Is The Hepworth Wakefield Britain's best gallery?

It's been shortlisted for the Art Fund Museum of the Year award for the second time in six years, so what's the secret of The Hepworth Wakefield's success? Chris Bond reports.
A visitor takes a look at 'screestage', 2013 by Phyllida Barlow, part of the inaugural Hepworth Prize for Sculpture. Picture by Danny Lawson/PA Wire.A visitor takes a look at 'screestage', 2013 by Phyllida Barlow, part of the inaugural Hepworth Prize for Sculpture. Picture by Danny Lawson/PA Wire.
A visitor takes a look at 'screestage', 2013 by Phyllida Barlow, part of the inaugural Hepworth Prize for Sculpture. Picture by Danny Lawson/PA Wire.

When The Hepworth Wakefield opened its doors back in 2011, there were some doubters who questioned the wisdom of building such a high-profile, not to mention costly the final bill came to a not insubstantial £32m - in a city that has so often been forced to sit in the shadow of its bigger and noisier neighbour a short drive up the M1.

After all this was the largest purpose-built art gallery to open in the UK for 43 years, so no pressure. The concern was that once the initial hype and hullabaloo had died down people’s interest would wane and the vast, airy spaces would become glorified ghost towns.

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Such fears proved to be unfounded. While the visitor number targets may have been set deliberately low, the pull of the Hepworth, which sits next to the River Calder, was impressive. The aim for the first year - 150,000 - was reached within just five weeks and they kept on coming - more than 1.7m people have now passed through the various galleries.

Work by Helen Marten, which won the inaugural Hepworth Prize for Sculpture. Picture by Danny Lawson/PA Wire.Work by Helen Marten, which won the inaugural Hepworth Prize for Sculpture. Picture by Danny Lawson/PA Wire.
Work by Helen Marten, which won the inaugural Hepworth Prize for Sculpture. Picture by Danny Lawson/PA Wire.

There was a lot riding on its success, but the scale of its popularity has been hugely impressive and vindicates the decision to build it in the first place.

Along with the Henry Moore Institute, Leeds Art Gallery and Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the Hepworth is an integral part of what has become known as the so-called Yorkshire Sculpture Triangle. This has boosted the county’s cultural profile around the world, even making it onto the pages The New York Times which said in 2013 that “Yorkshire has reaffirmed its position on the global arts map.”

Striking in appearance the Hepworth, designed by award-winning architect David Chipperfield, is just as bold on the inside. As well as boasting impressive collections and high-profile exhibitions it encourages young people and families to use the gallery, with visitors able to try their hand at everything from sculpting to sewing. It new that key to its success would be proving it could be a gallery for the people of Wakefield as well as an organisation with international clout and so it has proved.

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Over the past six years it has been at the forefront of innovative thinking in the visual arts, delivering outstanding world-class shows featuring the work of acclaimed national and international artists. The pinnacle of its first six years cam in 2015 when it launched the £30,000 Hepworth Prize - the UK’s first ever prize for sculpture. The inaugural award was won by Helen Marten, who following success in Wakefield went on to win the Turner Prize.

Eleanor Clayton, curator at The Hepworth Wakefield inspects a newly conserved Barbara Hepworth sculpture. Danny Lawson/PA Wire.Eleanor Clayton, curator at The Hepworth Wakefield inspects a newly conserved Barbara Hepworth sculpture. Danny Lawson/PA Wire.
Eleanor Clayton, curator at The Hepworth Wakefield inspects a newly conserved Barbara Hepworth sculpture. Danny Lawson/PA Wire.

Now the Hepworth has been shortlisted for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2017 - the second time the gallery has been shortlisted for the world’s largest museums prize and further evidence of its standing and reputation in a crowded marketplace.

The winning museum, which will be announced at a ceremony at the British Museum on July 5, will receive £100,000 to use to attract wider audiences, and for the first time, each of the shortlisted museums will receive £10,000.

Simon Wallis, director of The Hepworth Wakefield, says making the shortlist for such a prestigious prize is already having a positive impact. “It’s enormously important. It generates an extra surge of media interest and when you look at the company we’re in I think it’s testament to the quality of what we have on offer here in Yorkshire.

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“It boosts footfall and gets the word out there and to those people who haven’t been here yet it’s a reminder of why we’re worth visiting.”

Simon Wallis, director of The Hepworth Wakefield. Picture by Hannah Webster.Simon Wallis, director of The Hepworth Wakefield. Picture by Hannah Webster.
Simon Wallis, director of The Hepworth Wakefield. Picture by Hannah Webster.

He hopes to follow in the footsteps of Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) which won the prestigious prize in 2014.

“One of the reasons I came here in the first place was because of what the Sculpture Park had achieved, it was inspirational,” he says. “But it’s not about winning prizes it’s about the mixture of ambition and quality and coming up with regularly changing exhibitions that people want to come and see.”

Wallis says one of the greatest achievements of the gallery thus far has been to raise the profile of sculptor Barbara Hepworth. While her name may have been well-known in her home county of Yorkshire, like many female artists her work and legacy has often been overshadowed by her male contemporaries, not least Henry Moore.

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Having these two titans of 20th century art and culture gives the region a unique selling point and Wallis says there are plans for more joint exhibitions between the Hepworth, the Henry Moore Institute and Yorkshire Sculpture Park in the future. It’s, he says, a way of boosting what is already a thriving visitor economy even further by attracting more overseas tourists.

Work by Helen Marten, which won the inaugural Hepworth Prize for Sculpture. Picture by Danny Lawson/PA Wire.Work by Helen Marten, which won the inaugural Hepworth Prize for Sculpture. Picture by Danny Lawson/PA Wire.
Work by Helen Marten, which won the inaugural Hepworth Prize for Sculpture. Picture by Danny Lawson/PA Wire.

“Tourism is hugely important and it’s going to become even more important post-Brexit. With the pound the way it is at the moment it’s another reason for people to come here and we have to show that it’s not all about London and that Yorkshire is one of those places with a lot to offer culturally.”

Stephen Sutcliffe is among those whose work has been exhibited at the gallery. The award-winning video artist’s first solo show in his native Yorkshire, Twixt Cup and Lip, was shown at the Hepworth last year.

Though he’s now based in Glasgow, Sutcliffe has strong ties with West Yorkshire - his parents live in Ossett and he spent two years studying at Wakefield College.

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“This is a massively important place for me personally and professionally. You always looked to Leeds when it came to big cultural venues and I always felt Wakefield was lacking in that respect, which is why the Hepworth is so important,” he says.

“It’s not just the fact that it’s a beautiful building it’s that it brings in new artworks and has a clever mixture of the historical and contemporary.”

Its collection includes work by such luminaries as Henry Moore, Anthony Caro, Jacob Epstein and, of course, Barbara Hepworth.

Eleanor Clayton, curator at The Hepworth Wakefield inspects a newly conserved Barbara Hepworth sculpture. Danny Lawson/PA Wire.Eleanor Clayton, curator at The Hepworth Wakefield inspects a newly conserved Barbara Hepworth sculpture. Danny Lawson/PA Wire.
Eleanor Clayton, curator at The Hepworth Wakefield inspects a newly conserved Barbara Hepworth sculpture. Danny Lawson/PA Wire.

On top of all this it has hosted high-profile exhibitions by renowned international artists such as Haroon Mirza, Clare Woods and Lynda Benglis.

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“It’s only able to do that because of the reputation it has for putting on quality shows. It’s somewhere artists want their work to be seen,” says Sutcliffe. “I would loved to have had a place like this when I was living there because you walk around and it’s just inspiring.”

Sutcliffe still comes back to Yorkshire regularly and makes a beeline for the gallery. “When I visit my parents I like to take them there. In the past you had to go to Leeds for art and culture like this so to be able to head into Wakefield and see world class exhibitions it makes me feel proud.”

And Sutcliffe is not alone. Aside from the visitor figures and economic analysis, The Hepworth Wakefield’s biggest success maybe giving the town and the rest of Yorkshire a gallery to be proud off.