The Public, West Bromwich
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The Public was a multi-purpose venue and art gallery in
West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, ...
, West Midlands, England, at the forefront of a regional regeneration programme which was – by late 2013– to also bring Europe's biggest Tesco, a multiplex cinema, restaurants and a new retail centre. It closed in November 2013. Despite indications that the arts centre would be at the forefront of West Bromwich's 'Golden Future' on 9 May 2013 it was announced that
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council was created in 1974 to administer the newly formed Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands county of England. The council offices are located at the Council House, Freeth Street, Oldbury to ...
were in discussion with
Sandwell College Sandwell College is the only College of Further Education in Sandwell, West Midlands, England. It predominantly serves Sandwell, West Birmingham and adjacent areas of Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton. Following seven years of growth in student ...
to potentially lease The Public for use as a sixth-form college. The College's own sixth-form is oversubscribed with six applicants for every place. In 2012–13 there were 380,000 visitors to the building from all sections of society – an increase of over 40% from the previous year. The Public's mission is to be a place where people come to create and make things for themselves and to enjoy other people's creativity – an echo of Cedric Price's concept of a Fun Palace. In 2012, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''s Robert Clark described The Public as "a playground for adults" and that "maybe that's a good role for a contemporary art gallery to embrace". It is also home to 27 small companies as well as the Sandwell Arts Trust, who manage the building. Between them they employ around 120 people with a further 120 digital media apprentices. An article in the previously critical ''Express and Star'' in 2012 demonstrated that The Public was finally winning local people over and had found its purpose, and that the odds of it having become one of the region's success stories had been quite remote in the recent past. The Public closed on 23 November 2013.


Overview

The project grew out of the work by Jubilee Arts (founded 1974) whose mission was to enhance the lives of the local community through artistic programmes and endeavours. One aim of this group was to create a building which would serve as a permanent piece of art, be visually and structurally challenging and provide a place for community groups to gather to carry on the vision of Jubilee Arts. British architect
Will Alsop William Allen Alsop (12 December 1947 – 12 May 2018) was a British architect and Professor of Architecture at University for the Creative Arts's Canterbury School of Architecture. He was responsible for several distinctive and controversial ...
was selected to design the building with construction beginning in May 2003. Running over budget and with a number of organisations supporting the project going into liquidation and administration, The Public finally opened to visitors in 2008 (chiefly the ground floor), with construction of the ramp and digital artworks being completed in 2009. The building was finally completed in 2010 with the opening of its Level 2 Conference Suite and finalisation of office space on Level 4. The building is now operated and run by Sandwell Arts Trust (established August 2009) and features exhibition space, interactive art works, cafe bar, theatre, conference and meeting rooms and office space. By end of June 2013, Sandwell Arts Trust have indicated that 1,000,000 visitors will have been through the doors.


Arts Centre

Despite all its problems, The Public became an icon of the region and drew in visitors from the local area as well the Midlands and beyond. It was still reliant on public-subsidy but also gained income from hires, tenants and events, and planned to increase earned income once the building work that had surrounded was completed in summer 2013. The visual arts programme attracted work by notable contemporary artists, alongside work by local artists. This approach helped raise the profile of art in an area where participation had been low. In summer 2013 ''Ordinary/Extra/Ordinary,'' curated by David Thorp was the main show, bringing together work by
Tracey Emin Tracey Karima Emin, Order of the British Empire, CBE, Associate of the Royal Academy, RA (; born 3 July 1963) is a British artist known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork. Emin produces work in a variety of media including drawi ...
,
David Shrigley David John Shrigley (born 17 September 1968) is a British visual artist. He lived and worked in Glasgow, Scotland for 27 years before moving to Brighton, England in 2015. Early life and education Shrigley was born 17 September 1968 in Macclesfi ...
,
Jeremy Deller Jeremy Deller (born 30 March 1966) is an English people, English conceptual, video and installation artist. Much of Deller's work is Collaboration, collaborative; it has a strong political aspect, in the subjects dealt with and also the Idealiz ...
among others as well as a new commission from Birmingham artist Lucy McLauchlan. Later in the summer, the Annual Summer Open was due to show local talent. Previous exhibitions included ''The Art of Motion'' with work by
Maurice Broomfield Maurice William Broomfield (2 February 1916 – 4 October 2010) was an English photographer whose images of post-war British industry were credited with capturing the optimistic spirit of the time. Life and work Born in Draycott, Derbyshir ...
, a collaboration with other local art organisations and schools celebrating the work of local popular author
Janet and Allan Ahlberg Janet Ahlberg (21 October 1944 – 15 November 1994; née Hall) and Allan Ahlberg (born 5 June 1938) were a British married couple who created many children's books, including picture books that regularly appear at the top of "most popular" lis ...
and contributions from well-known artists including photographer
Martin Parr Martin Parr (born 23 May 1952) is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in p ...
. The Public was home to an eclectic programme of events with comedy shows from established names like
Al Murray Alastair James Hay Murray (born 10 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor, musician and writer from Hammersmith. In 2003, he was listed in ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy, and in 2007 he was voted the 16th gr ...
,
Jenny Eclair Jenny Eclair (born Jenny Clare Hargreaves; 16 March 1960) is an English comedian, novelist, and actress, best known for her roles in ''Grumpy Old Women'' between 2004 and 2007 and in '' Loose Women'' in 2011 and 2012. Early life Eclair was born ...
and
Alexei Sayle Alexei David Sayle (born 7 August 1952) is an English actor, author, stand-up comedian, television presenter and former recording artist. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement in the 1980s. He was voted the 18th gr ...
, music featuring up and coming bands as well as a wide range of activities from tea dancing to knitting that were led by local people.


History

The construction and early history of the building were beset by many problems. The development had been highly controversial and encountered financial difficulties, going into
administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...
before the expected opening date of July 2006, due to the withholding of a final tranche of £2 million that was due to be contributed by
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council was created in 1974 to administer the newly formed Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands county of England. The council offices are located at the Council House, Freeth Street, Oldbury to ...
. Further controversy surrounded plans by The Public Gallery Limited to introduce a regular entry fee of £6.95. These plans were scrapped and The Arts Council agreed to a further £3 million grant, allowing The Public to grant free entry to the gallery to allow it to open in 2008–2009. In November 2004 Alsop Architects left the project and architect Julian Flannery of Flannery & de la Pole took responsibility for the detailed design of the building interiors and for overseeing construction, which at that stage was around one third complete. In the summer of 2006 the practice developed a new brief and completion strategy for the project and several areas of the building, such as the Theatre, the Pink Tank Cafe and the Level 2 Flexible Space were fully redesigned. Following the issue and problems, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council took over the building in 2009 and established the organisation Sandwell Arts Trust (a subsidiary of Sandwell Leisure Trust) to run and operate the building under license.


Awards

The project has been commended for its "exciting and vibrant lighting scheme". Kevan Shaw lighting Design won the ''Lighting Design Awards'' in the ''Public Buildings'' Category on 12 March 2009. KSLD stated that "The lighting is designed to be an integral part of the experience of the building. Both colour and dynamics are employed to create a remarkable series of events within the multiform interior." "The Public features specific treatments that range from the visual excitement of pink neon scrawled across the ceiling to the simple fluorescent fittings which are programmed to follow the flow of people and features in the "1001 Buildings to See Before You Die List"


References


External links

*
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council page for The Public
{{DEFAULTSORT:Public, West Bromwich Will Alsop buildings Art museums and galleries in the West Midlands (county) Tourist attractions in the West Midlands (county) West Bromwich