Open Eye Gallery is a publicly funded photographic gallery located onLiverpool's dock. The building forms part of the wider Mann IslandDevelopment, within a UNESCO world heritage site.
The design balances the specific curatorial requirements with the need tocreate a unique, public-facing and engaging space out of a limited budget.The desire to make art more accessible to the public, led an approachwhich unlocked the maximum value from this prominent site, delivering anarresting building whilst also providing more gallery space than wasoriginally envisaged.
A diverse range of gallery spaces are provided and, wherever possible, thebuilding opens up to its surroundings to advertise the Gallery's presence,thus engaging with passers-by and ultimately encouraging visitors. Thereare three internal exhibition spaces, each distinctive in character andpurpose: from Gallery One's double height space just inside the mainentrance; to Gallery Three which accommodates smaller scale exhibitionsfrom the vast photographic archive; Gallery Two is open to the city andaccommodates events and artists' talks, thus animating the Eastern façadeand advertising the gallery's activities to the wider public. The thresholdbetween the distinct Gallery Spaces is marked by dark stained oakcorridors, which are both intimate and tactile.
A key feature in the design is the introduction of the Western Wall betweenthe Gallery and the Covered Public Realm. The wall provides a stimulatingcanvas for installations; bringing the inside of the gallery out and directlyinto the public's gaze; allowing the gallery to appropriate the CoveredPublic Realm as its fourth gallery space. The folding form of the wallpurposefully jars with the character of the host Mann Island building andplayfully moves around the line of columns in front of it. Its arresting formmakes the most of the opportunity to engage with the public and creates ahighly visible location for the bookshop without compromising the spatialquality of Gallery One.
The Western Wall is made of a semi-translucent Corian which gives aclean and ethereal quality. This contrasts with more tangible elements suchas the untreated brass door handles and unlacquered oak reception deskwhich will tarnish and age with use.
The new building has given greater presence to the Open Eye Galleryincreasing visitor figures from an average of 6-7,000 visitors to 53,000visitors in its first year of opening.
Greater visibility has increased the gallery’s self-generated income throughretail sales, donations and gallery hire. The increase in visitor numberslead to a 9% increase in revenue funding from the Arts Council ofEngland’s at a time when ACE was reigning in both capital and revenuefunding nationwide. The building has therefore not only enhanced the OpenEye Gallery programme; it has also assured it’s financial future.
