Socially engaged practice in the Tees Valley

I first heard about the Tees Valley more than five years ago while taking part in the Clore Fellowship. I was working with Manchester International Festival at the time and interested in socially engaged practice.  

I’d been reading about Antanas Mockus, the infamous Mayor of Colombia who made some radical and creative decisions, hiring 20 mime artists to control traffic and make fun of drivers who weren’t obeying the rules. The programme that was so successful that traffic fatalities dropped by more than 50%.

I was totally fascinated by how art and culture could have an impact on policy and communities. I identified three places I wanted to visit. 

Mexico City, New York and Middlesbrough

In the Lab para la Ciudad in Mexico City, artists and activists and academics work together to instil creativity in local government policy. I’d pushed past a group of men in black suits and ties, up the marble stairs to find tattooed, ripped-jeaned, creative young people buzzing around a shared office doing ground-breaking policy work like mapping a bus route through crowdsourcing. Wow, I thought, who would have thought local government could be so exciting. I had no idea that I’d be joining the ranks of a council in the North East of England six months later.

Next on my list was the Laundromat project in New York where grassroots creativity was springing from laundrettes across the city, and communities and artists were working together on huge tables inside and outside laundrettes. A five-year-old told me in no uncertain terms that she was an artist.

And then came Middlesbrough. I’d been told about MIMA, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, a gallery and museum working internationally and yet still very much rooted in local communities. When I visited, I was blown away by how welcoming the gallery felt, and how community voice was truly embedded in the space. I quickly fell in love with this town I’d never visited before. I loved the energy of it and there was an underground vibe that I couldn’t put my finger on. It was diverse, youthful and gritty.

Ticking all the boxes

When I got the opportunity to work in the area, I jumped at it. Since then I’ve moved, had two children here and made it my home. Having worked in London, Leeds, Manchester and internationally, it’s the best place I’ve worked culturally.  

It’s probably down to two reasons; firstly, it’s the tightest knit community of arts organisations I’ve ever worked in. Secondly, we can do things differently here and take risks in a way that others large cities simply can’t afford to. Our landscape, collaboration and experimentation enable us to take a radically different approach.   

Arts Council England (ACE) is increasing its investment in the Tees Valley, thanks to national policy and some amazing advocacy from dedicated relationship managers. We’re also supported by the Tees Valley Combined Authority which invests £20m in culture – unusual compared to other combined authorities.  

Crudely, we tick all the boxes for ACE investment as the Tees Valley is a Levelling Up for Culture Place (LUCP) and also a Priority Place. The latest investment round saw a 66% uplift in investment in our region with three new National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs), an increase in funding to a further two NPOs, maintaining the same level of funding to five more, and two new Investment Principles Support Organisations (IPSOs). However, we’ve still got a really long way to go to be in line with some of our colleagues in larger cities.

Top tips for organisations looking to relocate

The opportunity for organisations to move to levelling-up areas is huge and, if they are aware of the context of the region they’re moving to, I’m confident that they will be welcomed. For regions like ours, as long as there’s a commitment from ACE to support existing organisations, it’s a fast track to increase our cultural capacity.  So, my top tips are:

1)    Don’t underestimate us. We might be an LUCP, but organisations that have thrived here are arguably a lot stronger than those operating in an established infrastructure. For example, in the Tees Valley, we have the only children’s theatre outside London – Theatre Hullabaloo, ARC Stockton pioneered the ‘pay what you decide model’, and SIRF – Stockton International Riverside Festival – attracts internationally renowned experimental street theatre. We even have artists moving from Berlin to set up artist-led spaces here. We have a lot to offer already.

2)    We’ve been ‘Let’s Creating’ for years. The context of our area – perhaps all LUCPs – makes us highly skilled at working with communities. We have been delivering on Let’s Create before ACE developed it. Socially engaged practice is how many of our organisations already operate. Don’t be surprised that programming, engagement and learning strands are often combined.

3)    Find the gaps and fill them. The best way to approach LUCPs is to find out where the gaps exist and partner with existing organisations to support gap filling. As an example, you might be a dance organisation that could partner with an existing venue that has a studio and space. On practical level, if you’re moving into an area with other organisations like yours, make sure you’re adding something.  

Ultimately, because the sector in Levelling up for Culture Places tend to be resilient but still fragile, we will welcome you with open arms as long as you’re up for working with us. 

We look forward to hearing from you.

Charlotte Nicol is Associate Dean of Enterprise and Knowledge Exchange in the School of Arts & Creative Industries at Teesside University.
@charnicol3
[email protected]
tees.ac.uk/schools/mima/