Spectacular opening for mima

Mar 13 2007 By The Journal

A spectacular firework display marked the opening of a major new arts venue in the region.

mima - Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art - has cost more than £14m and taken two-and-a-half years to build.

If forms the centrepiece of the redevelopment of the former Victoria Square.

In total £19.2m has been spent on creating a new civic heart to the town with the development of mima and Centre Square.

The gallery's first major exhibition, Draw, has brought together some of the biggest names in the world of art.

Included in the inaugural show are Matisse, Picasso, Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon and Damien Hirst.

Sir Nicholas Serota, the director of the Tate Gallery, officially opened mima.

He said: "I passed a sign on my way here which said `Middlesbrough: Moving Forward'.

"If Middlesbrough is moving forward then mima represents a giant step.

"It speaks of incredible ambition.

"Ambition which is rekindling rather than starting something in Middlesbrough."

The striking building, featuring white limestone walls and a glass and steel frontage, was designed by Dutch architect Erick van Egeraat.