Wakefield’s Cultural Revolution has been given a £5.5m Boost

11th February 2008

During the next three years, projects including the Hepworth Wakefield, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and The Art House will receive significant amounts of funding, providing more opportunities for people to take part in high-quality arts activities in the city.

The Yorkshire Sculpture Park is the biggest winner receiving more than £4.3M over the next three years. Peter Murray, Yorkshire Sculpture Park Executive Director commented: “It will enable us to deliver more major projects like the present, highly acclaimed Andy Goldsworthy exhibition, and to continue to develop as an international centre of excellence for the contemporary visual arts.”
 
The Hepworth Wakefield gallery will be a new Regular Funded Organisation (RFO) from April 2008, receiving £165,000 during the next three years. Project bosses at the gallery have set up a trust to raise cash for the project and news of the funding has been hailed as a massive step in securing the gallery's financial stability.
 
Wakefield Council leader Coun Peter Box said: "The funding will support contemporary arts at The Hepworth and encourage as many people as possible to visit the gallery and use its art facilities."
 
Work has now started on building The Hepworth, which is a flagship project for Wakefield's waterfront regeneration. The building, designed by award-winning international architects David Chipperfield, is on a very prominent site beside the River Calder and will enhance the existing historic waterfront architecture. The project includes a new footbridge across the River Calder to give better access from the city centre.
 
The Art House, which is a leading example of inclusive access for artists with and without disabilities, will receive more than £400,000. Liz Whitehouse, The Art House Director, said: "During the past four years we have worked towards the opening of our new building and the Arts Council has been aware that this would involve us taking on the cost of running a building with a very unpredictable income stream in the first few years."
 
The Theatre Royal Wakefield is also a winner in the announcement of future funding, receiving 71 per cent more than in 2007-8. The Theatre’s outreach and educational programmes will benefit from almost £300,000 which will go towards developing its programme of professional and amateur work.