Hastings vs. St. Ives

Comparisons have been made between what might be achieved with a Jerwood gallery on the Stade and the situation with the Tate in St. Ives. Follow this link to The Tate at St Ives website and judge for yourself if the comparisons are realistic. For a start, the Tate building was built on the site to replace a gas holder and the circular form of the gallery building was designed to reflect the previous structure, and very well done it was too. The often cited 'benefit' to Hastings of 200,000 visitors a year to the proposed Jerwood gallery is, we believe, derived from a statement by the Tate that 2 million visitors went to the gallery in the first ten yours after it opened. 2 million divided by 10 = 200,000. We know of no other basis for the claim for the Hastings proposal Likewise the claim that the Jerwood proposal will bring a £10 million p/a spend to Hastings. Work that one out then. £10 million divided by 200,000 = £50 per head. Now does that really sound realistic, even before the present economic crisis? It should also be noted that the Tate St. Ives exhibits work by local artists. Jerwood have made it clear that their gallery will be for displaying only their own collection of 19th. & 20th. century art. We also believe that the building will provide storage facilities for exhibits not on display - essentially a warehouse facility.