North East proves return on cultural investment

An economic impact assessment has concluded that for every £1 of public money invested annually in NewcastleGateshead’s 11 major cultural venues, £5 is generated from direct and indirect expenditure, and from visitor spend in the North East of England. The venues, which over the past ten years have attracted investment of more than £250m, have a combined annual turnover of more than £54m and are estimated to have contributed an average of £101m each year into the regional economy, succeeding in establishing the region firmly on the cultural map. They have spent over £5m on work with young people and are thought to generate employment for more than 2,000 people. Councillor John Shipley of Newcastle City Council described the cultural venues as “a key component of the City’s future”, and Councillor Mick Henry of Gateshead Council described the work of the cultural sector as “a remarkable story of vision, collaboration and determination which has produced a cultural landscape which is the envy of many. The impact of the NewcastleGateshead Cultural Venues is significant in economic terms but the contribution to social regeneration is also substantial.”
The publication of the figures coincides with an announcement by the venues involved that they have made a firm commitment to working together to maximise the economic, social and cultural benefits to communities in the region. The collaboration will aim to develop some of the joint working practices piloted during a recent Mission, Models, Money project, through which the venues shared expertise and resources. The group has agreed to extend its technical, administrative and cultural collaborations, aiming to reduce overheads and create efficiencies, thereby enabling increased investment in their creative output and better financial resilience. All 11 organisations participating are building-based producers and presenters of work across a range of artforms, but are of different scales, from Tyne and Wear Archive and Museums, England’s largest regional museums service, to Waygood gallery and artists’ studios. They all have public sector involvement, either in building ownership or management, or through revenue funding for their companies and programmes.