Bournemouth Diaries

Kube Art Gallery Closure

TV package about the closing down of Kube art gallery in Poole UK,16th January 2010. The video shows art works by Henry Moore, Jacob Epstein, Patrick Heron and Bridget Riley, all of which are distinguished artists, responsible for great changes in the perception of a contemporary artist and the course which contemporary art took under their influence in painting and sculpture.

Poole locals, and more importantly, the students, will no longer have the rare opportunity to see these pieces of art as they will be moved to a safe but no longer public space. Need I mention what a great contribution to expanding ignorance in an already culturally poor area this will be?



Bournemouth and Poole College’s 2.4 million pounds art gallery, Kube, is closing down on January 31 2010 due to the College withdrawing its funding.


The gallery has been operating since the year 2000, offering opportunities for local, national and international artists and students.

“The collection was originally started by Arthur Andrews in 1956 -57, solely for the students to use, as he felt that they should have the opportunity to see real art,” says Norma Rawlings, a member of Kube’s Community Access and Support Staff.

Kube has housed and cared for the College’s art collection enabling public access to works of art by notable names such as Henry Moore, Jacob Epstein, Patrick Heron and Bridget Riley.

College Principal Lawrence Vincent admitted people would be disappointed but said: “The decision has been based purely on our accountability for spending public money, and the need to ensure that resources are dedicated towards teaching and learning.”

Photographer and volunteer at Kube Scott Irvine expressed his concern: “The College have said that the space will be used as a 'state of the art learning zone', although we believe this means it will become an ICT suite.”

Mr Vincent denied these suspicions, stating: “I would like to reiterate that any future use of the building will categorically not be for office or admin use, and we are still reviewing how best to utilise the space for the advantage of our students.”

http://www.kubepoole.org.uk/intro.aspx