxford cost £61m (of which only £40m has been raised).
2. I like the idea of Tate links and I hope that they have some decent Paul Nash works. The Tate has loads and has most of them in store.
3. Disregard La Greer. She's been talking for so long that she believes that people are still listening.:nuts:

TV executive to run The Hepworth,

Curious how much they are paying him given the current economic climate.

Taken from today's Yorkshire Post (3rd August 2010)

THE biggest art gallery outside London, due to open in Wakefield next May, has appointed a TV company high flyer as its first chairman.

David Liddiment, former director of ITV programmes, is the new chairman of The Hepworth Wakefield Operating Trust.

Originally from Huddersfield, he will be chairman of the newly-formed trust as the gallery moves towards opening in May next year.

His appointment to the part-time non-executive position is the first step in establishing The Hepworth Wakefield as an independent charitable trust.

He will take up the new position immediately and begin recruiting the full board and overseeing the transfer of operations from Wakefield Council to the trust.

The Hepworth Wakefield will be the largest purpose-built gallery outside London. Wakefield Council is confident that it will attract at least 150,000 visitors a year.

Council leader Coun Peter Box said: "David Liddiment brings a wealth of knowledge, expertise and connections, from both the private and public sector to the project and I am very pleased to welcome him to Wakefield.

"The Hepworth Wakefield is a major development for Wakefield and Yorkshire and will position the city as a major cultural destination in the UK.

"Wakefield Council looks forward to working as a close partner of the trust, which David will lead. I was impressed by his understanding for what we will achieve with The Hepworth Wakefield, his clarity of vision for the organisation and his drive and enthusiasm."

Mr Liddiment said: "I am delighted to be the first chair of the Wakefield Hepworth Trust and look forward to guiding this extraordinary cultural initiative to a successful future.

"As a local boy I take particular pride that this magnificent building and the wonderful work that it will showcase is happening in West Yorkshire."

David Liddiment has spent most of his career in television, much of it with ITV and Granada.

He was educated at Huddersfield New College and Liverpool University and became well-known as executive producer of Coronation Street, nurturing a new generation of TV dramatists including Paul Abbott, Kay Mellor and Russell T Davies.

Is it really the biggest art gallery outside London ? Or the biggest new art gallery or the biggest Modern Art gallery ? I find these oft-quoted superlatives rather confusing. I sincerely hope that it is really the biggest art gallery outside London. and that they open with a blockbuster. Not Hepworth, who is/was derivative of Moore and Nicholson, though technically proficient. I'm afraid that once she became the darling of the St Ives set her reputation became unassailable, whereas Moore has come in for a lot of unwarranted stick. Discuss.

Opening date announced: 21 May 2011

Councillor Peter Box, the leader of Wakefield Council has just announced that 21 May 2011 will be the opening date of The Hepworth Wakefield. Visitors will be invited to the launch weekend to see sculpture, paintings and drawings spread across the ten magnificent gallery spaces, designed by the award-winning David Chipperfield Architects.

We will be celebrating the opening weekend with a packed programme of activities for all the family; keep an eye on the website for details of exciting events which will be released nearer the time.

http://www.hepworthwakefield.org/news.php

Barbara Hepworth sculptures donated to new gallery

A £35m art gallery celebrating sculptor Dame Barbara Hepworth will open in Yorkshire on 21 May.

The Hepworth Wakefield will be the largest purpose-built art gallery to open in the UK since the launch of Tate St Ives in Cornwall in 1993.

It will feature 44 rarely-seen working models donated by Dame Barbara's family plus works by Henry Moore and Turner.

Its 10 galleries will also host visiting exhibitions by artists including Eva Rothschild.

Dame Barbara was born and grew up in the West Yorkshire city. She went to the Leeds School of Art with Moore. The pair, who remained lifelong friends, were pioneers of abstract sculpture in the UK.

The artist became known for her pierced shapes, and her most famous works include Single Form, which is in the United Nations Plaza in New York, and Winged Figure, on the side of the John Lewis department store in London.

She was made a Dame in 1965 and died in a fire at her studio in St Ives 10 years later at the age of 72.

The gallery has been designed by architect David Chipperfield, and is expected to attract 150,000 visitors per year.

Its director Simon Wallis said: "The Hepworth Wakefield is a world class building designed by one of this country's leading architects, and is a fitting home for Wakefield's long-held ambition to be recognised as the birthplace of Barbara Hepworth.

Dame Barbara's granddaughter Sophie Bowness announced the donations "I believe that, when The Hepworth Wakefield opens in May, it will be seen as a visionary investment in the community and the cultural life of this country."

As well as Hepworth's 44 plaster and aluminium prototypes, the gallery will also include tools and materials from her studio, also donated by her descendants.

Dame Barbara's granddaughter Dr Sophie Bowness said: "We are very pleased to be making this gift through the Art Fund, to secure its future and ensure that it will be accessible to the public in perpetuity.

"The gift is a unique group of Barbara Hepworth's surviving prototypes, the majority in plaster, from which editions of bronzes were cast. It will greatly enhance our understanding of her working methods."

The Tate, the Arts Council and the British Council will loan works by other artists including works by Piet Mondrian, Constantin Brancusi and Alberto Giacometti to the gallery.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12355884

Details of £35m Hepworth gallery revealed - why it's money well spent

Biggest purpose-built gallery outside London just makes it as arts funding cuts bite elsewhere

More details were announced today about the £35m Hepworth Wakefield gallery, including its opening date of 21 May.

It sounds amazing, looks stunning and will be the biggest purpose-built exhibition space outside London - 5,000 square metres of new light filled gallery space designed by David Chipperfield Architects. Dedicated to Wakefield born and bred Barbara Hepworth, the gallery will complement the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds making Yorkshire a world centre for sculpture.

There will also be a significant gift from the Hepworth family of 44 full size working models including one for Winged Figure, which greets shoppers going in to John Lewis on Oxford Street.

But why are we talking about such a huge arts investment project amidst the doom and gloom of arts funding cuts. Well the truth is that the project was conceived in the good times. It just made it. To have pulled the plug wasn't really an option.

Wakefield's forward-thinking council leader Peter Box is passionate about its worth, about the enriching contribution it will make to the lives of local people - but even he admitted that he does not know if the council would be able to do it in the circumstances of 2011. His council is facing having to make cuts of £67m over 4 years so probably not.

But the fact is that the gallery will be transformative on so many levels and will make money for Wakefield just as the £130m spent on Liverpool's capital of culture year generated nearly £800m of spending.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/culture-cuts-blog/2011/feb/03/arts-funding-arts-policy

A terrific project and good luck to it. I'm only sorry that Germaine Greer will have to travel all the way from London to see it. I'm also delighted that the Tate is expanding its geographical remit away from its focal points of London, St Ives and Liverpool. After all, the Leeds area was arguably the seminal point of English Modernist sculpture. A footnote; Hockney's "Bigger Trees Near Warter" is at York Art Gallery from mid Feb until June. A major coup and collaboration with Tate.

Certainly good news and a very long time coming. Just hope it is a success considering it is some distance from the main Wakefield city centre and does anyone know whether it will have an entry charge or if it will have free entry? Also the spending cuts could of course affect the Hepworth in the years to come.

I agree; Leeds and the City Region has produced some of the most successful artists of the last century; Damien Hirst, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore are probably the most high profile.

I agree; Leeds and the City Region has produced some of the most successful artists of the last century; Damien Hirst, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore are probably the most high profile.

If we are putting Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth in the Leeds and the City Region bracket can we also throw in David Hockney as well ?

Certainly good news and a very long time coming. Just hope it is a success considering it is some distance from the main Wakefield city centre and does anyone know whether it will have an entry charge or if it will have free entry? Also the spending cuts could of course affect the Hepworth in the years to come.

I'd guess it will be free entry (with a charge for major exhibitions, similar to the Tate). It's only a 2 minute walk from Wakefield *shudder* Kirkgate station, and I heard it may be added to the FreeCityBus route (there's already a turning circle)

Of course both free entry to museums and the FreeCityBuses are under the threat of the axe, so dunno.

I'm only sorry that Germaine Greer will have to travel all the way from London to see it.

Never be sorry for her. Hopefully, after she found the trip North such a torment last time, she'll keep her arrogant arse down south.

Interesting stuff regarding her beliefs on Wikipedia:

On whether feminism was the only successful revolution of the 20th century:

"The difficulty for me is that I believe in permanent revolution. I believe that once you change the power structure and you get an Oligarchy that is trying to keep itself in power, you have all the illiberal features of the previous regime. What has to keep on happening is a constant process of criticism, renewal, protest and so forth."

Speaking on Australian radio, she described herself as "an old anarchist" and reaffirmed that opposition to "hierarchy and capitalism" were at the centre of her politics.

Obviously, her views on hierarchy, oligarchy and maintaining power do not stretch to an opposition to cultural elitism.

The Hepworth now has a sign made of big red 3D letters and numbers in one of the windows proclaiming "21 MAY"...

I have to say I prefer the look of the new Turner Gallery at Margate to the Hepworth, I believe it was designed by the same Architect.

A reminder that the Hepworth Gallery will be opening in Wakefield on Saturday. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-13443883

Would be interesting to see how many visitors this new gallery gets as it has certainly been in development for a long time.

Last nights Culture Show has a special report from the Hepworth by Adam Graham Thingy What'sit, it will be available on the i-player for the next 7 days if anybody wants to catch up [ it's the first feature on the programme ]. I have to say on the TV it looks better on the inside than the outside, but I suppose can't give a proper opinion till actually seen it in the flesh.

It's on Look North now. I think it looks quite good- and it's certainly a coup for Wakefield alongside Trinity Walk also. It's a shame that Leeds can't get such an attraction when one considers Hepworth studied in Leeds.

As for the building itself- well I think it looks great. It evidently does the intended job well on the inside (as opposed to Leeds City Art Gallery where there are few good spaces to display modern art). I like it on the outside too.

Has anyone been to the new Hepworth Gallery which has just opened today? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-13483212

Good news to see it open though.

Looks like it was pretty popular yesterday.

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/227293_10150188424999296_372833059295_7083873_6586692_n.jpg

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/230613_10150188425349296_372833059295_7083883_1927591_n.jpg

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/249885_10150188425619296_372833059295_7083888_3937382_n.jpg

Images from The Hepworth's facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150188424999296&set=a.10150188424769296.306432.372833059295&type=1&theater#!/pages/The-Hepworth-Wakefield/372833059295

I'll be over for a visit as soon as I can.

The Hepworth + Yorkshire Sculpture Park makes Wakefield very attractive for art-fuelled trips now.

I'll be over for a visit as soon as I can.

The Hepworth + Yorkshire Sculpture Park makes Wakefield very attractive for art-fuelled trips now.

Perhaps there's a case for a bus link between the two. Or maybe there is one already ?

Perhaps there's a case for a bus link between the two. Or maybe there is one already ?

The 96 (Wakefield-Barnsley) goes by both of them (although does not go down the country lane to the entrance of the Sculpture Park meaning a short walk and is only an hourly Monday-Saturday daytime service).

Interestingly, Metro are providing a free shuttle bus between the new car park near Wakefield Westgate and the Hepworth this Bank Holiday Weekend:
http://www.wymetro.com/howtogetto/Events/HepworthGallery

The Wakefield FreeCityBus now goes officially to The Hepworth (although it previously already used the turning circle near it), Monday-Friday 9.30-15.00.

A very postive review of The Hepworth in The Observer, which proclaims Yorkshire as the UKs capital of modern 20th/21st century sculpture.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/may/29/hepworth-wakefield-eva-rothschild-jaume-plensa

It makes a good claim, but we certainly under-exhibit our talent. With people such as Hepworth, Moore, Hirst and Hockney making their name here, we should have showcase galleries left, right and centre.

It makes a good claim, but we certainly under-exhibit our talent. With people such as Hepworth, Moore, Hirst and Hockney making their name here, we should have showcase galleries left, right and centre.

I think we do now, there's only Hirst who is not showcased and I don't think there's a dedicated Hirst Gallery [ not sure if he's the sort of guy who would want one ]

I think we do now, there's only Hirst who is not showcased and I don't think there's a dedicated Hirst Gallery [ not sure if he's the sort of guy who would want one ]

He set up a sort of artistic mausoleum at Toddington Manor in Glorstershire, a place he bought for about £4m three years ago or so. Formaldehyde anyone ?

Touch this building! It feels incredible.

Touch this building! It feels incredible.

Not sure I want to hug a building.

Hugging and touching are very different things... The facade is the smoothest concrete I've ever felt. I'll post some pictures in a bit

I'm going the week after next so maybe when nobody is looking I'll have a quick touch.

I'm not sure though whether we should encourage people to have that amount of familiarty with a public building. Who knows where it might lead.

A few photos from Saturday. I was told it was a lot quieter than the 17000+ people who visited on opening weekend. I'd recommend it to anyone local.


http://i54.tinypic.com/25iwzg9.jpg

http://i54.tinypic.com/6r21hg.jpg

http://i53.tinypic.com/5weblv.jpg


http://i56.tinypic.com/2r7ninp.jpg

http://i52.tinypic.com/o8b12q.jpg


http://i53.tinypic.com/mh7q88.jpg

I'm definitely going to go the next time I have enough time to do it "properly".

I'm going to have to go back because my girlfriend was being a dick and we had to leave early, I didn't walk around the whole gallery. Allow 2 hours Charlie!

I had planned for four. Is that overkill?

It depends how interested in sculpture you are... I was more interested in the architecture but found myself chatting to a gallery assistant for just under an hour. I saw children running around the building in less than two minutes, if you're in a hurry this is possible.

Enjoyed a visit to The Hepworth this morning which was busy with all age groups. Split over two floors with the second floor containing most of the art work, and the ground floor being used for the reception,cafe,shop. As well as the Hepworth Gallery, there are special rooms for the St Ives connection, and one called Yorkshire in Pictures, which contains drawings and paintings of Chantry Chapel and bridge.

I think the location of The Hepworth as been well thought out and despite being close to the main road the setting is attractive and links well with the rest of Wakefield.

Parking wasn't a problem ether with a pay and display on the other side of the river from the Gallery. If full its possible to continue a little further down Thornes Lane till you get to a Sea Cadet Hut bear left at that and there's a small free car park within a couple of minutes of the gallery.

Nice to see The Hepworth being well supported by the general public, with 100,000 visitors already in the first five weeks. Here's the Y.E.P Link for Lazygamer.

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/hepworth_wakefield_and_its_100_000_visitor_1_3522703

Nice to see The Hepworth being well supported by the general public, with 100,000 visitors already in the first five weeks. Here's the Y.E.P Link for Lazygamer.

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/hepworth_wakefield_and_its_100_000_visitor_1_3522703

:grouphug:

Very good major feature in July's Architectural Review.

Great review of "The Hepworth" in The Wall Street Journal. Yorkshire is getting a place to go for sculpture fans.

Set in the City That Shaped Her

By RICHARD HOLLEDGE

Wakefield, England

The headline in the local newspaper was categorical: "World is watching Wakefield." Quite a claim for this northern England city best known for its rugby team and the cultivation of rhubarb.

But it was a boast that could be made with some justification with the opening of a museum devoted to the career of Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975), not only one of the 20th century's most significant sculptors—known for simplified, abstract forms, often pierced by a hole, that variously evoked nature and the human figure—but one who was raised in Wakefield. If that was not newsworthy enough, the museum that bears her name was designed by Sir David Chipperfield, a leading architect.

The Hepworth gallery cost a recession-defying $57.6 million and is billed as the centerpiece to the city's $165 million regeneration plans. As Wakefield Council leader Peter Box told the watching world: "The real debate is about the effect it will have on the local economy. Wakefield is a better place for the Hepworth."

It is hard to disagree with him. Although this Yorkshire city with its brand-new shopping mall, pedestrian-friendly streets and sturdy Victorian civic buildings does not fulfill the stereotype of postindustrial despondency, it was, nonetheless, hit hard in the 1980s by the closure of coal mines and the collapse of manufacturing. Perhaps it was inevitable that it took inspiration from the success of the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain, and followed the example of British museums such as the Baltic in Gateshead and The Lowry in Salford by exploiting culture as a force for renewal.

Simon Wallis, the enthusiastic director of the museum, says: "It is obviously preposterous to load everything on to us, but the gallery is one part of what I think is an ambitious scheme for regenerating Wakefield. A lot of locals disapproved of it at first, but the money cannot all be spent on shopping centers and housing. Culture has to play a major part."

So if the "real debate" is about the local economy, what about the museum and what about the art?

The building first. It is an uncompromising concrete structure of 10 boxy units with pitched roofs and odd angles. From one perspective it appears to rise straight out of the River Calder where a weir sends the water rushing past.

"It is a building that is proud of its bluntness," Mr. Wallis says, "and that chimes very well with the culture of Yorkshire, where I have never met so many blunt, direct people. That's the culture that Hepworth was part of. What you see is what you get."

Well, not entirely. So often a gallery's reputation can rest on its exterior appearance while the interior disappoints. Mr. Wallis cites Frank Gehry's Bilbao extravaganza, which he considers a "wonderful sculptural object from the outside, but not a good building to experience art."

This is not the case with the Hepworth. Inside it is a place of calm and space. Concealed skylights bathe the exhibits in natural light. And the windows, which seemed rather few and far between from the road, turn out to be ideally positioned to complement the works with their views of disused red-brick warehouses waiting their turn to be restored, the river bank lined with barges, and the town with its cathedral spire and mundane '70s tower blocks.
Hepworth Wakefield

www.hepworthwakefield.org

As for the works themselves, the museum has a powerful core of 44 full-size plaster and aluminium models for Hepworth's eventual bronze sculptures. They were the gift of Sophie Bowness, one of the artist's seven grandchildren. The Hepworth also has taken over the city's own collection of more than 6,000 paintings and sculptures, including some by Yorkshire's other celebrated artist, Henry Moore. There is the bonus of a relationship with The Tate in London, which has lent several pieces, including a Brancusi and a Mondrian.

"Imagine a Mondrian, here in Wakefield," exclaims the curator.

But it is the Hepworths we have come to see. The first gallery has only five pieces, including the stark "Figure (Nanjizal)" from 1958; "The Cosdon Head" (1949), a work of simple beauty; and "Spring" (1966), whose hollowed centre frames a horizon of distant hills. This glimpse of Hepworth's Yorkshire is fitting because, as we see in a video, the countryside was crucial to the artist, who as a young girl was taken by her father, a civil engineer, on his working trips across the county. In an extract from a BBC TV film made in 1961, she says: "I remember moving through the landscape with my father in his car and the hills were sculptures, the roads defined the forms."

Such is the clarity of the layout and the juxtaposition of her work with fellow contemporaries that it is possible to follow her development from early endeavors in wood and stone, the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement, to the inspiration of two expatriate modernists, the American Jacob Epstein and the Frenchman Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, and finally her move into a more pristine abstraction.

The minutiae of her working day from pictures, newspaper cuttings and even her tools contrasts with the monumental prototype of one of her best-known sculptures, the aluminium, 19-foot "Winged Figure" (1963), commissioned for London's John Lewis department store. There are versions in wood and bronze of "Chun Quoit," the inspiration for the "Single Form" that was unveiled outside the United Nations building in New York in 1964.

The Hepworth is part of a bigger picture. Nearby is the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, 500 acres of parkland dotted with contributions by more than 70 artists, and only a few miles farther is Leeds, with the Henry Moore Institute and its own outstanding art gallery.

As Mr. Wallis says: "It is a sort of golden triangle of organizations with sculpture as its DNA. It is part of a wider Yorkshire identity that the people here rally round, taking pride in the industrial past but also looking to the future. I think that's what the Hepworth Wakefield represents."

It appears to be working. The gallery hoped for 150,000 visitors in its first year, but within the first five weeks 100,000 have come through its doors.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303657404576359350388093300.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Was there on Friday - it's outstanding. We caught the train to Kirkgate, which was the busiest I've ever seen it - lots of the faces getting off our train popped up ten minutes later in the gallery.

The gallery is doing an obvious and wonderful job of populating the surrounding streets with pedestrian traffic. It took 3 - 4 minutes to walk it from the station, past the perfect reflection of the gallery in the calm water above the weir. The gallery was busy inside throughout and the cafe / terrace was packed too. The "plasters" gallery is great - as one of my friends said, it's set up a bit like a church, with Babs' massive prototype for the sculpture on John Lewis's London store as the altarpiece. Brilliantly the prototype was partly made using Isopon, the car body filler that will be known to any owner of a 1970's British Leyland product...

Given the increase in foot traffic and the sheer quality of the building and its surroundings, there is an obvious potential to develop businesses that depend on passing trade in the area.

One of Grand Central's London services pulled into Kirkgate just as we were crossing the bridge to the gallery. I'd hope that the proximity of the station to the waterside and the increase in traffic that it appears to be enjoying spur its restoration - it is a beautiful building

Was there on Friday - it's outstanding. We caught the train to Kirkgate, which was the busiest I've ever seen it - lots of the faces getting off our train popped up ten minutes later in the gallery.

The gallery is doing an obvious and wonderful job of populating the surrounding streets with pedestrian traffic. It took 3 - 4 minutes to walk it from the station, past the perfect reflection of the gallery in the calm water above the weir. The gallery was busy inside throughout and the cafe / terrace was packed too. The "plasters" gallery is great - as one of my friends said, it's set up a bit like a church, with Babs' massive prototype for the sculpture on John Lewis's London store as the altarpiece. Brilliantly the prototype was partly made using Isopon, the car body filler that will be known to any owner of a 1970's British Leyland product...

Given the increase in foot traffic and the sheer quality of the building and its surroundings, there is an obvious potential to develop businesses that depend on passing trade in the area.

One of Grand Central's London services pulled into Kirkgate just as we were crossing the bridge to the gallery. I'd hope that the proximity of the station to the waterside and the increase in traffic that it appears to be enjoying spur its restoration - it is a beautiful building

Great review Goldie.

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/central-leeds/wakefield_s_cool_hepworth_gallery_putting_yorkshire_on_cultural_map_1_3606077
Wakefield’s ‘cool’ Hepworth gallery putting Yorkshire on cultural map

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/webimage/nlep_22_07_11_hepworth_1_3606075!image/2670683557.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_595/2670683557.jpg
TOURIST TRAP: Gallery is top hotspot.

Friday 22 July 2011 11:17

The Hepworth Wakefield has been dubbed ‘Britain’s Coolest Art Gallery’ by a top travel website.

MSN Travel have named the £35m gallery as one of the ‘Top 10 British hotspots and hip hangouts’ to visit this summer.

It is the latest boost for the new gallery, which opened to rave reviews in May.

A figure of 150,000 visitors per year was predicted.

But that figure was soon smashed and 137,000 visitors have now walked through the doors since it was opened just eight weeks ago.

A wide range of activities are on offer for families at The Hepworth this summer.

Visitors can tuck into a picnic in the gallery gardens, ride the zip-wire in the riverside Play Area or explore outdoor art commission The Black Cloud, by artists Heather and Ivan Morison. Inside, the Learning Studio will be a hive of activity, with free drop-in sessions and pre-bookable workshops.

Families can also create giant sculptures, landscape-inspired collages and sketches, or discover how to carve like Barbara Hepworth.

Gallery director Simon Wallis said: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of positive support and number of visitors we’ve received since opening.

“It’s been a superb start for us and it’s great to see The Hepworth really putting Wakefield and Yorkshire on the cultural map.

“However, we are still totally focused on continuing to develop and enrich our offer, ensuring visitors have a wonderful experience and return regularly. We look forward to welcoming many more.”

Nice to see The Hepworth being well supported by the general public, with 100,000 visitors already in the first five weeks. Here's the Y.E.P Link for Lazygamer.

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/hepworth_wakefield_and_its_100_000_visitor_1_3522703

Reposted. If no1 can get away with posting old Y.E.P. articles [ don't know why he feels the need to do this ] then I can repost my original post from June which is more or lees the same article.

Finally got round to having a look round the Hepworth today. Certainly an interesting gallery although personally speaking it would have been nicer if it had more variety of art (particularly for featuring works other than that by Barbara Hepwoth to therefore attract a wider audience), perhaps have more space and perhaps being a bit less white. Also it would be interesting to see how visitor numbers stack up over a longer period of time particularly with regards to avoiding the case of the Hepworth being someone one visits and hence never visits again and possibly having more interesting temporary exhibitions on in a bid to attract repeat visits. Is there any indication as to whether the works to convert the adjacent former mills into a mixture of uses including residential, offices, retail and restaurants is still ongoing or has it gone on hold?

Also had a brief look around Wakefield today. Is it me or is there an awful lot of off licences around Wakefield City Centre? Also is there going to be any effort made to perhaps revitalise the Ridings Centre and shopping streets Westgate and Kirkgate in a bid to better compete against Trinity Walk which is certainly proving popular as a shopping centre although it would surely be a bad thing if it's popularity is at the expense of the rest of Wakefield City Centre. Also has anyone occupied the new offices around Westgate station and are any hotels proposed in Wakefield considering I would have thought Wakefield could perhaps see room for perhaps some more hotel space imo.

Having spent many happy hours shopping in the Ridings over the years, I was shocked at how run down it was with many empty units when I visited the other week.

Its so sad the see one side of the city doing well with the launch of Trinity Walk, whilst other areas are losing out. I have seen exactly the same effect in Bury when The Rock shopping centre opened there. I do wonder whether large new developments in relatively small towns/cities can work when there is limited demand for retail space.

Did Wakefield feel like it was a city going somewhere though? It's been a bit of a coup for one small city to have a major new art gallery that a city like Leeds would fight for and a new shopping centre delivered in the same period.

Having spent many happy hours shopping in the Ridings over the years, I was shocked at how run down it was with many empty units when I visited the other week.

Its so sad the see one side of the city doing well with the launch of Trinity Walk, whilst other areas are losing out. I have seen exactly the same effect in Bury when The Rock shopping centre opened there. I do wonder whether large new developments in relatively small towns/cities can work when there is limited demand for retail space.

I think Trinty is a postive, it's really not that big and links well with every other part of Wakefield. Put together with The Hepworth is win,win,win.