Tate overcame many challenges in the redevelopment of its gallery in St Ives, Cornwall, not least of which was blue elvan. Large amounts of what is apparently the hardest rock in the UK had to be removed to make way for the extension, which was completed in October.
Local opposition to the redevelopment proved equally tough, which is one of the main reasons why the project took more than 12 years to complete. The £20m scheme was completely reworked over this period as Tate consulted with residents and other stakeholders, and adapted its plans in response to objections to the original scheme first unveiled in 2005. St Ives has a population of about 12,000 and there are ongoing concerns about the impact of tourism on the seaside town.
The result of this extensive consultation is an extension that is sunk into the cliff alongside the original building, which was designed by architects Eldred Evans and David Shalev. Tate St Ives first opened in 1993 and was built to accommodate 70,000 visitors a year, but regular annual visits of about 250,000 meant extra space was needed. Mark Osterfield, the executive director of Tate St Ives, and Jamie Fobert, the architect for the extension, are both convinced that the length of the project and the consultation with the local community has led to a better project. Residents’ concerns ranged from a loss of parking spaces to the potential of a new building to ruin views across the town.
There has been criticism in the national press that Tate was bullied into submission by the people of St Ives, who have missed out on having a landmark cultural building. But this ignores the fact that many residents feel Tate did the right thing by not riding roughshod over their concerns. Surely Tate should be applauded for being sensitive to locals and striking a balance between this and its ambitions for the gallery.
Another bone of contention for many of those living in St Ives was that Tate had charged people to see the permanent collection, which is not the case in its two London venues or Tate Liverpool. But following the reopening, Tate has introduced a £5 annual pass for Cornwall residents, offering unlimited entry to Tate St Ives and the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, which Tate also manages. Standard adult admission to Tate St Ives is £9.50.
So what does the new venue offer visitors? It may lack an iconic exterior but it’s what’s inside that counts. And there is a lot more to see now, with almost 600 sq m extra gallery space. The extension also means that, for the first time, Tate St Ives has the capacity for permanent and temporary exhibitions, and will not have to close during exhibition changeovers.
The new permanent displays tell the story of artists who lived and worked in the town, including Alfred Wallis, Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth. The role of St Ives in the wider story of modern art is presented well and the curators have created a coherent and compelling narrative. The idea of a local art scene connected to and influenced by a wider international art movement fits well with Tate as an organisation today, which has a mission to increase the public’s enjoyment and understanding of British and international art.
The first gallery sets the tone, highlighting some of the artists commonly associated with St Ives, including Sandra Blow, Terry Frost, Roger Hilton and Peter Lanyon.
Gallery two is a bigger space and the narrative opens out here, as links are made between artists in St Ives, London and elsewhere in Europe. Tate’s strong holding of modern art from across the world allows this story to be told effectively. The focus is on artistic exchanges, a theme that continues through the displays. This notion of sharing ideas across global borders is perhaps a quietly radical one in post-Brexit Britain.
The narrative is supported by archive material dotted about the galleries. Examples include publicity for a 1930s exhibition in London of German 20th-century art. The poster’s headline is “Hitler Attacks London Art Exhibition” and the show itself was linked to support for Republican Spain in its fight against fascism.
Contemporary issues are also highlighted, with the third gallery showing that our generation hasn’t been the first to suffer from austerity. The period from 1940 to 1950 was marked by the second world war, which had an impact on artists as much as everyone else. After a decade of hard times, things started to look up in 1951 with the Festival of Britain, which provided exposure to modern British artists based in Cornwall.
Marrying old and new
The permanent displays have been transformed by the redevelopment, although there are still hangovers from the original building, which I feel never totally worked as a gallery. It has too many levels and features some odd spaces that aren’t great for displaying art. A Mark Rothko work tucked away in a corner at the bottom of staircase seems to sum up both problems.
The new space created by Fobert Architects is vast and offers lots of flexibility for programming exhibitions. Tate St Ives reopened with the sculptor Rebecca Warren’s first major UK exhibition, which is on until 7 January. It is a sparse display and I found it a little bit underwhelming. But maybe the gallery should be commended for taking a risk and giving exposure to an artist who is not a household name.
The show takes up all the new galleries and allows visitors to see the potential of the space, which can be sub-divided for group shows. The famed Cornwall light, which is one of the things that has attracted artists to the county, streams in from the ceiling through concrete beams.
The completion of the extension has given Tate St Ives the opportunity to offer audiences far more than was possible in the old building. The challenge will be moving from a redevelopment mode to an operational one, converting the energy that has been spent on a long-term capital project into creating an inspiring and exciting programme.
The gallery has worked hard to rebuild its relationship with the local community and is looking at the partnerships it can create across Cornwall and beyond. The next phase of its evolution has only just begun.
Over a 12-year period we have moved from a project that was naturally focused on the needs of the gallery to the delivery of a new Tate St Ives that responds to and is owned by not just Tate but our community and a variety of stakeholders in Cornwall and beyond.
After a two-year consultation, our community liaison group helped shape the project over the following nine years; the architects Eldred Evans and David Shalev worked with us to refurbish their original building as well as deliver beautiful new learning and visitor facilities; Jamie Fobert Architects worked with our curators and engineering consultant Max Fordham on creating a gallery space that welcomes natural light while protecting the artworks; and the whole project team led by Fobert himself helped us to embed these new facilities sensitively in the unique townscape of St Ives.
Testing and refining the brief allowed us to be open to alternative opportunities, which have better suited our needs. The new Tate St Ives is born of true engagement, shaping a way forward that could not have been found in any other way.
Mark Osterfield is the executive director of Tate St Ives
Main funder Cornwall Council; Arts Council England; Coastal Communities Fund; Heritage Lottery Fund; DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund; Headley Trust; Clore Duffield Foundation; Foyle Foundation; Ronald and Rita McAulay Foundation; Lord and Lady Myners of Truro; Garfield Weston Foundation Architects Jamie Fobert Architects; Evans & Shalev
Main contractor BAM Construction
Project management Currie & Brown
Structural engineer Price and Myers
Mechanical and electrical Max Fordham
Quantity surveying Sweett Group
Exhibitions Rebecca Warren: All that Heaven Allows, until 7 January 2018 Admission Adult £9.50; concessions £8.50; annual admission for Cornwall residents £5
Local opposition to the redevelopment proved equally tough, which is one of the main reasons why the project took more than 12 years to complete. The £20m scheme was completely reworked over this period as Tate consulted with residents and other stakeholders, and adapted its plans in response to objections to the original scheme first unveiled in 2005. St Ives has a population of about 12,000 and there are ongoing concerns about the impact of tourism on the seaside town.
The result of this extensive consultation is an extension that is sunk into the cliff alongside the original building, which was designed by architects Eldred Evans and David Shalev. Tate St Ives first opened in 1993 and was built to accommodate 70,000 visitors a year, but regular annual visits of about 250,000 meant extra space was needed. Mark Osterfield, the executive director of Tate St Ives, and Jamie Fobert, the architect for the extension, are both convinced that the length of the project and the consultation with the local community has led to a better project. Residents’ concerns ranged from a loss of parking spaces to the potential of a new building to ruin views across the town.
There has been criticism in the national press that Tate was bullied into submission by the people of St Ives, who have missed out on having a landmark cultural building. But this ignores the fact that many residents feel Tate did the right thing by not riding roughshod over their concerns. Surely Tate should be applauded for being sensitive to locals and striking a balance between this and its ambitions for the gallery.
Another bone of contention for many of those living in St Ives was that Tate had charged people to see the permanent collection, which is not the case in its two London venues or Tate Liverpool. But following the reopening, Tate has introduced a £5 annual pass for Cornwall residents, offering unlimited entry to Tate St Ives and the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, which Tate also manages. Standard adult admission to Tate St Ives is £9.50.
So what does the new venue offer visitors? It may lack an iconic exterior but it’s what’s inside that counts. And there is a lot more to see now, with almost 600 sq m extra gallery space. The extension also means that, for the first time, Tate St Ives has the capacity for permanent and temporary exhibitions, and will not have to close during exhibition changeovers.
The new permanent displays tell the story of artists who lived and worked in the town, including Alfred Wallis, Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth. The role of St Ives in the wider story of modern art is presented well and the curators have created a coherent and compelling narrative. The idea of a local art scene connected to and influenced by a wider international art movement fits well with Tate as an organisation today, which has a mission to increase the public’s enjoyment and understanding of British and international art.
The first gallery sets the tone, highlighting some of the artists commonly associated with St Ives, including Sandra Blow, Terry Frost, Roger Hilton and Peter Lanyon.
Gallery two is a bigger space and the narrative opens out here, as links are made between artists in St Ives, London and elsewhere in Europe. Tate’s strong holding of modern art from across the world allows this story to be told effectively. The focus is on artistic exchanges, a theme that continues through the displays. This notion of sharing ideas across global borders is perhaps a quietly radical one in post-Brexit Britain.
The narrative is supported by archive material dotted about the galleries. Examples include publicity for a 1930s exhibition in London of German 20th-century art. The poster’s headline is “Hitler Attacks London Art Exhibition” and the show itself was linked to support for Republican Spain in its fight against fascism.
Contemporary issues are also highlighted, with the third gallery showing that our generation hasn’t been the first to suffer from austerity. The period from 1940 to 1950 was marked by the second world war, which had an impact on artists as much as everyone else. After a decade of hard times, things started to look up in 1951 with the Festival of Britain, which provided exposure to modern British artists based in Cornwall.
Marrying old and new
The permanent displays have been transformed by the redevelopment, although there are still hangovers from the original building, which I feel never totally worked as a gallery. It has too many levels and features some odd spaces that aren’t great for displaying art. A Mark Rothko work tucked away in a corner at the bottom of staircase seems to sum up both problems.
The new space created by Fobert Architects is vast and offers lots of flexibility for programming exhibitions. Tate St Ives reopened with the sculptor Rebecca Warren’s first major UK exhibition, which is on until 7 January. It is a sparse display and I found it a little bit underwhelming. But maybe the gallery should be commended for taking a risk and giving exposure to an artist who is not a household name.
The show takes up all the new galleries and allows visitors to see the potential of the space, which can be sub-divided for group shows. The famed Cornwall light, which is one of the things that has attracted artists to the county, streams in from the ceiling through concrete beams.
The completion of the extension has given Tate St Ives the opportunity to offer audiences far more than was possible in the old building. The challenge will be moving from a redevelopment mode to an operational one, converting the energy that has been spent on a long-term capital project into creating an inspiring and exciting programme.
The gallery has worked hard to rebuild its relationship with the local community and is looking at the partnerships it can create across Cornwall and beyond. The next phase of its evolution has only just begun.
Focus on: consultation
Taking the time to talk, listen and understand lies at the root of the success of the new Tate St Ives. Constant dialogue has helped us achieve a result that has exceeded all of my expectations. Over a 12-year period we have moved from a project that was naturally focused on the needs of the gallery to the delivery of a new Tate St Ives that responds to and is owned by not just Tate but our community and a variety of stakeholders in Cornwall and beyond.
After a two-year consultation, our community liaison group helped shape the project over the following nine years; the architects Eldred Evans and David Shalev worked with us to refurbish their original building as well as deliver beautiful new learning and visitor facilities; Jamie Fobert Architects worked with our curators and engineering consultant Max Fordham on creating a gallery space that welcomes natural light while protecting the artworks; and the whole project team led by Fobert himself helped us to embed these new facilities sensitively in the unique townscape of St Ives.
Testing and refining the brief allowed us to be open to alternative opportunities, which have better suited our needs. The new Tate St Ives is born of true engagement, shaping a way forward that could not have been found in any other way.
Mark Osterfield is the executive director of Tate St Ives
Project data
Cost £20mMain funder Cornwall Council; Arts Council England; Coastal Communities Fund; Heritage Lottery Fund; DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund; Headley Trust; Clore Duffield Foundation; Foyle Foundation; Ronald and Rita McAulay Foundation; Lord and Lady Myners of Truro; Garfield Weston Foundation Architects Jamie Fobert Architects; Evans & Shalev
Main contractor BAM Construction
Project management Currie & Brown
Structural engineer Price and Myers
Mechanical and electrical Max Fordham
Quantity surveying Sweett Group
Exhibitions Rebecca Warren: All that Heaven Allows, until 7 January 2018 Admission Adult £9.50; concessions £8.50; annual admission for Cornwall residents £5
