Leeds Art Gallery News & Events
Leeds Art Gallery Online News
PLANS SUBMITTED TO RENOVATE CITY VARIETIES
Designs have been submitted setting out the renovation and conservation proposals scheme for one of the oldest music halls in the country, the Leeds City Varieties Music Hall.
The £9.2m scheme will see a comprehensive refurbishment of the City Varieties based, as far as possible, on the building as it was in the late 19 th century when the main alterations to the fabric of the building had been completed.
The detailed designs and listed building consent submitted by the Strategic Design Alliance, the Leeds City Council’s in-house architectural design team, comprises of restoration of the auditorium, improved stage and backstage facilities, additional toilets, improved access and circulation including additional ground floor foyer space, relocated box office and provision of a lift to help overcome some of the current access difficulties.
Funding for the £9.2m refurbishment scheme has been made possible through a proposed £3m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), £5.2m from Leeds City Council and £1m from the Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House Ltd. This £1m contribution is the subject of a fundraising campaign at a national and local level.
Councillor Andrew Carter, Leeds City Council leader and executive member for development and regeneration, said: “The City Varieties is a music hall for which there is huge affection right across the city of Leeds. It is one of the last remaining music halls in the country and as such plays an important life in the heritage of the city. Our progress with City Varieties underlines another and much wider commitment to the city. Taken in conjunction with the work already carried out at the Grand Theatre, the soon to be opened new museum, improvements completed at the Art Gallery and progress on the Arena, we are providing the city with the broadest based entertainment and cultural set of facilities to rival anywhere outside of London.”
Councillor John Procter, Chair of the Leeds Grand Theatre Board said, “The City Varieties plays an important part in Leeds’ cultural history and it is an equally important part in our future. These plans take us a step closer in our quest to bring this jewel in the city’s crown back to its former glory.”
At the end of last year, Leeds City Council purchased The Swan, a pub underneath the music hall, to assist with implementation of the refurbishment proposals. While physical alterations within the Swan will be limited its acquisition will not only allow some of the key improvements to be delivered, it will also permit the historic link between the pub and the music hall to be re-established after over 100 years. The pub will remain open as usual until required for the start of work on the City Varieties refurbishment in Spring 2009. It will reopen as part of the new facility once the work has been completed in the Summer of 2010.
In addition to improved facilities for performances, a key objective is the opportunity for the rich social and economic and architectural history associated with the Music Hall to be used as a learning resource. The whole building will be used and supplemented with displays of artefacts and information boards around the music hall.
Residents and interested parties can view the plans and the conservation report at the Development enquiry centre Leonardo Building, 2 Rossington Street Leeds LS2 8HD.
Leeds Art Gallery Reopens
)
Leeds Art Gallery reopened on 22nd June 2007 following a £1.5m renovation. Supported by Yorkshire Forward and Leeds City Council, the city of Leeds Art Gallery is now open.
The highlight of the refurbishment is the uncovering of the Gallery's stunning Victorian Tiled Hall reuniting the Gallery with the Central Library for the first time since the 1950's. A new cafe, comfortable seating area and a shop have also been introduced into the new space.
The former Art Library in the Gallery has been transformed into a new exhibition space. To coincide with the reopening celebrations the new space hosted a new major exhibition Fairytale - Contemporary Art and Enchantment - which showcases the work of six international artists.
The Leeds permanent collections of art, which has been described as being one of the best collections of 20th century British Art outside London, has also been redisplayed with the support of Jeremy Lewison, former Director of Collections, of the Tate Gallery.
)
As part of the improvements the gallery now benefits from:
New exhibition space
Newly uncovered 'Victorian Tiled Hall'
New lift to enable full disabled access
New Café & Shop