“Distinctly Sheffield” - New vision for Central Library could give city nationally recognised culture offering
“I imagine that Graves Gallery, when it opens its doors, will attract people from all ends of this city and further afield”
A massive renovation project to turn Sheffield’s Central Library into a state of the art gallery could create an enriched cultural corner in the heart of the city.
Kim Street, chief executive at Sheffield Museums, has grand ambitions for the future of the city’s cultural offering, with hopes that Tudor Square could become a nationally recognised destination for art lovers.
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It comes on the back of an ongoing regeneration project at the nearby Crucible Theatre, as well as newly-revealed plans to move the city’s library into Millennium Gallery and turn what is now the Central Library into a flourishing art gallery.
“I imagine it being alive with people throughout the day - that the Graves Gallery, when it opens its doors, will attract people from all ends of this city and further afield,” Kim said as she discusses the ambitious plans.
Sheffield City Council’s Strategy and Resources Policy Committee are set to discuss the plans at a meeting next Wednesday, November 11, when they will be asked to approve a £100,000 budget to undertake the next stage of developments.
The renovation has been long-awaited as for three years now the building has been covered in scaffolding and hoardings over concerns related to crumbling masonry.
Recent problems with the heating systems forced Graves Gallery - which is located on the building’s third floor - to temporarily close on October 31, with it expected to reopen in an interim location next year while repairs take place.
If approved, these new plans would fix the existing issues, while bringing consolidating the Millennium Gallery and Graves Gallery’s collection in one space, fitted with a new accessible entrance on Tudor Square and rooftop sculpture garden.
“We do have really ambitious plans for this building,” Kim added.
“What we’d like to see is this building be transformed into a nationally-significant destination gallery - the whole building to become a gallery.
“It would have workshop spaces, a welcoming entrance, amazing shops and cafes and of course fabulous galleries rooted in Sheffield’s visual art collection.”
She said the vision is to create a space that feels “distinctly Sheffield,” adding: “It will feel of Sheffield but it will also be a window to the rest of the world.”
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Kirstie Hamilton, director of Programmes at Sheffield Museums, said the plans are “respectful of the legacy” of John George Graves, a passionate art collector who part-funded the building’s construction and donated more than 1000 paintings.
She said the changes would take “the seed of what we’ve been doing at Graves Gallery” and expand it, adding: “It has been about showing off the city’s collection that is owned by the people of Sheffield, for them to enjoy.
“It would bring more of that out of store but it would also be about creating a creative programme which would work with different organisations, individuals and communities across the city.
“We’d be doing that at a scale we’ve just not been able to at this space previously.”
The plans suggest the whole project could take 10 years to complete, and may cost as much as £100 million.
However Kim says that this would create great new spaces for the people of Sheffield to enjoy, including the altered library which would connect directly to the Winter Garden.
“I imagine that the library in the Millennium Gallery will feel like it flows beautifully from the Winter Garden,” Kim added.
“It will be really accessible from the Winter Garden which is a very civic space now - people like to sit and have their lunch there, pop in there and enjoy the nature on their doorstep.
“You’ll flow into Millennium Gallery and the galleries that you see there now will be replaced with reading rooms and bookshelves, a welcome desk, a children’s library.
“They will be beautiful welcoming spaces that will encourage you to sit down and read the paper, charge your phone or read a book.”