page_title: The Public, West Bromwich
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: The Public, West Bromwich / History
caption_attribution_description: English: The Public, West Bromwich, view from north
context_page_description: The Public was a multi-purpose venue and art gallery in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, at the forefront of a regional regeneration programme which was – by late 2013– to also bring Europe's biggest Tesco, a multiplex cinema, restaurants and a new retail centre. It closed in November 2013.
  Despite indications that the arts centre would be at the forefront of West Bromwich's 'Golden Future' on 9 May 2013 it was announced that Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council were in discussion with Sandwell College to potentially lease The Public for use as a sixth-form college. The College's own sixth-form is oversubscribed with six applicants for every place.
  In 2012–13 there were 380,000 visitors to the building from all sections of society – an increase of over 40% from the previous year. The Public's mission is to be a place where people come to create and make things for themselves and to enjoy other people's creativity – an echo of Cedric Price's concept of a Fun Palace. In 2012, The Guardian's Robert Clark described The Public as "a playground for adults" and that "maybe that's a good role for a contemporary art gallery to embrace".
context_section_description: The construction and early history of the building were beset by many problems. The development had been highly controversial and encountered financial difficulties, going into administration before the expected opening date of July 2006, due to the withholding of a final tranche of £2 million that was due to be contributed by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council. Further controversy surrounded plans by The Public Gallery Limited to introduce a regular entry fee of £6.95. These plans were scrapped and The Arts Council agreed to a further £3 million grant, allowing The Public to grant free entry to the gallery to allow it to open in 2008–2009.
  In November 2004 Alsop Architects left the project and architect Julian Flannery of Flannery & de la Pole took responsibility for the detailed design of the building interiors and for overseeing construction, which at that stage was around one third complete. In the summer of 2006 the practice developed a new brief and completion strategy for the project and several areas of the building, such as the Theatre, the Pink Tank Cafe and the Level 2 Flexible Space were fully redesigned.
  Following the issue and problems, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council took over the building in 2009 and established the organisation Sandwell Arts Trust (a subsidiary of Sandwell Leisure Trust) to run and operate the building under license.
caption: The Public, viewed from the north
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