Mon 1st Jul 2019
by Nottingham Post
When it opened ten years ago, Nottingham Contemporary immediately bolstered the city’s reputation for punching, culturally speaking, well above its weight. More than two million visitors have passed through the green and gold gallery at Weekday Cross – a venue that with institutions like Nottingham Playhouse, The Royal Centre, Broadway, Lakeside and burgeoning Creative Quarter makes Nottingham the cultural powerhouse of the East Midlands.
Invest NewsBut the Contemporary has proved itself much more than a regional player. The Art Fund Museum of the Year finalist became one of travel website Culture Trip’s top ten museums and galleries outside London, and the imaginative programmes of founder-director Alex Farquharson and his successor Sam Thorne have won the centre an international reputation.
(Image: Sam Thorne, Director, Nottingham Contemporary / Nottingham Post)
The emergence of Nottingham Contemporary has coincided with a growing awareness of the value of the culture and associated tourism to the national and local economies. The sector is worth £12 billion.
Here in the East Midlands, Nottingham Contemporary helped turn Arts Council England’s investment in the Grand Tour programme – also featuring Derby Museums, Chatsworth House and Welbeck’s Harley Gallery - into a £32 million boost for the regional economy.
There is room for further benefits. According to Visit England, while arts, culture and entertainment accounted for 24 per cent of holiday breaks in London, and eight per cent of breaks in the West Midlands, the figure in the East Midlands was only five per cent.
Which argues the case for investing more in creating and improving the region’s cultural opportunities.
The re-invention of the Castle as a visitor attraction, probably to open next year, will provide Nottingham with three centres of national importance within walking distance of each other: the Castle, the National Justice Museum and – embarking on what we all hope with be a successful second decade – the remarkable Nottingham Contemporary.
Article by Jeremy Lewis, Nottingham Post
(https://www.nottinghampost.com...)
Banner Image: Nottingham Contemporary/ Sam Kirby
Creative Quarter Company helps seven local independent businesses to secure over £57,000 of funding
Published Tue 4th Oct 2022
Meeting Mr Nottingham - an interview with Lace Market and Creative Quarter visionary Mich Stevenson
Published Wed 12th Jan 2022
New vision for Nottingham's Broad Marsh site imagines a sustainable and creative city of the future
Published Wed 8th Dec 2021
Modern urban living in and amongst refurbished lace factories and warehouses. On-trend independent retailers and many bars, restaurants, cafés, galleries, arts cinema and theatres. A buzz in the daytime and a rhythm at night.
Nottingham Trent University, the UK’s University of the Year, has a Creative Quarter campus. Nottingham College is investing £58m in a new skills hub. Confetti is expanding fast. Metronome is open for business and learning.
© Copyright Creative Quarter Nottingham. All rights reserved.