headstuff

went up to mima at the weekend to catch the bauhaus exhibition. middlesborough has had a bad press of late due to kirstie and phil, but before i get sidetracked on ms allsopp’s intriguing skirt lengths and mr spencer’s slightly tortured brand of sexual chemistry, i wanna talk about the mima factor.

i don’t think you can overstate mima’s contribution to middlesborough city centre - it’s a good gallery with a decent and surprisingly affordable cafe (gotta have a good cafe to make a gallery really work these days) but more than that it’s a fairly imposing piece of contemporary architecture with lots of space around. nice paddling pool/fountain too. never underestimate the importance of space in making a building look good. i wonder if they flattened lots of buildings to create it?

anyway, truth is middlesborough is far more pleasant than i was led to believe and that mima plays a massive role in creating that impression. middlesborough have got it so right with mima.

when i moved here there was talk of ‘tate scarborough’. this weekend’s visit reminded me of that idea: a big brave kind of cultural place - with brave creation of space - in scarborough would totally change some perceptions of our town. and make it a better place.