When the Government announced its inaugural UK Town of Culture (2028) shortlist in July, no Northumberland town was included.
To be fair, only Stockton, among 20 North East applicants, did make the cut.
But nobody should be fooled into thinking Northumberland is a cultural desert. Far from it.
No fewer than eight of those North East applications came from England’s northernmost county whose ancient charms include Hadrian’s Wall, Holy Island, castles, dark skies and a stunning coast.
Add newer attractions such as museums, galleries, bustling arts centres and festivals and you have a rich cultural mix.
And there are many reasons to believe it isn’t only Northumbrians who consider the county special.
Look at the widespread furore over the felling of the Hadrian’s Wall sycamore and the phenomenal response to Sir David Attenborough’s appeal for donations to purchase the Rothbury Estate for wildlife, completion of which has just been confirmed.
Look, too, at the BBC’s commissioning of The Northumbria Mysteries, a new network drama whose Northumberland locations upstage even their tireless champion, Robson Green.
Failure to make a shortlist certainly doesn’t tell the whole story.
A truer measure of the county’s cultural ambitions could be found in the people who flocked to Seaton Delaval Hall in September for the launch of a 10-year Northumberland Cultural Strategy.
Far from being a kneejerk reaction to a government competition, it had been long in the making.
Wendy Scott, cultural development manager for Northumberland County Council, said it reflected the same public appetite that gave rise to those eight Town of Culture applications and which prompted Hexham, off its own bat, to declare itself earlier this month the UK’s first Arts Town.
“We’re not going to wait for somebody else to award it,” said Katy Taylor, artistic director and CEO of the Queen’s Hall arts centre, where the intended ‘soft’ launch actually made quite an impact with its promise of much cultural activity to come.
“The thing about Hexham Arts Town is we’re just going to get on and do it.”
The Northumberland Cultural Strategy, far from resulting from a County Hall edict, was built on widespread consultation with communities, cultural organisations and interested parties.
It was delivered and presented by the Northumberland Strategic Culture Network, coordinated by Wendy Scott and founded in 2019 to bring together key organisations with an interest in regeneration, health, education, arts, heritage, faith, tourism and the voluntary sector.
The last cultural strategy had been formulated the previous year but a changed political landscape meant it had to be revisited.
“It was decided to do a detailed survey, talking to lots of people and really involving the cultural network,” says Wendy.
“That refresh was nearly two years in the making.”
Key funding organisations were represented at the launch and speakers included Rachael Wadsworth, head of culture, creative industries and sport at the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority.
Rachael previously worked on the Town of Culture initiative at the Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport. At least she has a clear idea of what needs to happen.
Also present was Councillor Glen Sanderson, leader of Northumberland County Council, who said: “Culture is incredibly important, an integral part of everyday life. That’s the way it should be.”
The new strategy document, covering the decade to 2036, has the following vision:
“Northumberland will be a place known for international cultural excellence: where 2,000 years of rich heritage comes alive; where all community voices are represented and celebrated; where arts and culture is accessible to everyone through every stage of life; and where thriving creativity drives our economic prosperity.”
Its objectives are to expand access to creative careers across the county; to ignite ambition in children and young people; to champion equity and inclusion; and to build a connected, collaborative cultural ecosystem.
Most people you speak to will acknowledge Northumberland isn’t without problems, many arising from its size and relatively small and scattered population.
Prosperity isn’t evenly distributed. Not everyone owns or has access to a car and getting about can be tricky.
“There are challenges that come with being a large rural county and we recognise that,” says Wendy Scott.
“But that’s why it was important to bring everyone together.”
Dr Chris Ferguson, museum and experience director at Ad Gefrin, the Anglo -Saxon museum and whisky distillery in Wooler, chairs the Northumberland Strategic Culture Network.
Of the new cultural strategy, he says: “It has absolutely been built from the grassroots and it’s designed to benefit everyone, whether you’re in Wooler or Alnwick or Amble.
“There are creative people in all those places and this is something they can coalesce around and see themselves in.
“It’s something we can use to articulate to the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority and to Government bodies that there’s thriving, flourishing culture in Northumberland.
“It’s not all about Newcastle or Sunderland.”
Wooler, he says, has many accomplished artists, a thriving music scene and also Wooler Arts, established in 2020 to provide opportunities for local people to get involved in various art forms.
As for Ad Gefrin, its annual visitor figure exceeds 75,000 and on November 27 there will be a repeat of the Yule Gaderung.
This rekindling of an Anglo-Saxon midwinter festival will again see a giant straw goat paraded to Ad Gefrin, rivalling Allendale’s New Year’s Eve tar barrel tradition as a distinctly Northumbrian cultural spectacle.
And as for Hexham declaring itself an Arts Town, far from stealing a march, Chris suggests: “It shows the vibrancy of the cultural scene in Northumberland, as do Berwick, with all the work being done around The Maltings (arts centre), and Amble with Dry Water Arts and Dovecote Street Arts.
“It might sound odd bearing in mind the economic climate right now but there’s a sense of optimism and energy about this, a determination to drive things forward.”
A map in the new strategy document lists 29 key cultural attractions across the county but there will be many more. Since success breeds success, cultural developments in Berwick, Blyth, Alnwick and elsewhere should attract others.
In Hexham, according to Katy Taylor, the value of cultural activity is widely understood.
There’s a Hexham Cultural Forum and the Arts Town idea had started taking shape months before the UK Town of Culture competition was announced.
“We had about 350 people at our initial consultation meeting and they included retailers, business people, community organisers and just ordinary interested people,” says Katy.
“The main idea is to look at any issue, whether to do with social isolation or health or affordable housing, through the lens of the arts to see if that can help.
“A good example of what’s happened is that the town council has done some benches with beautiful artwork on to encourage people to sit and talk.”
Katy is well placed to see how young people can be helped since she chairs the Northumberland Cultural Education Partnership which brings together professionals in both fields in order to do just that.
It finds work experience for youngsters in the cultural sector and advises on paths to a creative career. Plenty of case studies attest to its good work.
Hexham might even be ahead of the game in understanding the benefits of networking and partnerships.
Katy says the town’s principal cultural organisations have chipped in to employ a freelance content creator to promote their work, something none could have afforded alone.
Applicants are to be interviewed in the coming days.
In Northumberland, it seems, there are networks within networks. How long before it declares itself an Arts County?
You can read the strategy document on the Culture Northumberland website.