Seen or heard anything brilliant in 2011? Fancy giving credit where it’s due? Then here’s how to do it. DAVID WHETSTONE calls for your Culture Awards nominations.
Click here to vote in the Culture Awards 2011
AS the year draws to a close, it’s time for Journal readers to reflect on the cultural highlights of 2011– the gigs, shows or events that knocked you sideways.
It’s time to register your nominations for The Journal Culture Awards 2011.
Since the turn of the millennium, this region has taken great strides to become a significant player in the world of arts and entertainment.
Not for nothing was the Turner Prize hosted by Baltic Centre for Contemporary Arts this year.
Baltic and its crowds of annual visitors earned that accolade, giving a much-needed boost to contemporary art’s big prize which had ventured out of London only once before.
The international successes of Newcastle-born Lee Hall have also turned eyes to this region.
Billy Elliot remains a fixture in the West End and on Broadway while The Pitmen Painters – its run in the West End recently extended – wins friends wherever it goes.
Lee Hall has written a brilliantly funny and perceptive play but its subject matter, the working class Ashington men who wanted to be educated about art, demonstrate an interest in all things cultural is not a wholly modern phenomenon.
And while we’re on that subject, it’s worth considering not all North East triumphs concern the biggest and most heavily subsidised venues.
The People’s Theatre presented the world’s first amateur production of The Pitmen Painters.
Directed by Lee’s former drama teacher at Benfield School, Chris Heckels, it was as enjoyable and accomplished as the professional productions have been.
Good things have been happening across the region. Up in Berwick, the now sadly departed Miles Gregory raised the profile of The Maltings arts centre. Down in Middlesbrough, the Mima gallery has put on good shows, including the first major solo show by North East artist Richard Forster.
Many of the North East arts organisations have raised the bar extremely high in recent years.
We have come to expect nothing but the best on the region’s stages, whether it be a gig at The Cluny, an opera at the Theatre Royal or a concert by the Northern Sinfonia at The Sage Gateshead. We have established talent but also a steady stream of emerging talent. We also have a great portfolio of festivals, including this year’s second Lumiere in Durham, the inaugural Bridges Festival on Tyneside and the second International Print Biennale across the region.
But who – or what – during 2011 has been worthy of special recognition? That’s for you and a panel of expert judges to decide – and time is starting to run short.
Jennifer Cook, who runs The Journal Culture Awards, says: “We want as many people to take part in the Culture Awards as possible.
“Readers of The Journal are the eyes and ears of the Awards. Not everyone – not even the judges – can get to see everything so we are hoping our readers will ensure that good things don’t get overlooked when it comes to decision-making time.
“So if you have attended an exciting event, a spectacular performance or exhibition this year in the North East, we would like you to nominate it for a Culture Award.”
The Journal Culture Awards 2011 will be the fifth. Past winners proudly display their awards and framed certificates on walls or shelves, or post the accolade on their websites, so we know it means a lot to receive this very public pat on the back.
It is a chance to give credit where it’s due and also to signal to the rest of the country that we are proud of what North East people achieve.
This is a creative region and it’s right that we should shout about it.
HOW TO NOMINATE
The awards are open to anyone who has made a significant contribution to the North East cultural landscape during the current year.
Anyone can nominate a performer or an event. Nominations will be considered from audience members or even from performers or arts organisations themselves.
Awards will be presented in the following nine categories:
1. Visual Artist of the Year
2. Performance of the Year
3. Performing Artist of the Year
4. Newcomer of the Year
5. Writer of the Year
6. Renaissance North East: Museum Award (to recognise a very special or innovative museum project)
7. Arts Council Award (for a truly excellent piece of work)
8. Best Arts and Business Award (for an outstanding business/arts partnership)
9. Best Event in County Durham, Sunderland, Northumberland, Teesside or Tyneside (the winners of each category to qualify for the overall Event of the Year award).
On the night the judges will also announce a Special Award to go to an individual or organisation deemed to have made a major contribution over a long period.
You can vote online in The Journal Culture Awards, or find out more about the competition, at www.journallive.co.uk/cultureawards
The Journal Culture Awards 2011 will be presented in a ceremony at the Gala Theatre, Durham, on Monday, April 16, 2012.