Daniel Buren’s Borrowing and Multiplying the Landscape creates a giant porthole
The two-storey building has been designed to represent a row of artists’ studios with interlinking, shed-like structures
competition. The winners, Norwegian architects Snøhetta and British col- laborator Stephen Spence, came up with a design that put the gallery at the far end of the town’s harbour mouth, where it would have been prey to the full force of the sea. It was a romantic vision, but not a
realistic one, and when the costs of delivering it rose from £7m (7.9m, $11.3m) to £55m (62.3m, $89), Snøhetta and Spence were sacked. It was a serious setback for a project
that Pomery and her team had spent years generating popular support for, by hosting small-scale exhibitions and events in the town, and working closely with local schools and groups. “It’s no secret that when I arrived in Margate in 2002 a lot of people were asking, ‘Why do we need an art gallery? How’s it going to help us?’” she says. “We worked hard to change people’s minds by working within the community and saying, ‘This is relevant to you and your families. It’s a fantastic resource, and it can also do other things, like bring new visitors to the area.’” Luckily, their efforts paid off. “After the
AM 3 2011 ©cybertrek 2011
Each exhibition will include a work by Turner (above), while the majority of pieces will have been infl uenced by him (top)
fi rst scheme was abandoned in 2006, we had a big public meeting. People were say- ing, ‘We want a gallery now, we just want to know when it’s going to happen’. So that was a real change [from 2002].” The project also benefi ted early on from some high-profi le support – from Nicholas Serota at the Tate (the gallery is one of 18 Plus Tate partners nationwide) and also
from Turner prize-winner Tracey Emin, who grew up in Margate and came back to open the gallery, with musician Jools Holland, on 16 April. “Tracey has been an amazing ambas- sador for us over the years,” says Pomery. “She gave us a work last year [a pink neon sign reading ‘I never stopped loving you’] which we were able to auction, and she talks about Margate and Turner Contemporary wherever she goes.” An exhibition of Emin’s work is scheduled to be shown at the gallery next year.
NEW LOOK Following the Snøhetta and Spence deba- cle, Pomery – who wasn’t involved with the earlier appointment– worked closely with KCC to fi nd another fi rm to deliver a vision- ary design that was also within budget. David Chipperfi eld Architects was, she says, a unanimous choice. The resulting building has been funded
by KCC (£6.4m, 7.25m, $10.4m), Arts Council England (£4.1, 4.6m, $6.6m) and South East England Development Agency (£4m, 4.5m, $6.5m), with the
Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital 79
PHOTOS LEFT, BELOW AND BELOW LEFT DAVID GRANDORGE
PHOTO RICHARD BRYANT/ARCAID IMAGES
PHOTO RIGHT COURTESY OF VICTORIA GALLERY AND MUSEUM, UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL
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