Barbara Hepworth working in the Palais on the prototype for Single Form for the United Nations. January 1961. Photograph by Studio St Ives. Barbara Hepworth © Bowness
- First public drop-in sessions this month offer the chance to discuss initial refurbishment plans for the Palais de Danse with Tate St Ives curators and Adam Khan Architects.
- An opportunity to peek inside the Palais’s celebrated dancehall and discover the full breadth of Barbara Hepworth’s life and work in St Ives.
- Tate St Ives is inviting local residents to share their own memories of visiting the Palais de Danse from 1940-1960.
On 26 and 27 April 2024, Tate St Ives will be opening the doors to Barbara Hepworth’s former studio - the Palais de Danse - for the first time in almost 50 years. Ahead of a major project to renovate this historic space, local residents are invited to drop in and hear more about plans to reimagine the building as a community-focused heritage site that continues to expand on Hepworth’s extraordinary legacy.
Constructed on the site of an old naval school, the Palais de Danse is one of the most unique spaces in the heart of St Ives. Formerly a cinema and dance hall, the Palais was also an important hub for community events during the Second World War and beyond. The building was bought by Barbara Hepworth in 1961 to use as her second studio. This gave her the space to create larger and more complex sculptures, including the monumental Single Form (1961-4) commissioned for the United Nations in New York. Located directly opposite Trewyn Studio - now the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden - the Palais was gifted to Tate by the Hepworth Estate in 2015 and was awarded Grade II listed status in 2020. Together, these buildings housed the entire scope of Hepworth's creative work from 1949-1975.
The Palais de Danse is both deeply rooted in community memory and central to Hepworth's artistic legacy worldwide. Having remained untouched since Hepworth’s death in 1975, Tate St Ives is now embarking on a major capital project to renovate this significant building with Adam Khan Architects. The project will uncover the Palais’s rich history, realise its immense potential for the community and continue its story by securing the building for the long term.
Over two days this month, the St Ives community is invited to take a special look at the Palais de Danse, discuss early ideas with the architects and curators, and hear more about the process and future plans that will shape the building’s exciting future as a creative space for local residents to use and enjoy. Visitors will be invited to tour the building’s celebrated dancehall and to share memories and photographs of the Palais from the 1940s, 50s, 60s and beyond. Tate St Ives will also be offering tours of the neighbouring Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, providing the chance to explore the full breadth of Hepworth’s life and work in St Ives.