Hi-tech exhibits are still to be installed at The Public arts centre’s gallery, bosses said today, which will not be open to the paying public for several weeks.
The West Bromwich gallery has struggled to get the digital art to work, with a team of experts drafted in to help iron out technical problems.
The Arts Council has held talks with gallery bosses to find out about exactly why the delays have occurred and what impact that will have on profits.
The funding body will have spent more than £32 million on The Public by 2011 and is the majority funder for the arts centre, which has cost a total of £57 million so far.
Arts Council England is the national development agency for the arts in England, responsible for distributing public money from the Government and the National Lottery.
Bosses there are now demanding answers as the gallery remains closed, two months after the main building opened its doors.
The gallery is now likely to lose out on any income from youngsters and their families visiting during the six week summer holidays.
Simi Obra, spokeswoman for the Arts Council said: “It will be a few more weeks before it is ready.”
No-one from The Public Gallery Ltd was available for comment today.
9 Comments
Why should they care, its not their money thats being wasted is it, they still get their high wages for being there even if no one goes. Wonder how much more this team of experts is adding to the tax payers bill?
Do we care if it is open or shut? Dont think so. Best thing would to be Completely shut for good.
lets have a bowling alley or lesure center in place instead something that would be entertaining and make money..
blow it up and save money then sack the councillers
Wotcha.
” No-one from The Public Gallery Ltd was available for comment today. ”
Well colour me surprised !
Ah! that would be it then the Digital art wont work, Not that it was a mistake from the start, and the new (cough) town square (Outside the Public) could be lent to Rolls-Royce for a wind tunnel. All hope is gone.
Because a bowling alley is really going to turn West Bromwich around, isn’t it Sharon? are you completely brain dead like everyone else on this website? A bowling alley would be full of chavs and herberts just like the rest of the town. If you want West Bromwich to be a half decent place to live that you have to do something radical, get rid of the scumbags and start attracting people who have a job and don’t behave like cavemen. Until you do that, West Bromwich will remain the cesspit of society that it is today.
I’m all for public art projects to rejuvinate our cities but it seems that with the Public they put the cart before the horse.
Walsall had an internationally important collection of art so it was logical to build the new art gallery to put it in.
West Bromwich builds a gallery yet had nothing to put in it so it needs to think up cliched Millenium Dome style exhibits. The whole thing is contrived and gives public art projects a bad name.
I don’t think the people of Sandwell are phillistines as has been suggested by one or two snobby outsiders, I think that they can tell a phoney gallery from the real thing.
“No-one from The Public Gallery Ltd was available for comment today”
I should think they’re hanging their heads in shame. This is one huge fiasco, NOBODY has got a good word to say for the project apart from Will Allsop, who’s patting himself on the back for designing a shoebox with a big window!
It’s my greatest achievement to date. Anyone who doesn’t understand it is a phyllistine.