But 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
