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C 2018/19 Contents 6 Achievements 8 Audiences 10 Community engagement Our mission is to help 12 Children and young people people determine their place 14 Digital in the world and define their 16 Collections 18 Friends and other organisations identities, so enhancing 20 TWAM in Gateshead their self-respect and their 21 TWAM in Newcastle respect for others. 22 TWAM in North Tyneside 24 TWAM in South Tyneside 26 TWAM working with Newcastle University Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums (TWAM) is a major regional museum, art gallery and archives service. Tyne & Wear Archives We manage a collection of nine museums and galleries 28 across Tyneside and the Archives for Tyne and Wear. 29 Working in Partnership We are supported by the four local authorities in Tyneside and Newcastle University. TWAM is also a National Portfolio 31 Enterprise and resilience Organisation funded by Arts Council England. On behalf of Arts Council England we manage the North 34 Financial Results East Museum Development Programme supporting smaller museums across the region and Culture Bridge North East, working to make sure that every child and young person has the opportunity to experience the richness of the arts and culture. The design of this report is inspired by the Enchanted Garden exhibition at the Laing Art Gallery in 2018 - one of the gallery’s most successful exhibitions in recent years. It was curated by Amy Barker, Keeper of Art, who sadly passed away in June 2019. She is fondly remembered and dearly missed by colleagues. Image: Woman with Lilies by Thomas Armstrong, 1876, Laing Art Gallery - displayed in the Enchanted Garden exhibition in summer 2018. Chair’s Welcome Director’s introduction I have thoroughly enjoyed my first full year as Chair of TWAM’s Strategic Board and I am very proud of TWAM’s achievements over this past year. People are at the heart of everything that TWAM does and we have continued to deliver a high quality service, with over 1.2 million both from our community in the North East and from visitors to our region. We engaged 137,244 children and young people in 4,612 activities and visits across our venues and almost 8,000 IAIN WATSON engagements with our adult health and wellbeing Director, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums programmes. We collaborated in pioneering research such as 'Not so grim Up North' - exploring the health and wellbeing benefits to participants engaging in First, let me thank all of our clients, funders, In North Tyneside, Segedunum Roman Fort cultural interventions and we hosted the first national partners and advocates who helped us to commemorated local people who played their Culture Health and Wellbeing Alliance conference at deliver everything we describe in this report. I am part in WW1 in the Hearts at Peace exhibition and the Great North Museum: Hancock. particularly proud of the exceptional exhibition Stephenson Railway Museum had a very busy year and events programme we delivered in 2018-19 – full of events including the ever-popular Santa I am delighted that TWAM fulfils an important leadership with a summer of stunning exhibitions curated Special train rides. role in the cultural sector, including co-ordinating the by our own talented staff. 'Late Shows' – Newcastle Gateshead’s event to mark In South Tyneside, South Shields Museum & Art museums at night, which attracted 32,000 visits in 2018. TWAM played a key role in securing the Great Gallery celebrated the South Tyneside mining Exhibition of the North for the North East and communities in the King Coal exhibition including TWAM also runs Culture Bridge North East - connecting we rose to the challenge in delivering our part several paintings by local artist Bob Olley. Arbeia, cultural venues and schools across the region. With the in the exhibition. Over 150,000 people visited the South Shields Roman Fort revealed the results of its support of Culture Bridge, the North East is the only area Which Way North exhibition (sponsored by Home redevelopment project. in England to have seen an increase across all levels of Group and Podfo) at the Great North Museum: Arts Award: Discover, Explore, Bronze, Silver and Gold. Tyne & Wear Archives launched the 100 Archives of Hancock. Visits also topped 150,000 at Discovery the North website (sponsored by Rosedale Advisory Rt Hon Baroness Joyce Quin Museum as people flocked to see Stephenson’s Our role delivering the Museum Development and The Alternative Board) as part of the Great Chair, TWAM Strategic Board Rocket locomotive take centre-stage. programme in the North East has involved providing Exhibition of the North and exhibited the Blue Peter professional advice and guidance to ensure that all The Laing Art Gallery had great success with its Millennium Time Capsule (which was accidentally Accredited museums can maximise their benefits to Enchanted Garden exhibition with ticket sales up dug up too soon) as part of its national tour. audiences and communities. 44% and extensive critical acclaim. In celebration As a National Portfolio Organisation we are of its achievement, we have given this report an I would like to pay my personal tribute to the staff of particularly grateful for the support of Arts Council Enchanted Garden theme. TWAM whose commitment, enthusiasm and willingness England whose funding enables us to provide a to innovate has impressed me hugely. They have The Shipley Art Gallery hosted the magnificent range of opportunities for both local people, and demonstrated in so many ways how our museums tapestry exhibition Julie Cope’s Grand Tour: The visitors to the region to engage with our museums. can and do change lives. Their work in involving and story of a life by Grayson Perry in spring 2018, I hope you all enjoyed working with us and reaching out to young people in our area - which is which was very popular with visitors to the Gallery. becoming increasingly diverse - has been something visiting our venues and we look forward to working that I have found particularly inspiring. Hatton Gallery’s transformation following it’s with you in future. £3.8 million redevelopment in 2017 was recognised at the Northern Soul Awards in Manchester, where it won Gallery of the Year. In 2018-19 we achieved… 1,289,763 342 ALMOST 8,000 visits to our venues loan boxes used by 19,468 children, engagements with our outreach programme young people, teachers and adults - generating £15,235 £91,006 167,839 £419,000 generated in retail sales income from facilitated learning followers on social media, up 13% visits up 4% on target 500 137,244 20,754 sound recordings digitised (from reels, children and young people took part people signed up to our Must-see Museums cassettes, mini discs, CDs) as part of the in 4,612 activities and visits across our membership scheme an increase of Unlocking our Sound Heritage project. venues In 2018-19 144% compared to 2017-18 32,074 850,009 43,983 visits to The Late Shows - Newcastle visits to our website volunteer hours, from 798 volunteers Gateshead’s annual culture crawl co-ordinated by TWAM. + 65% donations income up 65% 6 Impact Report 2018-19 Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums 7 Audiences Everyone has the opportunity to experience and to be inspired Image: The Baby Takeover event at the Great North Museum: Hancock In 2018-19 we welcomed over 1.2 More about these programmes is detailed million visits to our venues. throughout this report. by the arts, We engage a wide range of audiences through our Our free membership scheme, Must-see museums venues, projects and initiatives. We have a loyal local had an excellent year and increased membership audience - 82% of TWAM’s UK visitors are from North by 144% compared to last year with over East England and of those 76% are from Tyne and 20,000 subscribers. It provides subscribers with museums and Wear. We’re particularly popular with families - 66% tailored information about exhibitions and events to visit with children aged under 16 years and we attract match their interests and provides us with valuable audiences from all economic backgrounds - 32% are information about our audiences, helping to sell from socio economic groups C2DE. Research into our tickets and increase footfall. Priority booking is visitors’ experience shows that levels of satisfaction particularly popular with members and promoting libraries. are very high: 98% rated their visit to our museums the opportunity to get priority booking for Dippy on and galleries as good or very good and 63% of visits Tour tickets for the Great North Museum: Hancock led are repeat visits. to us securing over 7,000 new subscribers. Arts Council England Goal 2 www.mustseemuseums.org.uk. We aim to engage the broadest possible audience and our exhibitions and events respond to popular, We have continued to work with our Newcastle accessible and topical themes. We also deliver Gateshead Cultural Venues (NGCV) partners to lead targeted programming for audiences who do not audience development initiatives to increase the traditionally engage with museums and galleries or number and reach of audiences including Family are under-represented. Explorers, a project that helps families in the region enjoy a wider range of cultural experiences. In 2018-19 our targeted programmes involved working www.familyexplorers.co.uk with LGBTQ groups, disabled people, people with autism, people with dementia and people from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. 8 Impact Report 2018-19 Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums 9 Volunteers In 2018-19, 798 The support of volunteers is essential to the success of TWAM. Our volunteer roles are volunteers wide-ranging from maintaining and running heritage trains to cataloguing collections contributed and helping to deliver public activities.