Gallery at The Public now under review

The review will come before the West Bromwich centre has even fully opened. Paul Slater, chief executive of the new Sandwell Arts Trust, said testing of gallery exhibits are ongoing.

He said: "The exhibits are working and nothing has gone at the moment, but we are reviewing the visitor experience, what works for people and what doesn't.

"What we want to have on offer is much more than just the interactive gallery.

"There will be a full review taking place before we will be able to say categorically what is contained when the centre opens as a single entity."

Councillor Bob Badham, regeneration boss at Sandwell Council, said: "This isn't about changing the gallery completely, but it will be another style of gallery.

"It isn't really my field, but what we are basically trying to do is increase the art content in the building.

"There is a lot of potential for different types of art, including more "traditional" types of artwork.

"There is a big need for this facility in Sandwell and we believe it can work here."

The gallery at the West Bromwich centre has remained closed since The Public opened a year ago because the exhibits were not working properly.

Now that the Arts Council has agreed a £3 million handout to get the centre up and running from this summer until 2011, the newly-formed trust said it can move forward.

Mr Slater said the trust was now recruiting for the board of directors and new members of staff.

He said: "We currently have around 26 full-time workers who will keep their jobs with 55 workers in total to be employed at The Public. We will also be recruiting a director, which will be someone with considerable experience."