School of Art granted Grade II listed status

The University of Wolverhampton School of Art building has been granted Grade II-listed status.

Nearly 7,000 people signed a petition to save the brutalist-style building on Ring Road, just outside the city centre, after the university had announced plans to demolish it.

Also known as the MK Building, the landmark first opened in 1970 coinciding with the College of Art merging with the College of Technology to form Wolverhampton Polytechnic.

The move to protect the property was granted by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the advice of Historic England.

In February, the university had said it was planning to relocate the School of Art into a different building, as well as close its Telford campus.

A slew of courses at the school closed in 2022 due to a financial deficit within the university, but teaching continues within the building.

Historic England regional director Deborah Williams, said: 'Wolverhampton School of Art is a bold building that holds a prominent place in the centre of the city, and in the hearts of many locals.

"The striking Brutalist design, combined with the important social history of the British black art movement mean the building meets the high bar for post-war listing and I'm pleased DCMS agreed with our recommendation to recognise the significance of this distinctive piece of twentieth-century history."

Wolverhampton School of Art hosted the first National Black Art Convention in 1982, which is recognised as a key moment in the formation of the British Black art movement.

It was organised by the Blk Art Group, formed in the West Midlands, who sought to empower and raise the profile of black artists during a period in which racial tensions were high.

Brutalism is a style of architecture referring to the vast, grey structures associated with Britain's post-war period

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