THE HEPWORTH WAKEFIELD MEDIA KIT

Transcription

1 THE HEPWORTH WAKEFIELD MEDIA KIT The Hepworth Wakefield Gallery Walk Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF1 5AW +44 (0) The Hepworth Wakefield is a registered charity, no

2 CONTENTS Contents 2 Introduction 3 The Collection 4-5 Collection Displays 2013/ Exhibition Programme 2013/ Outdoor Works 9 The Calder Learning The Building & Awards 14 The Architecture Wakefield Regeneration Trustees & Executive Staff 22 Biographies Funding Partnerships MEDIA CONTACTS: Naomi Roberts, Media Officer T: +44 (0) M: +44 (0) E: naomiroberts@hepworthwakefield.org Twitter: Facebook: 2

3 INTRODUCTION The Hepworth Wakefield is at the heart of Wakefield s regeneration. Designed by the internationally acclaimed practice, David Chipperfield Architects, it measures 5,000 square metres and is the UK s largest purpose-built gallery since The Hayward in London was built in The Hepworth Wakefield takes its name from the internationally acclaimed sculptor, Barbara Hepworth, who was born in Wakefield in It showcases Wakefield s nationally important collection, which includes major works by Barbara Hepworth and her contemporary Henry Moore, born nearby in Castleford in The Wakefield Permanent Art Collection also holds key works by other leading British artists including Ben Nicholson, Jacob Epstein, Ivon Hitchens, Graham Sutherland, John Piper, Paul Nash, Patrick Heron, L.S. Lowry and Lucie Rie. The displays are enhanced by loans from the collections of Tate, the Arts Council, the British Council and private lenders. The gallery has 650 square metres of temporary exhibition space, making The Hepworth Wakefield one of largest contemporary art spaces outside London, described by The Times as one of the world s Top 50 art galleries. Equipped with state-of-the-art learning spaces and a flexible auditorium, The Hepworth Wakefield offers an expansive programme of learning projects for all ages. This includes regular talks, lectures, performances, meetings and screenings, along with a welcoming café bar and a shop located on the ground floor. The Hepworth Wakefield is a major cultural asset for Yorkshire, enhancing the region s reputation as one of the world s leading centres for the exhibition and appreciation of sculpture. The 35 million development of The Hepworth Wakefield site is at the heart of Wakefield s regeneration. It acts is as a catalyst for tourism and has attracted in excess of 350 million inward investment into the historically important Waterfront area of the city, with its listed mills and warehouses. The on-going development in Wakefield city centre includes a new retail projects Trinity Walk and a new market hall designed by David Adjaye. The 140 million transformation of Wakefield Merchant Gate has created a new business quarter for Wakefield and an 8m development of Wakefield Westgate train station is underway. The Hepworth Wakefield is funded by Wakefield Council and Arts Council England with additional funding from a number of charitable trusts and private individuals. THE HEPWORTH WAKEFIELD OPENING TIMES Tuesday Sunday 10am 5pm Closed Mondays (except Bank and local school holidays) Late night opening - third Thursday of every month, 10am 9pm. Admission to the gallery is free THE CALDER OPENING TIMES Tuesday - Sunday pm Closed Mondays (except Bank and local school holidays) 3

4 THE COLLECTION THE WAKEFIELD COLLECTION Wakefield s art collection consists of over 5,000 works. At the core of the collection is a significant group of works by modern British artists including Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore, who were both born in the Wakefield District. Established in 1934, the original Wakefield Art Gallery adopted an ambitious collecting policy with a core aim of nurturing an understanding of contemporary art. Works by the leading artists of the time, who have now become synonymous with shaping Modern British art, were acquired for the collection. They include Hepworth s Mother and Child, 1934, and Moore s Reclining Figure, 1936, representing an important period in the history of British art during which many artists such as Ivon Hitchens, Paul Nash and John Piper began to experiment with abstraction. Other leading British artists are represented in the collection: David Bomberg, Roger Fry, Harold Gilman, Duncan Grant, Ben Nicholson, Patrick Heron, Lucie Rie &William Scott. THE HEPWORTH FAMILY GIFT The Hepworth Family Gift is a remarkable collection that is central to the gallery s permanent collection. It consists of 44 of Hepworth s surviving working models for her bronze sculptures, the majority of which were made in plaster. The Gift also includes a group of works by Hepworth s artist friends, including paintings by John Wells and Breon O Casey, and ceramics by Janet Leach. The collection reflects the variety of ways in which Hepworth used plaster and aluminium as part of her working process. She preferred to make prototypes on the same scale as the finished sculptures and would have worked directly on the majority of these models. The centrepiece of the Gift is the aluminium prototype for Winged Figure, 1961, the sculpture commissioned by John Lewis for their flagship store on Oxford Street. At nearly six metres high, this is the only working model to survive for the monumental commissions Hepworth received in later life. This generous gift was made by the Hepworth Family through the Art Fund and was one of the key reasons for building a new gallery for Wakefield, connecting Hepworth s name with the city in which she was born and grew up. The Hepworth Estate has worked throughout with David Chipperfield Architects on the design of the two purpose-built gallery spaces devoted to The Hepworth Family Gift. THE GOTT COLLECTION An important attraction for visitors is the Gott Collection, gifted to the City s art collection in 1930 and rarely seen prior to the opening of The Hepworth Wakefield. Through funding by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation this unique resource of 1,200 works on paper, including maps, topographical drawings and watercolours, depicting over 200 Yorkshire towns and villages and famous Yorkshire landmarks has been made publicly accessible via a digital database in May Collectively they show how Yorkshire has long been a place of artistic inspiration. Located opposite The Hepworth Wakefield, the Chantry Chapel is a major city landmark that can be viewed from the gallery. It proved to be a popular subject for a number of 18th and 19th century artists and was depicted by J.M.W Turner in In addition, the collection includes a group of work by regional artists such as John Buckler ( ), John Coney ( ), Rev. Thomas Kilby ( ) and Louisa Fennell (1847-4

5 1930) that provide a comprehensive visual history of the development of Wakefield and the surrounding area. Until The Hepworth Wakefield opened in May 2011, the Gott Collection has largely been in storage. However, a conservation and digitisation project supported by the Esmée Fairburn Foundation has made it possible to display volumes from the collection and make this unique historical, artistic and educational resource more accessible through an online catalogue on The Hepworth Wakefield s website. NATIONAL COLLECTIONS ON LOAN The permanent collection displays are supplemented by loans from the national collections of the Arts Council, the British Council and Tate. These works will relate some of the key moments in 20th century British and European art, and a regular changing programme of displays. 5

6 COLLECTION DISPLAYS JULY SUMMER 2015 MAKING A MODERN COLLECTION This exhibition celebrates the long history of collecting by the former Wakefield Art Gallery, which opened in Discover how this fascinating collection began in 1923 under the guidance of Ernest Musgrave, the forward-thinking first director of Wakefield Art Gallery and how local philanthropists and the tastes of subsequent directors have helped the collection grow to over 5,000 works. Works by Barbara Hepworth, L.S. Lowry, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson and Kenneth Armitage will be on display, with many works from Wakefield s Collection to be shown at The Hepworth Wakefield for the first time, including recent acquisitions from the Eric and Jean Cass Gift (made via the Contemporary Art Society in 2012), which highlight The Hepworth Wakefield s commitment to developing the collection for future generations. 26 JULY SPRING 2015 THE GOTT COLLECTION Discover how Yorkshire has long been a place of artistic inspiration with this new exhibition devoted to the Gott Collection. This important regional and national topographical collection comprises 10 large bound volumes containing 1,200 watercolours, drawings and prints that represent over 200 Yorkshire villages, towns and cities, with many of the buildings, architectural remains and landscapes no longer in existence. The Gott Collection was assembled in the 19th Century by John Gott ( ), Vicar of Leeds and later Bishop of Truro, and his father William ( ), a wool merchant. It was presented to Wakefield Art Gallery in 1930 by Frank Green, a Yorkshire industrialist and philanthropist. Works by artists such as John Buckler ( ) and his son John Chessell Buckler ( ), Joseph Halfpenny ( ) and J. M. W. Turner ( ) among many others feature in the collection. Until The Hepworth Wakefield opened in May 2011, the Gott Collection had largely been in storage. A conservation and digitisation project supported by the Esmeé Fairbairn Foundation has made it possible to display volumes from the collection in the Yorkshire in Pictures gallery and to make this unique historical, artistic and educational resource more accessible through an online catalogue on The Hepworth Wakefield website. UNTIL MAY 2015 PARALLEL OF LIFE AND ART The Hepworth Wakefield continues its focus on developments in twentieth century British art with this collection display which takes the seminal exhibition Parallel of Life and Art as its starting point. Held at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London in 1953, the exhibition was organised by members of the Independent Group, a group of artists, architects and theorists who were interested in blurring the boundaries between high and low culture. Instead of the then-dominant art world of Paris, these artists looked to America for inspiration, working with references from popular culture such as comic books and mass-produced, often commercial, imagery. These were ideas and values that become intrinsic to the British Pop movement. 6

7 The display brings together works by artists involved in the Independent Group such as Magda Cordell, Richard Hamilton, Nigel Henderson, John McHale, Eduardo Paolozzi and William Turnbull, alongside iconic American artist Jackson Pollock and the graffiti-inspired work of Jean Debuffet. The juxtaposition offers a view onto this shift in influence, highlighting the multiple sources selected for Parallel of Life and Art that point to a wider artistic field of vision. UNTIL 6 SEPTEMBER 2015 SCULPTING THE LINE: BRITISH SCULPTORS AS PRINTMAKERS Throughout the 20 th century sculptors have been drawn to the medium of print, often using printmaking processes to work on ideas which would eventually translate into sculpture, or to further experiment with their language of forms. This exhibition explores the fascinating links between these two forms of art-making. The late 1950s witnessed a turning point with the increased intervention of professional printers and largescale publishers changing the face of printmaking in Britain. The establishment of print studios such as Kelpra and Curwen, and later Editions Alecto in the late 60s and 70s, working exclusively with artists and photographers to realise their creative vision, placed print, arguably for the first time, alongside sculpture and painting as a primary means of expression. As this exhibition will show, some of the most exciting work in British 20th century art was produced by artists experimenting with a wide range of often unorthodox printmaking techniques. Included in the exhibition will be monotypes by Robert Colquhoun and Alan Davie, lithographs by Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore and Elizabeth Frink, engravings by Stanley William Hayter and screenprints by Allen Jones, Eduardo Paolozzi and Richard Hamilton. The prints will be drawn from The Hepworth Wakefield s own collection and supplemented with loans from Cartwright Hall in Bradford, The Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery and Leeds City Art Gallery. The exhibition features the most recent purchase for the collection, an early lithograph by Eduardo Paolozzi, Marine Composition,

8 EXHIBITION PROGRAMME The Hepworth Wakefield builds on this artistic legacy with a regularly changing and ambitious exhibition programme of historic, modern and contemporary art. January 1 OCTOBER 25 JANUARY 2015 CONFLICT AND COLLISIONS: NEW CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE Coinciding with this year s WW1 commemorations, this Autumn season features three new solo exhibitions and site-specific commissions by artists Alexandra Bircken, Folkert de Jong and Toby Ziegler that consider themes of historical and contemporary conflict and of man versus machine and our relationship to technology. 1 OCTOBER JANUARY 2015 ALEXANDRA BIRCKEN: ESKALATION In her first solo exhibition in a UK institution, German artist Alexandra Bircken presents a series of recent works that showcase a new approach in her practice, as well as a site-specific installation made for The Hepworth Wakefield. Through her latest work, Bircken engages with recurring concepts within twentieth century sculpture such as male verses female, and the handmade versus the mechanical. B.U.F.F, 2014, comprises four component works (Big, 2014; Ugly, 2014; Fat, 2014; Fellow, 2014), collectively referring to American B-52 bombers used by the United States Air Force from the 1950s. Made from wood, foam, plastic textiles and latex, the direct reference to weaponry and warfare is conversely sensualised through a textile skin, covering each component, coated in fabric and black latex. In earlier works relating to motorbikes and cars, Bircken explores the formal properties of functional objects by repurposing them as sculptures, finding female forms in Mercedes gear sticks, or abstract shapes in used motorbike leathers. The new large-scale site-specific installation will interact with the geometric architecture of The Hepworth Wakefield, using ladders placed across the gallery space that recall Hepworth s stringed sculptures. Adorned with figures reminiscent of deflated human bodies, this element continues Bircken s interest in the fabric of skin; as clothing for the human body, a protective boundary, and, ultimately, a fragile surface. 1 OCTOBER JANUARY 2015 FOLKERT DE JONG: THE HOLY LAND Dutch artist Folkert de Jong (b. Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands) is known for his tableaux of brightly coloured figurative sculpture that often refer to art-historical sources. For his new exhibition at The Hepworth Wakefield he has drawn on the collections of armour and contemporary weapons held by the Royal Armouries, the UK s National Museum of Arms and Armour, in Leeds. In particular, De Jong has focused on two elements of the Royal Armouries collection: the personal armour of Henry VIII and contemporary modern firearms. These suits of armour, made at different points in Henry VIII's life, demonstrate his changing body shape: from a lean, young man of twenty to a considerably larger, older statesman. In addition, De Jong has selected contemporary weapons from the collection, including machine and hand-guns. Both historical and contemporary objects have been reproduced using the latest three-dimensional scanning process, reprinted as polystyrene figurations, reconfigured by the hand of the artist (degraded, added to, or altered in scale), before their final presentation in bronze. The finished bronzes are presented within an intense sculptural installation that includes a huge sandpit from which bronze sculptures emerge, an armada of bronze ships and coloured acrylic display cases containing polystyrene sculptures of Henry VIII and his wives. De Jong is interested in exploring the processes involved in bronze casting, drawing attention to how value attaches to the art object, firstly as the armour of a king, then as three-dimensional print made in cheap and disposable polystyrene and then finally cast in valuable bronze. 8

9 1 OCTOBER MARCH 2015 TOBY ZIEGLER / CHARLES SARGEANT JAGGER: NO MAN S LAND British artist Toby Ziegler (b. 1972, London) has a long-standing interest in making connections between digital technologies and references drawn from art-history, exposing the changes that take place in the transformation from the virtual to the physical. For this exhibition Ziegler has taken as his starting point the WW1 plaster frieze from Wakefield s collection, No Man s Land, by renowned war memorial artist Charles Sargeant Jagger ( ). This work grew out of Jagger s personal experience of Gallipoli and presents a stark, expressionist portrayal of the field of war as graveyard, with a solitary figure of the look-out using his dead colleagues bodies for cover. In creating a three-part sculptural installation, Ziegler echoes the composition of the frieze while drawing on its subject matter. No Man s Land is supported in an aluminium framework, overlooking Ziegler s sculpture of a human foot and a blank aluminium sheet, the latter acting as a visual foil to the intensity of Jagger s imagery. This new commission draws on Ziegler s interrogation of explicit war porn photographs (that are posted online) of casualties in war zones. The dismembered limbs are reconfigured and abstracted using digital technologies and the virtual models scaled-up to become sculpture made of cardboard. The final element of the installation comprises a 3D printer that will produce a Newell teapot within the gallery on a daily basis. Created in 1975 by early computer graphics researcher Martin Newell, this mathematical model serves as a test-card for reproducing a simple teapot and cites another instance of the potentially endless reproduction of images and objects in the digital age. To coincide with this work, Toby Ziegler will be presenting a new commission at The Calder, the gallery s new contemporary art space, housed within a 19th century former textiles mill opposite The Hepworth Wakefield. LINDA BENGLIS 6 FEBRUARY JULY 2015 Press Preview: 5 February 2015 (tbc) ANTHONY CARO 17 JULY NOVEMBER 2015 (tbc) OUTDOOR WORKS UNTIL SPRING 2015 JAMES PYMAN: THE UPPER MILL The Upper Mill is a commission by artist James Pyman that has transformed the riverside 19th century Grade IIlisted watermill situated in The Hepworth Wakefield s gallery garden into a striking three-dimensional graphite drawing. From a series of meticulously hand-drawn illustrations that capture and record the walls and features of the watermill, Pyman s drawings have been reproduced to life-size scale and printed onto a building wrap that covers the building, with the pencil marks, tones, dots and scratches of the original drawings and converted into the marks, blemishes and textures of the bricks and plaster. 9

10 THE CALDER The Calder is an ambitious project to re-purpose and re-invigorate Caddies Wainwright Mill, a 19th century former textiles mill on the River Calder, began in spring The ground floor of this historic building has been transformed into a new art space presenting an exciting programme of world-renowned contemporary artists, artist projects, performance and other events as well as continuing our award-winning learning activities. Opened to the public on 30 August 2013, The Calder celebrates the heritage of the waterfront site. This new space presents a great opportunity to attract even more visitors to this conservation area, providing a rich cultural context in which to see art, engage with artists and to explore the waterfront. The development of Wakefield over the centuries has been mostly due to its location on the banks of the river Calder and the ease of navigation from east to west. Across much of its length, the Calder is canalised and becomes the Calder and Hebble Navigation, forming part of the Aire and Calder Navigation, before it merges into the River Aire and joins the River Humber and the North Sea. The river was vital to the success of the textile industries in the local area and many major mills were constructed along its banks, particularly at Halifax, Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Wakefield. By the 19 th century the area now known as Wakefield Waterfront was a thriving industrial area with around 35 mills established on this site as well as the boatyard which in still in operation today. Over the years the mills have had a variety of uses including corn merchants, textiles, wool processing and spinning. The Calder capital project is funded by Wakefield Council, who are the principal proprietor of the waterfront site adjacent to The Hepworth Wakefield. The exhibition and event programme will be funded from a number of charitable trusts, corporates and private individuals and will be match-funded in part through the Arts Council England Catalyst Arts programme. The Calder, Gallery Walk, West Yorkshire, WF1 5AW Free admission (except for ticketed events) Open Tuesday Sunday, pm Open Third Thursday of every month, pm, as part of After Hours late nights Open as part of the Wakefield Art on Wednesdays every other month, pm Closed Mondays (except for Bank Holidays and school holidays) #TheCalder Instagram: thecalder 10

11 THE CALDER 1 OCT 16 NOV 2014 TOBY ZIEGLER: EXPANDED NARCISSISTIC ENVELOPE Expanded Narcissistic Envelope is a new installation by Toby Ziegler made in response to The Hepworth Wakefield s new contemporary art space The Calder. The exhibition comprises a group of aluminium sculptures and a series of digital prints covering the walls and areas of the gallery floor. The installation is anchored by a painted floor grid that recalls the geometric visualisation of three-dimensional space in computer programming. Each of the sculptures is derived from an original source image taken from the internet, often of a body or body part, which Ziegler reconfigures and resizes into a new sculptural object. This immersive installation continues Ziegler s interest in processes of translation: from image to sculpture, figuration to abstraction, from the virtual to the physical. Ziegler s new sculptures are made from thin aluminium sheets that create reflective, faceted surfaces, which echo the sculptures digital origins. Several of the works have been conceived as pairs where one acts as a distorted mirror of the other, giving physical form the conceptual processes of transformation that run through Ziegler s practice. The wall and floor-based printed surfaces, which carry images enlarged to the point of distortion, further highlight Ziegler s interest how our perception of the world is increasingly mediated by technology. 4 JULY SEPTEMBER 2015 MAGALI REUS 11

12 LEARNING The Hepworth Wakefield is located in one of the 70 most disadvantaged areas in England, and over one quarter of the surrounding district s population live in areas that are amongst the most deprived nationally (The Index of Multiple Deprivation 2010). The Hepworth Wakefield is providing the people of the region, including hard-to-reach groups, with access to inspiring, world-class art, while creating a home for Wakefield s significant art collection. As an important resource for the area, we are helping to reinvigorate civic pride and inspire young people to broaden their horizons and achieve their potential. REMOVING BARRIERS THROUGH ART: OUR AWARD-WINNING LEARNING PROGRAMME Education and lifelong learning are at the heart of The Hepworth Wakefield s mission. Our Learning Studios located prominently next to the gallery s entrance present new opportunities to engage and inspire the area s children, young people, families and a range of under-represented audiences. Our Learning Team is developing meaningful connections with new audiences far beyond traditional gallery-goers, including at-risk youth and those with additional physical and learning needs. They are also forging strong links with the area s community groups, schools, disability groups, universities and youth workers, to develop programmes that meet the needs of a diverse range of people. CLORE LEARNING AWARD 2013 In June 2013 The Hepworth Wakefield won the coveted 10,000 Clore Learning Award as part of the Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year Awards The award recognises the achievements and celebrates the quality in museum and gallery learning programmes. These programmes develop the skills, knowledge, values and enjoyment with children and young people (from early years up to the age of 25). The winners were chosen by an independent panel of judges chaired by Art Fund Director, Stephen Deuchar. The judges were Daily Telegraph s Arts Editor in Chief Sarah Crompton, writer and broadcaster Bettany Hughes, Tristram Hunt MP and the artist Bob and Roberta Smith. Stephen Deuchar, Director of the Art Fund and chair of the judges, said: The integration of curatorial and learning programmes which so many museums attempt has rarely been achieved so completely and impressively as at The Hepworth Wakefield. It is educational, aspirational, and inspirational to the core. FORMAL LEARNING During our first year, the Learning Team has established a core programme of artist-led workshops and a suite of resources that are available for self-directed visits. The programme is led by a team of 15 practitioners with professional practice in sculpture, installation, textiles, printmaking, drawing, drama, creative writing, music and painting. It has been devised to cover Early Years, Primary, Secondary, Post-16 and Higher Education, with tailored workshops and resources for each stage. We will be launching our first online resource in July to support STEM teachers to use the gallery to inspire Maths. This has been developed in collaboration with teachers and student in Castleford, STEM advisors form Leeds University and funded by the Burberry foundation. OUTREACH The Hepworth Wakefield has worked with disadvantaged families and pupils from three schools in target deprived areas to draw inspiration from the natural landscape and express ideas through visual arts. The 12

13 programme of activity targeted Neighbourhood Priority Areas (NPA) schools as they are less likely to visit and to encourage parents from NPA areas to visit as a family at weekends and holidays. In October 2011 The Hepworth Wakefield began the Out and About Project, working to support parents, children and teachers to visit the gallery and be inspired by the Yorkshire landscape following in the footsteps of the artists on display at the gallery such as Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore and contemporary artists such as Clare Woods. Places visited included Brimham Rocks and Nostell Priory, National Trust, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and The Hepworth Wakefield. The pilot project was supported by the Ernest Cook Trust and Arriva Travel. YOUNG PEOPLE Our youth programme supports a regular youth panel who meet twice monthly to plan and market events designed by young people, for young people. As THW Youth Panel progresses, the group will occupy a space in the Learning Studios, to host their own gatherings and initiate programmes and marketing for their peers. The gallery s youth work also targets partner organisations who work with vulnerable young people and our aim is to integrate referrals through tailored activities into mainstream programming and onto the youth panel diversifying the group and their reach. This initiative is funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation. LIFE LONG LEARNING We have a strong lifelong learning programme that engages adults in workshops that explore painting, sculpture, photography, print making and drawing. These are always oversubscribed and we are now looking into longer courses and partnerships with other organisations. FAMILIES Our family programme has been extremely successful attracting thousands of parents and children to weekend and family activities. Each weekend families can join in a free drop-in activity led by an artist and respond to the temporary exhibitions on display. The Hepworth Wakefield also offers bookable workshops in which families can work with an artist for a set period of time. The Art Pods are filled with activities that take place in the gallery spaces, respond to and work directly with collection displays and exhibitions. Explorer back packs help families become detectives for the day and explore the gallery spaces and displays using a spy trail and kit. A paper trail is also available for the collections displays, to support drop-in family visitors and is supported by the Monument Trust. PUBLIC PROGRAMME The gallery has devised a public programme to present new ways to engage and inspire audiences, especially those who may not be currently engaged with contemporary or historic art. The programme supports the use of the gallery as a welcoming social space through interesting, relevant and accessible events that range from family-friendly events, thematic tours and interdisciplinary performances that include other art forms such as: poetry, music and drama. The Hepworth Wakefield aims to provide a year-round programme of free of events, providing a suitable access point to key audiences through monthly late-night events and the bi-monthly Wakefield Artwalks, a city-wide event involving local arts organisations that enables a more experimental approach to programming. 13

14 THE BUILDING & AWARDS The Hepworth Wakefield designed by David Chipperfield Architects is situated in the conservation area at the headland of the River Calder. The gallery building is formed from a conglomeration of 10 individually sized trapezoidal blocks that respond to the scale and rooflines of the surrounding historical, industrial buildings. With water on two sides and visibility from all directions, the building has no front or back elevation. The galleries are all located on the upper floor and are characterised by a wealth of natural light from the ceiling lights slots and windows, ideal for the display of sculpture. The ground floor contains rooms which perform primarily front-of-house functions to offer a performance space, learning studios, public facilities, as well as a shop, café bar and reception. Also situated on this level are the administration, back of house areas and an archive. The art collection is also stored on this level. RIVERSIDE PLAY AREA The riverside play area in the gallery garden creates an inclusive and fun, play opportunity for children of various ages and abilities. The bespoke design features a rock stack, wooden play ship, an aerial cableway and with play towers, slides, bridges and climbing nets. The play area is part of the Three Area s Project into Change4Life, funded by NHS Wakefield District and Wakefield Council, as well as allocated funds via the Governments Playbuilder Capital Programme. AWARDS & NOMINATIONS White Rose Awards 2013 Museum of the Year 2013 Art Fund Prize 2013 RIBA Stirling Prize 2012 White Rose Awards 2012 Art Fund Prize 2012 RICS Pro Yorkshire Awards South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2012 Wakefield Civic Society Design Awards 2012 Finalist, Large Visitor Attraction Winner of the Clore Award for Learning Finalist, Museum of the Year Award & Clore Learning Prize Shortlisted for the Stirling Prize for architecture Arts and Culture Award Finalist, Museum of the Year Award Commercial, Tourism & Leisure, Design & Innovation Nominated in the visual art category (David Chipperfield) Best New Building The Civic Trust National Panel Special Award 2012 The Wallpaper* Design Awards 2012 The British Design Awards 2011 Condé Nast Traveller Award 2011 Best New Public Building Best Architectural Achievement Innovation and Design Award (culture) 14

15 THE ARCHITECTURE THE SITE The Hepworth Wakefield sits on a promontory on the River Calder, within a conservation area just outside Wakefield city centre. The surrounding features range from a motorway filter that joins the road into Wakefield, to historic Victorian warehouses and a medieval chapel. The site has views of the river and its industrial heritage, the city and its cathedral and, in the distance, the Pennines. The River Calder wraps closely around the site so that part of the building sits directly in the water, with a weir rushing onto its north side. The river does occasionally flood, and the building has become part of local flood defences. In the early 18th century, stretches of the Calder were deepened or diverted and a series of locks were introduced to make a waterway navigable by sea-going barges. The Calder and Hebble Navigation, the local section of the river, passes not far from the south side of The Hepworth Wakefield site. As the site has for many years been inaccessible, the building will play an important role in opening up the historic waterside area to the public. In the 18th and 19th centuries the Calder and Hebble Navigation was one of the great network of canals that allowed goods to be transported nationally and on an industrial scale. At the time, Wakefield was an important crossroads and adjacent to The Hepworth Wakefield are several handsome waterside warehouse buildings which are currently undergoing regeneration. Close to the site, a 14th century bridge spans the River Calder. Beside the bridge is an iconic local landmark: the medieval Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin. It was once one of four chantry chapels in Wakefield but is now one of just four surviving chantry chapels in the whole of England. The chapel was rebuilt by George Gilbert Scott in APPROACH TO THE HEPWORTH WAKEFIELD In planning The Hepworth Wakefield, a priority was to create a strong link with the city centre. Rather than orient the building towards the road or the north-facing weir, David Chipperfield Architects designed a footbridge to lead the public from the main road into the southwest-facing entrance area of the gallery. This is the warmer side of the building, where visitors to the gallery and its café will readily spill out onto the river frontage. BUILDING FORM The concept of a building made up of several distinct volumes emerged in very early sketches. The Hepworth Wakefield comprises ten discrete but connected trapezoidal blocks of similar height which respond to the scale and rooflines of the surrounding warehouses. Visible from all directions, the building has many facets and no obvious front or back elevation. Each form is unique and there are few right-angled corners. Free of services on the roof, the exterior is treated as a unified sculptural form with a smooth surface accentuating the varied roof angles of the blocks. The support walls of each of the ten volumes extend to the top of the building. The internal spaces follow the exterior forms on both floors (although some spaces are subdivided on the ground floor). 15

16 All windows are flush with the façade so that there are no recesses interrupting the lines of the building and in the galleries (which are all on the first floor) all windows start at floor level. ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION Initially planned as a more conventional pre-cast concrete structure with a clad façade, a load bearing façade of pigmented in-situ cast concrete proved both the most beautiful and a more cost effective option. To keep the site free of water during construction, the river and weir had to be held back with sheet piling. Multiple piles were sunk across the site and around the building perimeter. The shuttering and casting of the specially pigmented concrete that formed the walls of the building was then carried out in situ. The load-bearing facade walls were cast using an innovative technique which is new to the UK, fulfilling the architect s vision for a very clear, monolithic form, integrated with its setting. Built to stand partly in the water facing the weir, and to defend against flood, the perimeter walls are thick and strongly reinforced. Steel trusses support the roof. MATERIALS The in-situ concrete required a perfect surface, to articulate the facets of the blocks. This was achieved by casting the perimeter walls in self-compacting concrete (SCC). This high-spec concrete is difficult to work with, but when used successfully delivers a very smooth finish. The concrete is mixed with pigment to create a subtle mid-grey colour that was named Hepworth Brown by the contractors. The roof is pre-cast concrete with a smooth screed in the same shade. On the ground floor, in the public areas, the lower part of the walls is panelled with a dark grey-pigmented MDF. The primary floor finish is pale grey polished screed. The internal gallery walls are of a robust and easily maintained dry-lining. The doors are polyester powdercoated, with flush frames. INTERIOR The building includes two floors of galleries and ancillary function spaces and a basement which houses essential plant. The ground floor facilities are elevated above water level. BASEMENT The basement houses the building s services. GROUND FLOOR The ground floor contains a reception area, a shop, a café, a performance space and generous learning studios, as well as offices and back-of-house areas including an archive, a store and a loading bay. The public areas enjoy views out of the building, and there is welcoming terrace space outside the main reception and café areas. A top lit staircase at the centre of the building leads visitors up to the galleries on the upper floor. 16

17 GALLERIES The museum s ten galleries, all on the upper floor, vary in size and character according to their function. Six galleries have been designed for permanent collections, which range from large scale sculptures and plasters by Barbara Hepworth to the very light sensitive works on paper in Wakefield s art collection. There are four further galleries for temporary exhibitions. SPACES Following the external form of the building, with ceilings that run parallel to the slanting roofs, the galleries are not conventional rectangular volumes. With variations in size, orientation and ceiling pitch, each gallery has a unique atmosphere and the capacity to draw the eye onto works of art in an unusual way. Even the largest spaces succeed in being intimate, the smallest in feeling generous. DAYLIGHT The main source of daylight in each gallery is from a light slot that runs across the full width of the ceiling at one end of the space. The angle of the roof, which varies from block to block, has been calculated so that each light slot should admit and diffuse light in the best possible way, to provide even illumination and complement the artificial lighting system. Louvres allow light to be completely blocked out if necessary. VIEWS In 7 of the 10 galleries, in addition to a roof-light, there is a window scaled according to orientation and the importance of the view. The galleries are not hermetic spaces but have a sympathetic connection to the world that surrounds them. They also link Barbara Hepworth s sculpture to the landscape in which she grew up. In addition, the windows also provide views into the gallery, particularly at night when spaces are illuminated. THERMAL CONTROL Air conditioning is secreted behind the gallery walls. Air comes into the galleries via a continuous 30mm gap at the base of walls. SUMMARY Competition: 2003 Gross floor area: 5,232m2 Facilities: 10 gallery spaces Learning Studios Auditorium (125 people) Archive Café Bar Shop 17

18 Outdoor terrace and gardens Footbridge over the River Calder CREDITS Client: Wakefield Council Architect: David Chipperfield Architects Principal: David Chipperfield Director: Oliver Ulmer Project architect: Nick Hill, Kelvin Jones, Demian Erbar Project team: Julie Bauer, Yael Brosilovski, Katrin Bruenjes, Jesús Donaire, Corina Ebeling, John Puttick, Claudia Faust, Jason Good, David Gutman, Victoria Jessen-Pike, Ilona Klockenbusch, Daniel Koo, Laurent Masmonteil, Hau Ming Tse, Stephen Molloy, Hiroshi Nagata, Anna Naumann, Sabine Piechotta, Dean Pike, Billy Prendergast, Declan Scullion, Pierre Swanepoel, Korinna Thielen, Steffi Wedde, Jose Bergua Landscape architect: Gross Max: Bridget Baines, Ross Ballard Structural and services engineer: Ramboll UK Ltd: Anthony Armitage, Aunirbaan Bagchi, Michael Bartyzel, Peter Chaplin, Gilles Clement, Chris Dunn, Thomas Hallam, Lee Hargreaves, James Hay, Andrew Keelin, Andrzey Krawecki, Des Mairs, Tony McManus, John O Donoghue, Christian Riesner, Anton Sawicki, Mark Tanner, Robert Vint, Stephen Wilson, Mark Whitby, Simon Woods, Philip Butler, Tim Butler, Panayioutis Themisto Kleous, John O Donoghue, Chun- Hung Ou Lighting consultant Arup: Florence Lam, Andrew McNeil, Andy Sedgwick Theatre consultant Charcoalblue Ltd Acoustic consultant Paul Gillieron Acoustic Design: Paul Gillieron Fire consultant Safe Consulting Ltd: Nigel Hiorns Security consultant Arup: Ian Braithwaite Access consultant Jane Toplis Associates: Jane Toplis Bridge engineer Ramboll UK Ltd: Chris Dunn, Des Mairs, Stephen Wilson Project management Turner & Townsend: Rachel Brookes, Dewi Davies, Michael Diaz, Peter Goodrick, Michael Lumb, Howard Metcalf, Andrew Roach-Bowler, James Shaw, Mike Sweet, Justina Turner, Ben Small Quantity surveyor Turner & Townsend: Joe Bailey, Mike Connolly, Mark Matthews, Holly Pincock, Christopher Scoffield, Matthew Twigger, Thomas Aindow, Daniel Hughes 18

19 Main contractor Laing O Rourke Northern Limited: Duncan Beaumont, DanDoherty, Terry Hughes, Andy Pickmere Graphics APFEL: Kirsty Carter, Emma Thomas Fit out contractors Realm Projects: David Woods, Graeme Blakey, David Renshaw, Justin Whittle Exhibition contractor Wood Mitchell, Museums Technik 19

20 WAKEFIELD REGENERATION On the 5 December 2013, The Hepworth Wakefield welcomed its 1 millionth visitor. Since the gallery opened on 21 May 2011 it has been at the heart of Wakefield s regeneration. The gallery has helped to secure significant private sector investment to restore the listed mills and warehouses in this important conservation area. The positive ripple effect is already being felt in the communities surrounding the gallery, with private sector investment in the district totalling up to 1 billion. Visiting cultural attractions is West Yorkshire s main appeal to visitors and The Hepworth Wakefield plays a vital role in increasing not only regional tourism, but also in attracting visitors from across the UK and internationally to Yorkshire. The gallery has far exceeded initial expectations. It achieved its original first year target of 150,000 visitors (a nationally benchmarked figure), within the first five weeks of opening and has more than trebled this expectation in its first year, bringing an estimated 10 million to the District s economy. As well as exceeding visitor targets, the gallery has generated nearly 16m for the local economy Across Wakefield tourism contributes 323 million to the local economy and generates 9,000 jobs and across the Yorkshire and Humber region heritage tourism generates 2.1billion visitor expenditure a year. With Yorkshire Sculpture Triangle partners Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) at West Bretton, the Henry Moore Institute (HMI) in Leeds and Leeds Art Gallery, The Hepworth Wakefield is helping to create an exciting and unique cultural offer, confirming Yorkshire as a new world centre for sculpture. RECENT MAJOR REGENERATION PROJECTS IN WAKEFIELD DISTRICT: 1. Waterfront Wakefield Derelict and inaccessible for many years, this 100m project has started to transform The River Calder Conservation Area with the creation of a mixed-use site to incorporate residential spaces, leisure facilities, modern office accommodation and the restoration of former mill and warehouse buildings, including the 18th century Navigation Warehouse. 2. Trinity Walk This city centre retail development opened on 6 May It includes a large shopping centre, cafés, restaurants and a new multi-story car park. 3. Wakefield Merchant Gate A 140m development has created a new business quarter next to Wakefield Westgate station and offer direct connections to London and cross-country networks. The mixed-use site will include office blocks, 350 homes, shops and restaurants, public squares, a hotel and a new railway station. 4. Wakefield Westgate Train Station Opened in December 2013, the new 8.8m Wakefield Westgate train station is one of the first new rail station building on the East Coast Main Line in decades. The new station building includes new shops, a footbridge and lifts linking the platforms, a new travel centre and a first class lounge and standard waiting area. 20

21 CURRENT MAJOR REGENERATION PROJECTS IN WAKEFIELD DISTRICT: Wakefield Kirkgate Train Station Wakefield Council, Metro and partners Network Rail, Northern Rail, Grand Central, Railway Heritage Trust and Groundwork Wakefield are working together to bring much needed improvements to Grade II listed Wakefield Kirkgate rail station just a short walk from The Hepworth Wakefield. The 4.6m scheme to transform the building driven by Groundwork Wakefield and multiple funding partners will see the building brought back to life. The restoration is due to be completed by autumn 2014 and will transform the station building to provide an important gateway to the city by providing facilities for rail passengers, local communities and enterprises. Plans include units for new businesses, a café, a retail outlet with rail ticket sales, exhibition spaces, meeting rooms for community and local business and accommodation for Groundwork Wakefield. 21

22 TRUSTEES & EXECUTIVE STAFF The Hepworth Wakefield is a registered charity. The gallery s governance consists of an appointed board of Trustees and an operational senior management team. The Hepworth Wakefield Board of Trustees David Liddiment, Chair Cllr Peter Box CBE Dr Sophie Bowness Linda Harley John Holden Joanne Lake David Roberts Andrew Wallhead Tom Wilcox Michael Ziff Senior Management Team Simon Wallis, Director Jane Marriot, Deputy Director (August 2014) Frances Guy, Head of Collection & Exhibitions Natalie Walton, Head of Learning 22

23 BIOGRAPHIES CLLR PETER BOX CBE, LEADER OF WAKEFIELD COUNCIL Councillor Box became Leader of Wakefield Council in August 1998, having been elected in He has led the transformation of Wakefield Council into a modern and efficient authority. The Council is now a 4 star Excellent authority and in 2006 was voted Britain s Best Small City for Business. In 2010 Peter was awarded a CBE for Services to Local Government. Councillor Box s political career has also seen him Chair the Employment & Economic Development Committee from Before retiring in 2005 Peter was a Probate and Trust lawyer. Peter was Chair of the Regional Assembly for Yorkshire and the Humber from 2002-until its abolition in 2009 and Chair of the English Regions Network from He is a former member of the Governments Northern Way Steering Group. He is a Chair of the LGA s Economic and Transport Board and a Leeds City Region Board Member. He also serves on the Young Person s Learning Agency. Having been raised in Castleford, Peter has a strong and passionate connection with the Wakefield district and is a Trustee for the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and the National Coal Mining Museum, two of the area s most popular attractions. DAVID LIDDIMENT, CHAIR, THE HEPWORTH WAKEFIELD David Liddiment, ex-director of ITV Programmes, BBC Trustee and co-founder of Britain s biggest Independent producer, All3media was appointed Chair of The Hepworth Wakefield in August He was educated at Huddersfield New College and Liverpool University and became well known for his role as Executive Producer of Coronation Street, nurturing a new generation of TV dramatists including Paul Abbott, Kay Mellor and Russell T Davies. In 1997 David was appointed Director of Programmes at ITV, where he led the channel through a period of creative renewal and commercial success, launching shows like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, Pop Idol and Cold Feet. In 2006 David was appointed as one of the founding members of the BBC Trust and chairs the Trust s Audiences and Performance Committee, which monitors the performance of all of the BBC s public services. David is co-founder and non-executive director of the independent production company All3Media, now the largest independent production house in the UK. He is an associate of The Old Vic Theatre Company, having co-founded the company with Kevin Spacey in SIMON WALLIS, DIRECTOR, THE HEPWORTH WAKEFIELD Simon Wallis was appointed Director of The Hepworth Wakefield in July He was previously Director of Chisenhale Gallery in East London, Senior Exhibitions Organiser at the ICA, London; Curator at Tate Liverpool; and Curator at Kettle s Yard, University of Cambridge. He studied painting at Chelsea School of Art and subsequently at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA and gained an MA in Art Gallery and Museum Studies at Manchester University. DAVID CHIPPERFIELD CBE, RA, RDI, RIBA, ARCHITECT David Chipperfield studied at Kingston School of Art and the Architectural Association in London. After 23

24 graduating he worked at the practices of Douglas Stephen, Richard Rogers and Norman Foster. David Chipperfield Architects was established in 1984 and the practice currently has over 180 staff at its offices in London, Berlin, Milan and Shanghai. The practice has won over 50 national and international competitions and many international awards and citations for design excellence, including RIBA, RFAC and AIA awards and the Stirling Prize In 1993 David Chipperfield was awarded the Andrea Palladio Prize and in 1999, the Heinrich Tessenow Gold Medal. In 2004 he was made an Honorary Member of the Florence Academy of Art and Design, and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to architecture. He was appointed Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) in 2006, and in 2007 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and an Honorary Member of the Bund Deutscher Architekten (BDA). He was elected a Royal Academician (RA) in 2008 and awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Kingston University. In 2009 David Chipperfield was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany the highest tribute that can be paid to individuals for service to the nation and in the UK New Year Honours 2010 was named Knight Bachelor for services to architecture in the UK and Germany. In late 2010 the Royal Institute of British Architects announced that David Chipperfield would be the recipient of the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture Given in recognition of a lifetime s work, the Royal Gold Medal is approved personally by Her Majesty the Queen. David Chipperfield has taught and lectured worldwide. He has been Professor of Architecture at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Stuttgart, and Visiting Professor at several schools of architecture in Austria, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, and is an Honorary Professor at the University of the Arts London. BARBARA HEPWORTH Written by Matthew Gale Barbara Hepworth ( ) was born in Wakefield on 10 January Her father, Herbert Hepworth, would become County Surveyor and an Alderman. She trained at Leeds School of Art (1920-1) and while on a county scholarship at the Royal College of Art (1921-4) she met the painters Raymond Coxon and Edna Ginesi and sculptor Henry Moore. Hepworth was runner-up to John Skeaping for the 1924 Prix de Rome, but travelled to Florence on a West Riding Travel Scholarship. After visiting Rome and Siena with Skeaping, they were married in Florence on 13 May 1925 and moved to Rome, where both began carving stone. In November 1926, they returned to London. Links forged through the British School at Rome with the sculptor Richard Bedford (a curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum), ensured that the collector George Eumorfopoulos visited their studio show in 1927 and bought two works by Hepworth. The couple moved to 7 The Mall Studios in Hampstead in 1928 (where Hepworth remained until 1939). With Bedford and Moore, Hepworth and Skeaping became leading figures in the new movement associated with direct carving. Successful joint exhibitions in 1928 (Beaux Arts Gallery, London and Alex. Reid and Lefevre, Glasgow) and 1930 (Tooth s) consisted of animal and figure sculptures in stone and wood. They joined the London Group and the 7 & 5 Society in A son, Paul, was born in August 1929, but the marriage was deteriorating and in 1931 Hepworth met Ben Nicholson (then married to Winifred Nicholson), who joined her on holiday at Happisburgh, Norfolk. She and Skeaping were amicably divorced in In 1934 Hepworth gave birth to triplets and Hepworth married Nicholson four years later. Hepworth and Nicholson revealed their move towards abstraction in joint exhibitions in 1932 (Tooth s) and 1933 (Lefevre). This became the abiding direction of her work, epitomised by the pioneering piercing of the block, which coincided with experiments in collage, photograms and prints. Establishing links with the continental avant-garde, the couple visited the Parisian studios of Arp, Brancusi, Mondrian, Braque and Picasso. 24