The Public in West Bromwich, one of Britain’s largest and most ambitious cultural building projects, is delighted to confirm it will open its doors to the public on Saturday 28 June 2008.
This iconic building is the heart and catalyst of the £500 million regeneration of West Bromwich. Built on the grounds of the former bus depot in New Street, this site has been transformed into its own piece of art and is set to become a new and extensive creative hub and social centre for the region.
At the heart of The Public is the Public Gallery, a unique environment which is sure to be a hit with visitors locally and those from further afield. Each visit encourages audience participation and offers original creativity at the end of the visit.
With over 9,000 square metres of internal space, The Public is the first major initiative in an ongoing, long-term regeneration programme for West Bromwich that will bring a wide range of economic, cultural and community benefits to the area.
As well as the Public Gallery, there is a live performance theatre, creative office space and event and conference spaces for business hire. There is also a café bar on the ground floor for people to meet and relax during their visit.
The Public Gallery
The art gallery is a dynamic and unique space with no vertical walls. It incorporates dizzying drops and abstract steel trees, which provide interaction on each visitor’s journey around the gallery. There are also digital waterfalls, flying avatars, winding paths and sound tunnels, alongside two temporary exhibition spaces, which will see a changing programme of work by internationally renowned artists.
PUBLIC0002/2 20th February 2008
Every visit to the Public Gallery creates a unique experience for the visitor dependent on their mood and reactions to each interactive piece. There will be a wide range of accessible, entertaining, educational and inspirational activities to support this diverse and leading edge art programme.
At the beginning of each visit, individuals will be provided with a personal RFID (radio frequency identification devices) tag to wear. The tag creates an invisible link between the visitor and the gallery exhibits and allows them to build their collection of data as well as communicate with the artwork.
Highlights in the gallery include ‘Trees’, which interact with the RFID tags and allow visitors to input personal information, such as the mood they are in and which colours they like. All this data is then stored and used later in the visit.
There is a piece entitled ‘Flower of My Secret’, a series of drawers containing virtual flowerbeds that teem with whispered thoughts and secrets left behind by visitors.
‘Flypad’ creates a truly collaborative experience involving eleven players in the gallery, each creating their own 3D avatar. By stepping onto their Flypad, their virtual avatar takes off, diving and flying in the gallery’s central atrium, with the aim of swapping as many limbs and skins by colliding and holding onto other players.
A fun piece is ’Access at The Public’. Influenced by surveillance skills, visitors can spotlight unsuspecting individuals and send them a compliment only they can hear.
The final aspect of the journey is an area called ‘Make’. Here, all the pieces used during an individual’s journey through the gallery is offered as a series of creative processes, allowing them to create their own unique art object, inspired by the artworks they have seen and interacted with. No two visits will be the same and each piece will be truly unique to that visitor.
Visitors do this by using data made and collected during their visit, which they can personalise to make a unique range of take-away objects, from wrapping paper to coffee mugs.
Marlene Smith, Executive Director at The Public Gallery comments: “I am delighted to confirm the scheduled opening of Public Gallery, the UK’s first truly participatory art gallery, right here in the heart of the Black Country.
“The Public is a dynamic building, but what really differentiates Public Gallery is its dedication to making change through art and participation and our programme of permanent and temporary exhibitions and events will offer creative, innovative and fun experience to over 100,000 people every year, including audiences who do not normally attend art galleries.
“Our permanent, networked exhibits use highly sophisticated technologies to engage with audiences – visitors physically enter these artworks and it is their presence and actions that completes them. Our temporary programmes provide opportunities to present yet further approaches to art and participation. On opening, all the work presented throughout the gallery will be new commissions. Big ideas about the transformative impact of art will be examined and presented through collaboration and exchange with our audience.”
Councillor Bob Badham, Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for regeneration and transport, said: “It is going to be a very exciting year. As a local authority, we are very pleased to see the progress being made. We have stood by the project and council officers have done a tremendous job in getting it back on track. Now we are in the next exciting phase of the project, seeing it take shape inside ready for the arrival of the artists and the gallery.''
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