The Art House reopens following £3m revamp of former library

The Art House, located in Wakefield, is set to reopen following the completion of a £3m refurbishment of Drury Lane library,

The multi-million pound project was funded by European Regional Development Fund, Wakefield Council and Arts Council England.

The newly extended site in the centre of Wakefield will provide additional facilities for artists, designers and makers and will be officially reopened on Thursday 3 December by Cllr Peter Box, Leader of Wakefield Council.

Work started on the former library in 2014 and the completed scheme includes additional fully accessible, flexible and affordable workspaces for visual artists alongside a project space and meeting room facilities.

Drury Lane library was designed by Trimmell, Cox & Co of Woldingham, Surrey and built by Bagnall Brothers of Wakefield following a request by a local Wakefield alderman to American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie whose gift of £8k saw the free public library open.

Andrew Carnegie opened Drury Lane library in June 1906 and said during his visit “My thanks will be everlasting if you prove that you receive this benefit in the spirit it is intended.”

Jane Glaister OBE, chair of The Art House, commented: “We are delighted to see the this ambitious development completed and the historic Drury Lane library restored and occupied by a wide range of tenants. Our ambition is to become a nationally recognised organisation that places diverse art and artists at the heart of cultural debate. Our new space creates a platform to engage with artists and audiences and I look forward to seeing it become a leading creative resource that supports a creative community to develop professionally and artistically.”

Kerry Harker and Ruth Lilley, interim directors, added: “The reopening of The Art House underlines Wakefield’s unique thriving arts offer and its growing reputation as a creative city to live, work and visit. Through our artistic programme, mentoring and residencies we can build on our founding principles of access and inclusivity by challenging conventional approaches to diversity and the arts - an appropriate way to mark the International Day of People with Disabilities.”

The Art House project saw the restoration of the library building, including the arts and craft tiles which have been restored alongside many other original features including parquet flooring, original librarians desk and the much loved weather vane on the exterior of the building.

The Drury Lane redevelopment was funded through a £1.3m Arts Council England ‘Large Capital’ grant, £1.2m from the European Regional Development Fund, as well as support from Wakefield Council, which gave a 25-year lease for the building, which became empty in 2012 when the library’s contents were transferred to a new central library at the Wakefield One civic building.