THE Kube Gallery has opened to the public for the last time.

Despite a protest march and an online appeal backed by 1,000 people, the glass building on Bournemouth and Poole College’s North Road campus welcomed the last of its visiting public on Saturday.

Its fate was sealed after college bosses decided to pull funding.

Campaigners frantically wrote to MPs in a bid to win a last-minute reprieve, but to no avail.

Kube manager Sandy Wilderspin said: “What we want to do is carry on the programme outside the building.

“We are talking to the Lighthouse about putting on some exhibitions there and to Bournemouth Borough Council about the possibility of putting on the summer programme in the town.

“We will all be looking for alternative jobs, but we are all prepared to give up some of our own time to carry on The Kube.”

The Kube, designed by Richard Horden, opened in 2000 with £1.8 million of lottery cash.

A BABY elephant sculpture decorated in mosaic tiles is part of the final display.

Kubella, as she’s been named by Kube staff, was on show on the ground floor of the gallery.

Artist Natalie Guy, from Poppies Art Workshops, invited children and the wider community to drop by and cover the life-size fibreglass pachyderm with mosaic tiles.

Its last exhibition featured work by Poole High School sixth form students.

Speaking when the closure was first announced, college principle and chief executive Lawrence Vincent said: “We can no longer justify financially supporting the gallery as a public space, and intend to use the area to the best advantage for our students as a state-of-the-art teaching zone.’ One Kube supporter said: “This is very sad news indeed. I am truly sorry to hear this.

“What a loss to the area and our cultural identity.”