Newcastle Arts Centre was founded by two
photographers Mike Tilley and Norma Pickard who met
and decided on photography as their medium while at Art
School in the sixties.
In
1969 we lived and worked in a Studio that had begun in the
1890s at Station Road, Whitley Bay and we soon began running
it as an open workshop and Exhibition space.
In 1972 Spectro Arts Workshop received its
first grant from the Experiment Panel of the Arts Council of
Great Britain and extended its activity as a multi media
arts project.
Spectro
Arts Workshop became a not for profit company and, after a
few creative years, responded to requests that we should
move to Newcastle by acquiring the lease of a former office
supply warehouse in Bells Court near Pilgrim Street.
Using funding from
a Job Creation Programme, Northern Arts and the Arts Council
a purpose built Centre was created which included a Visual
Arts Gallery, private studios, Electronic Music studio,
Performance Space, Screen Print Studio and a complete
Photographic Workshop.Many young artists and photographers
used the facilities and it became an exciting base for the
production of new work. In aditition the centre was the
first in Newcastle to present exibitions by
Richard Hamilton (graphics) Helen Chadwick
(installation) Max Eastley(Sound Sculpture) and begin a
programme of support for resident artists.
Following
a dispute with the Trustees Mike and Norma quit Spectro and
formed Newcastle Arts Centre Limited in July 1981.
Newcastle Arts Centre
Limited purchased a derelict group of listed buildings on
Westgate Road in September 81 and work soon began on the
difficult task of creating a viable development in a run
down area of the inner City. Because of the level of
economic and community stress at the time the development
was well supported by a number of Government Agencies
including The Manpower Services Commission ( Job Creation
Programme) Tyne & Wear Conservation Team, English
Heritage and the Newcastle & Gateshead Partnership. No
commitment was made by Northern Arts or the Arts Council.
The development
was planned as mixed use with the intention that the
buildings on the high street should be let to provide an
income to at least match the mortgage, and that the
buildings away from the street would become a combination of
public space and private studios. The Arts Centre won a
RIBA/Times Community Architecture Award and was formally
opened by Prince Charles in 1988.
By this time the Arts Centre had become the
largest concentration of professional arts practice in the
City by housing Projects UK (the former Spectro Arts
Workshop), Folkworks the regions Folk Music Agency and by
providing a Gallery and Studios for Art, Craft and Music. In
addition the Company had established an Arts materials shop,
an outlet for original Craft,a Picture Framing workshop and
had Licenses for Theatre, Public Entertainment and a Bar.
The ‘commercial’
development of the Centre was forced by the failure to
establish a revenue funding agreement with Northern Arts and
the City for the development of an Arts programme.
The independence of the
Centre was clearly at the heart of the matter and a crisis
was met in 1992 when the directors of Northern Arts
attempted to lever a takeover of Newcastle Arts Centre. Soon
after this dispute, Projects UK(a funded tenant) was allowed
to go into voluntary liquidation.
Without
revenue funding for programming Newcastle Arts Centre had no
option but to concentrate on its trading revenue and shut
down its public arts spaces, the Gallery and the Performance
space went dark and Projects UK’s Music Studios and
Photographic workshop were closed.
It took
seven years to turn the company round and fund the
refurbishment of the public spaces to an extent that we can
take on the role that the Centre was intended for back
in 1981.
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