Tourists may not have placed Gateshead among the UK?s top ten cultural centres until now, but that is all set to change with the opening in March 2002 of BALTIC, a major new centre for contemporary art, and the completion in 2003 of the £70m Music Centre Gateshead, a performance and music education centre which will be home to Northern Sinfonia and Folkworks.
Both projects form part of the £250m regeneration strategy for East Gateshead ? a 15 year scheme to redevelop Gateshead quayside and the surrounding area. The former Baltic Flour Mills, a disused grain warehouse, are due to be transformed into one of the biggest temporary art spaces in Europe. Along with local residents, national and international visitors are high on the list of target audiences. BALTIC will house over 3,000sqm of art space, plus artist studios, a cinema/lecture space, a library and archive for the study of contemporary art. And weary tourists taking a rest between galleries can even enjoy panoramic views of Tyneside from the restaurant window. To view the progress of the Gateshead Quays development, go to http://www.gateshead-quays.com, where you can see the construction site via two webcams mounted on the Tyne Bridge.