Region’s Projects Shine at Culture Awards with Healthy Haul of Silverware

A string of our region’s most exciting cultural projects and events have picked up a healthy haul of silverware at a prestigious awards ceremony.

The North East Culture Awards saw the trio of Middlesbrough Art Week, Hopetown, in Darlington, and the Black Creatives and Arts Network all pick up top prizes at its glittering annual event last night (29 November).

The three have all been backed by Combined Authority funding.

Middlesbrough-born performing artist Rachel Stockdale also took home The Arts Council Award, while The Latitude Project – supported through the Tees Valley Creative Education Partnership to inspire our TV and filmmakers of tomorrow – was also shortlisted for the Best Art & Education Partnership.

Meanwhile, Alexandra Carr and Colin Rennie took home the Visual Artist of the Year prize sponsored by the Combined Authority.

The Awards are an annual celebration of the thriving arts and cultural scene in the North East of England and are organised by Reach plc – publisher of The Gazette, The Journal, The Chronicle, and websites TeessideLive and ChronicleLive.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “Our region is a hotbed of cultural brilliance and great events so it’s wonderful to see the hard work put in by so many people recognised in this way.

“We’re always keen to bring world-leading events and festivals to Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool and we’ve built the foundations to allow our young cultural talent to stay local and go far.

“Be It through our development corporations, our pioneering partnership with North East Screen or our Artists of the Year programme, we’re taking bold action to back our best and ensure our region takes its rightful place on the UK’s cultural map.”

Middlesbrough Art Week – the largest annual contemporary arts festival in the North East – won Best Event or Exhibition, while Hopetown, backed with £23milion of Combined Authority funding, took home the Best Museum or Cultural Venue prize.

The Black Creative Arts Network, backed with just shy of £10,000 of Combined Authority funding, is a network for Black Creatives to support skills development, collaboration and the showcasing of talent.

Run by Taste of Africa, the Network won The Heritage Award.

It’s been a busy 2024 of culture and arts launches in the Tees Valley with the inaugural Tees Valley Artists of the Year programme marking a successful start and the star-studded premieres of film Jackdaw and TV series Smoggie Queens in our region.

Fresh figures have also shown the Tees Valley’s tourism economy is on the rise with more than 12,000 people now in jobs supported by the sector.

The region welcomed 19.4million visitors in 2023 – up 7% on the previous year – providing a £1.3billion impact to the local economy driven by major events and successful promotion of Tees Valley’s unique range of attractions.

Alison Gwynn, Chief Executive of North East Screen and Creative Economy lead on the Tees Valey Business Board, added: “It was truly inspiring to see the depth of creative talent our region has to offer last night.

“The energy and innovation on display showed the North East is not just a centre of artistic excellence but a region well and truly on the rise.

“With new opportunities in filmmaking and production, a wealth of creative talent, and new infrastructure paving the way, there’s never been a more exciting time to celebrate and invest in the North East’s cultural future.”