I am very sorry to report the death of Sylvia King. Here are the words of a great friend of the arts in Sandwell, Graham Peet:
"Sylvia King died yesterday after a long illness. 'What a woman she was', said lead architect of The Public, Stephen Pimbley, on hearing the news. Sylvia had persuaded world famous architect, Will Alsop, to design the extraordinary West Bromwich building for the people of Sandwell. She raised tens of millions of pounds to create an amazing community arts centre as the centrepiece of the regeneration of West Brom town. 'It's too good for West Bromwich', said people from London when they saw the plans.
"As readers of The Sandwell Skidder know only too well, The Public was shut down by Darren Cooper (then Leader of the Council), disgraced ex-Cllr Steve Eling and others, including some still-serving Labour councillors, in 2013 - much to the fury of many council officers who had supported the project as a groundbreaking world class facility for the town and Borough. 'I never liked it anyway', said Cooper.
"He may not have liked it but in its last year (when it was still surrounded by a building site) nearly 450,000 people visited and loved the place. Thirty businesses set-up in the building, 120 apprentices were trained on site and, on the first day of advertising, 3,000 local people applied to work as visitor assistants there. Following closure, many of the businesses left the town.
"Through her dynamic efforts, Sylvia brought £60m (sixty million pounds) investment to the Borough to pay for the iconic building. It was then given rent-free to Sandwell College in highly controversial circumstances just after they had moved into the their own brand-new £70m site at Spon Lane. The Council and College set about destroying significant parts of the incredible interior of the building and it stands now as a shadow of what it could and should have grown to be.
"The Arts Council, who had largely funded the project through the lottery, said that the website set-up to highlight The Public's short but beautiful life was, 'a great memory of the successes as well as leaving one thinking what might have been. See for yourselves at:
"Sylvia was a visionary whose life should be celebrated. My thoughts, and of all those in the local arts community and beyond, are with her and her family"
The Skidder adds:
Thank you Graham. I do not intend to rehearse the corruption surrounding Sandwell Labour's destruction of The Public here - save to say that this blog is STILL continuing to expose those responsible. That includes the likes of Tom Watson and John Tew.
In addition to The Public, Sylvia also ran Jubilee Arts for many years - a highly-valued local community arts organisation. Unfortunately, the controversy surrounding The Public tended to overshadow her considerable achievements. Indeed she was actively traduced by some local Labour councillors, the local mainstream media and, worst of all, by some people who should have known better in the arts establishment - shameful and disgraceful behaviour.
Sylvia was the living embodiment of the Arts Council's professed mission to provide "Great Art and Culture for Everyone" - especially the deprived folk of Sandwell and we should all thank her for that. She was a bright star and her memory will shine on.
THE SANDWELL SKIDDER - COMMUNITY NEWS - READ THE SKIDDER, KIDDER!
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PROUD TO HAVE BEEN TROLLED BY DICKHEAD DARREN COOPER DECEASED!
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