Why you should visit the Hepworth Wakefield
Recently whilst travelling back home I passed a quirky looking building calle
d the Hepworth and funnily enough it was in Wakefield. After taking a look around I was very impressed with the infrastructure. There many great expeditions on and is a must see for any modern art enthusiasts.
The £35m gallery, named after sculptor Barbara Hepworth who lived in the West Yorkshire city until the age of 18, opened its doors in 2011. It contains dozens of Hepworth’s works and prototypes as well as pieces by Henry Moore and JMW Turner.It is the biggest art gallery to be built since the Hayward on London’s South Bank in 1968..Designed by award-winning architect David Chipperfield, it has 10 galleries covering 5,000 square metres.That makes it almost twice as big as the Turner Contemporary in Margate, Kent.The gallery received £18m from the local council and £5m from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Around 150,000 visitors visited in in the first year.
The gallery is perfect for a family day out, not only does it have a very nice café area, it also has an outdoor playground which was being thoroughly enjoyed by many of the children. For the adults there is 1600 square metres of purpose-built gallery space houses 44 plaster and aluminium working models donated by Dame Barbara Hepworth’s family and temporary exhibitions of contemporary art. Items from Wakefield’s art collection which spans the 16th century to the present day are on display.A year after opening, The Hepworth Wakefield was named Regional Building of the Year for 2012 by the Royal institute of British Architects. The gallery was also short-listed for the Art Fund award in 2012.
