When ACE comes to town

Middlesbrough were delighted to welcome Darren Henley, CEO of Arts Council England, to town in April. Accepting the invitation from Middlesbrough’s Head of Culture, Gaye Kirby, he spent a jam packed day, meeting artists, visiting cultural spaces, and hearing about the amazing work happening with communities.

They day kick started with a visit to Platform A Gallery and the railway station. Navigator North gave Darren and Mayor Chris Cooke a tour of their Most Creative Station project. The work from … Rachel Clewlow, Nell Catchpole, Adam Shaw, Emma Bennett have been a huge source of price for the station master, Mick Drewery

Darren also visited Wander Films, a female led production and marketing company on Albert Road, and continued his journey to Unit 41, where he enjoyed a performance by artist Toi. After another stop at MIMA for lunch and a tour of their latest exhibition, he continued on to Pineapple Black Gallery, where organisation in the cultural partnership discussed and presented the work they are doing. Cue more performances and a series of videos, showing the breadth of work happening across Middlesbrough by organisation in the Tees Dance, Bordello, Borderlands and The Auxiliary Project Space.

It further strengthened Middlesbrough’s ambition to be a stand out place for the production and showcasing of brilliant art.

Hot on the heels of Darren Henley’s visit, the National Council for ACE held their annual meeting in the Tees Valley. It was another brilliant opportunity to meet with the council, tell them about our journey, and speak with them about what is happening on the ground. So two opportunities to reflect back on the what we have achieved over the last few years, and to come together to mark those achievements.