PROJECT DESCRIPTION
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The New Gallery designed by Caruso St John Architects, won through an international design competition, re-houses Walsall Gallery's unique Garman Ryan Collection, and creates space for temporary exhibitions, a discovery gallery (primarily for children), two activity rooms, an art library, shop, restaurant, café, conferencing facilities and a rooftop terrace. Public involvement with the project was key throughout the whole design and construction process. The New Gallery at Walsall considered their audience to be primarily local people but also included colleagues from the art world, those interested in architecture and design at all levels, the press and media and school children in the programme of events.
BENEFIT
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Walsall's commitment to public involvement was genuinely motivated by the desire to open up the project to the public, the approach was risk-taking, particularly at the early stages but it was felt that consultation and involvement was a necessary part of the democratic process.
On opening, the efforts of the open dialogue with the local community were rewarded with the first month's visitor figures exceeding 55,000; more than the total annual attendance at the old gallery.
In 1996 Michael Elliott, Chief executive of West Midlands Arts, commented, "Walsall Council is to be congratulated for undertaking such a pioneering consultation programme involving local people in decisions about future cultural developments in the Borough".
METHOD
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Prior to starting on site the gallery's audience development programme included a wide ranging consultation exercise with residents from the Borough of Walsall during October and November 1995. The four main types of consultation that took place were awareness raising exhibitions across the borough, a borough wide postal questionnaire, consultation seminars and contact with local schools. Lively consultation seminars consisting of activity sessions, events and presentations gave people the opportunity to air their views and to discuss them with the architects and the design team.
Once work on the building had commenced, controlled public access to the site was permitted and tours took place throughout the duration of the construction process. The tours were led by gallery staff, the architects, the builders and even a local publican and were extremely popular.
A viewing gallery was constructed in a Portacabin on the site from which talks, parties and breakfast meetings took place over the following two years. An interactive model of the gallery was commissioned and housed here along with plans and photographs of the scheme.
The commitment to undertake such an extensive programme of public involvement in the project is seen by the gallery as a success and has engendered a high level of ownership and awareness by the local community. They are aware that, despite fears that closing the gallery for a year would cause people to forget about it, they could have closed for longer and easily have sustained interest through consultation and involvement programmes.
