'Barbara Hepworth would love it': Meet the new co-directors of The Hepworth Wakefield

Olivia Colling and Laura Smith are co-directors of The Hepworth Wakefield and, as the gallery gets ready to celebrate its 15th birthday this month, the pair have spoken about their vision for the world-recognised attraction.

Both are from Yorkshire and are committed to turning the Hepworth into “one of the most significant museums in the world”.

"I think there's a perception that people know Yorkshire, but people don’t really know that sculpture and art are a really big part of West Yorkshire.” Olivia explained.

"We want to tell the story of Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore and share that the best sculptors of the 20th century came from Wakefield.”

Olivia originally grew up near the North Yorkshire Moors.

"It’s not at all a place where you particularly see loads of art." She stated.

“But my mum was a graphic designer, and so I guess as kids we just always went to museums and art galleries.”

Opposingly, Laura, who grew up in Pudsey, never really visited art galleries or museums as a child.

Instead, she developed her love of art during school – with it becoming her favourite subject.

"It was the place that I found escape.” She stated.

The duo were appointed as co-directors of The Hepworth Wakefield, in February this year – succeeding the gallery’s previous director, Simon Wallis.

The appointment gained a positive reaction from both the local community, and gallery fans online.

Olivia said: “I was surprised and a little overwhelmed at the amount of love and support and positive response to it.”

Both previously served as interim directors of the museum before their appointment, and found themselves pitching to be co-directors when applying for the permanent position.

Laura explained: “We made a very conscious decision from the beginning to pitch to do it together.”

Olivia said: “I remember we said in that interview 'Barbara Hepworth would love it,' and they were like, 'Well, how can we argue with that?’”

While the pair act as co-directors they both have individual roles.

Olivia serves as executive director, while Laura works as the artistic director.

The pair hope to use their unique talents and knowledge in a collaborative way to ensure that The Hepworth Wakefield continues to grow.

While transforming the museum into a global tourist destination, they also want to ensure that local people are not forgotten about.

The Hepworth Wakefield is free for local residents, and the pair are keen to advertise this.

Laura said: "We want to get that message out to local people that the best art, some of the best art internationally, is here in Wakefield and they can come and see it whenever they want.”

The duo are also keen to hire, acquire and commission pieces from local artists.

"We want to provide an opportunity to support artists locally so that they can stay in the region.” Laura continued.

The museum sends a local artist into each school to create art with the pupils. It currently works with 25 schools across the district.

It then pays for transport for pupils to visit the gallery, where they take part in workshops and showcase their work.

The school then is gifted a piece by the artist.

"We want to encourage more people to get into art from a young age and to show that museums aren’t the scary place people think they are.” Olivia explained.

The Hepworth Wakefield officially opened in 2011 to international acclaim.

The £35 million project houses the largest collection of Barbara Hepworth’s work, featuring her sculptures and her later bronze commissions.

Upon opening, the gallery reached its initial annual target of 150,000 visitors within the first five weeks.

In 2017, it was named the Art Fund museum of the year, beating out the Tate Modern.

The Hepworth Wakefield Garden, designed by Tom Stuart-Smith, has also become one of the main reasons many international tourists visit the gallery.

It opened in 2019 and won second prize in the European Garden Award 2024 for contemporary garden design.

“Our audiences come from all over and, particularly since we opened the garden, we’ve had a lot of international tour groups visiting.” Olivia said.

"We want to continue that and truly turn it into a place people from across the world want to visit.”

The gallery will celebrate its 15th birthday later this month, and Olivia, Laura and their team have big plans.

They will host a special birthday party on the evening of Friday, May 22.

The event will feature street food, a live DJ and will launch the museum’s brand new Makefield Market - which will feature 65 independent makers from across Yorkshire.

“This is a huge milestone for The Hepworth Wakefield and we want the community to come and celebrate.” Laura said.

The pair are clearly passionate about The Hepworth Wakefield and their plans to not only grow the museum itself but showcase their love for the region whilse doing so.

Olivia said: “We strive to bring the most exciting artwork to the Hepworth Wakefield so that people can enjoy the best art on their doorstep and love this museum as much as we do.”