Culture Digest 19.07.25
A round up of some arts and culture stories from across the North East which caught our attention this week
Note: Apologies for the late arrival of this week’s Culture Digest - our trusty Friday deadline was no match for a red-eye landing at Newcastle Airport in the early hours of Thursday, swiftly followed by a 24-hour return trip to London. Suffice to say, the ambition was there… but the logistics - and specifically LNER’s wifi - had other ideas.
It’s a modern day miracle that my laptop didn’t end up on the East Coast mainline… or wrapped around the teenager who audibly scoffed at my scoffing of a top drawer (and very substantial) Pret A Manger parade of delights… and then fell fast asleep on my shoulder from Peterborough to Darlington.
A N Y W A Y. That’s more than enough from me… will leave you to get digesting!
Writing Centre project set for £2m sign-off
Plans to open a national Centre for Writing in Newcastle are set to take a major leap forward this week as North East Mayor Kim McGuinness and her cabinet prepare to approve £2 million in funding for the transformative project.
The new centre, a partnership between New Writing North, Northumbria University, Newcastle City Council, and the North East Combined Authority, aims to become a hub for creativity, publishing, and opportunity in the region.
The funding will support the purchase of a permanent home for the centre, helping to attract national publishing businesses and provide a platform for a new generation of northern writers.
Lottery grant fuels North Shields 800th celebrations
Ten projects will be funded by a lottery award to celebrate the 800th anniversary of North Shields.
The £132,160 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund comes as North Shields 800 is running a wide-ranging programme of activities, events, exhibitions and performances that celebrates the town’s past, present and future.
The grant is supporting 10 projects that will share and safeguard the maritime, industrial, railway and arts heritage of North Shields. It has been awarded to the Linskill and North Tyneside Community Development Trust, which will manage the funds on behalf of North Shields 800.
North-South 'culture chasm' still looms large, says new report
A £450 million funding gap between the North and London is stifling the region’s cultural potential, according to the latest State of the North report by think tank IPPR North.
The analysis reveals that, under the Arts Council’s current funding round (2023–2025), the North receives £28 per person in arts and culture investment, compared to £57 in London. That’s a shortfall of £450 million.
Although the gap has narrowed since the previous funding period, which saw a £700 million divide, researchers say significant inequalities remain. They argue the power to fund and shape the region’s cultural life should sit with local leaders rather than “unelected quangos” in London.
North East voices on national stage with LIVE Trust appointments
Two leading North East music professionals have been appointed to the board of the LIVE Trust, which supports, protects and promotes live music across the UK.
Wendy Smith, creative director at The Glasshouse and a performing artist and Victoria Smith, finance director at Ghostwriter Consultancy and Events are among eight new trustees joining the national board.
With deep roots in the local scene, both Victoria and Wendy bring decades of experience across venue operations, performance, software innovation, and community engagement.
Wendy has played a pivotal role in developing The Glasshouse’s programmes and supporting the region’s musical growth. Victoria, a recognised industry innovator, led the development of Gig Lab and brings key expertise in finance and event management.
Their presence on the board puts the North East at the heart of vital national conversations on the future of grassroots music and creative careers.
Exhibition raises questions about our colonial past
Pink footprints on linen, colourful drawings by children, a sound sculpture and a screen that looks metallic but comprises tiny folded diary notes – all are part of a rather beautiful exhibition at Great North Museum: Hancock.
It’s something of a paradox, too, being an exhibition in a museum that asks us to reflect on what should be in a museum – and where.
And because it’s the latest public sharing of work by Newcastle-based visual arts producers D6: Culture in Transit, you know this is the tip of an iceberg.
Cinema release date for Newcastle TV legend’s latest film
Tickets are on sale for screenings of North East music TV maker, Malcolm Gerrie’s latest project.
The former producer of groundbreaking Newcastle-based eighties television show, The Tube has served as executive producer on Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe - a new film offering an intimate look at the life and music of the world-famous tenor.
Framed around a spectacular concert in Rome, the film traces Bocelli’s path from a small Tuscan village to international fame. Despite losing his sight at 12, Bocelli moved through the world - and his career - with striking confidence, from singing Sinatra in piano bars to performing with the likes of Sarah Brightman and Dua Lipa.
Through interviews, home footage, and candid gatherings with family and friends, the documentary reveals a down-to-earth artist whose voice continues to resonate across genres and generations.
The film got its world premiere at last year’s Toronto Film Festival and gets its UK cinema release on September 21. Tickets can be booked at AndreaBocelli.com/cinema
Nature project aims to reconnect communities with the outdoors
A scheme to link green spaces on Wearside, making them easier for people to access, has been awarded £490,000 in lottery money.
The award from the National Heritage Lottery Fund comes from the new Nature Towns and Cities project, which is a coalition of organisations united by the ambition to enable more people to experience nature in their daily lives, particularly those places and communities currently lacking access to quality green space.
The first of its kind, the programme announced by Natural England, National Trust and The National Lottery Heritage Fund aims to help make at least places become greener and healthier locations for people to live and work.
Brass Festival music hits all the right notes
Hundreds of care home residents are set for a live music treat as part of Durham Brass Festival.
Ensembles from 10 County Durham bands will give performances in 20 care homes across the county on Sunday, July 20.
The visits are part of Durham Brass’s Sound of Sunday programme, which seeks to maximise audience access to musical performances.
The Sound of Sunday project was successfully trialled last year and is now being extended to cover 16 different towns and villages with the help of the County Durham-headquartered Banks Group, which is one of the festival’s lead sponsors.
