Milton Keynes Gallery reopens next week, after an extensive refurbishment which will see the art hub double in size. MK G Director Anthony Spira talked Total MK through the changes...
Ironically, when we don our hard hats and set foot inside, Milton Keynes Gallery the space that will soon be filled with works by world-renowned creators including Canaletto, Gainsborough and Moore, is itself a blank canvas, writes Sammy Jones.
A space occupied by a different sort of creativity, as workmen bustle to complete this splendid space before doors open to the public again.
And the changes will be huge.
"Everything we've done has been in response to people's words, and to criticism and complaints," says gallery director Anthony Spira, as we sit back to explore some of the changes with the man who has been instrumental in bringing them about.
"People said the building felt quite enclosed, so one of the first things we said to the architects was 'Can you make the entrance a bit more dynamic?', so we've actually added a porte-cochère over the front door, to make it a bit more prominent."
Anthony Spira (pic: Kate Elliott)
Porte-cochères are a unique quirk of Milton Keynes, with around 300 littering the new city, and putting one at the entrance to the gallery was in keeping with the ethos of the new art hub: "We've tried to engage with the history of Milton Keynes throughout the design of the building.
"Every design decision has been made to tell the story of MK."
The gallery is a burst of brightness chosen from a colour chart that City Club programme artists Gareth Jones and Nils Norman developed from a Habitat catalogue from the late 70s.
"Terence Conran, the founder of Habitat was closely involved with the Development Corporation in developing Milton Keynes," Anthony says, "It goes to show that MK was at the heart of interesting cultural development at that time."
In the past, the gallery attracted plenty of criticism for having no refreshment space: "When you think about it there isn't a gallery in the country, or the world, where you can't sit and have a good cup of tea, or a glass of wine or beer in the evening," Anthony concedes.
'The Grand Walk Vauxhall Gardens' by Canaletto will feature in The Lie of the Land
"One of the things about MK is it's full of chains - this cafe will have really good quality, locally sourced fresh food - independent. Catering for all tastes."
The space will serve tea, coffees and light-bites, and will also offer pre-theatre meals and more. It will be a meeting place, as much as a space to quench a thirst. And it is bold in colour, with lots of yellow furniture.
"The cafe has been inspired by the architects' office that was in use when they built MK. Everything in that was yellow; the tables, chairs, phone, notepads.
"They used to call it the custard factory."
The new much-improved gallery space will be almost twice the size of its former self. It will benefit from a Changing Places toilet in the building, thanks to generous funding from the Margaret Powell Foundation Fund through Milton Keynes Community Foundation.
The new facility meets the needs of those with profound learning disabilities and physical disabilities such as spinal injuries, multiple sclerosis and muscular dystrophy, providing a height adjustable adult-sized changing bench and hoist system.
It means that art in Milton Keynes really can be accessible to all.
A blank canvas, but not for much longer - the new Milton Keynes Gallery (pic: Iwan Baan)
But what of the gallery development in the main?
“It seems like a big budget that has gone into this building, but actually for what we have got it is a very small budget. It is lottery money through the Arts Council, money from the local authority; they put £2 million in, which has levered in a further £10 million. So for every £1 from Milton Keynes, a further £5 has been generated, which would not have come in.
“It's an amazing return on investment, and I think that's a really important message.
“The local enterprise partnership have also been very generous, and Milton Keynes Council, but if you think of our peers across the country, the cost of the buildings are probably double what we have spent.”
The new gallery affords stunning views across Campbell Park (pic: Iwan Baan)
The new gallery will now offer a much broader programme of art - from the historical to the contemporary, and from natural history to the political, and fine art, and much more.
Anthony's background is very much in the modern and the contemporary, but in his former position at London's Whitechapel Gallery he worked on the Whitchapel Centenary.
"It was a big exhibition that had works that had been exhibited in the gallery over the past 100 years and included ancient Chinese artefacts, as well as Robert Rauschenberg's first combine paintings, so a very broad range.
"I've always had that interest, I am definitely not 18th Century expert, but I have a strong personal interest."
In the past MK gallery had refused to give a platform to new city artists, something which had left it open to criticism. Anthony was responsible for changing that.
"My predecessors were brilliant, and it was so important for them not to do local art," Anthony considers.
"They said 'this is an national/international gallery and we are going to show national/international art' and they did brilliantly like that. We wouldn't be here if they hadn't done that.
Milton Keynes Gallery is an important piece of the Milton Keynes landscape (pic: Iwan Baan)
"But at the same time, they had to fight so hard to be seen in that context that they alienated people locally.
"When I came, I thought the organisation had enough confidence nationally to be able to embrace things locally as well. We want to engage with people locally.
"The next MK Calling exhibition will be an open call for local artists, as we've done previously, and we hope to include 50 or 60 artists."
Anthony has been in situ at the head of Milton Keynes Gallery for a decade now, and his passion for the place bubbles during our conversation. So, could he see himself here for another 10 years?
"Who knows? I have no idea,” he admits.
“It's all about circumstances and opportunities," he considers.
"Having been on the cusp of opening a new venue that I think is quite beautiful, I'd like to make use of it, and I'd like to get to know the spaces and make them work well.”
And he glances from his office window across to the building site from which is growing a beautiful modern art house for all.
"I am certainly excited about the potential here," he says with a broad smile.
@sammyjonespress
> Milton Keynes Gallery re-opens on March 16 with the exhibition, The Lie of the Land.
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