Baltic Flour Mills Visual Arts Trust

Charity Details

Full Name: Baltic Flour Mills Visual Arts Trust
Field: Arts & Heritage
Founded: 2002
Headquarters: Tyne and Wear, NE8 3BA
Charity No.: 1076251

History and Activities

The Baltic Flour Mills building on Gateshead Quays is one of the country’s best known contemporary art museums. The redevelopment of the iconic building began in 1998 after 7 years of planning, changing the building from a mill originally built in 1950 to hold 22,000 tonnes of flour, into a 3000sqm space for contemporary art. Standing at 42 meters high and dominating the River Tyne, the BALTIC opened its doors to the public in 2002 with over 35,000 visitors in its first week alone.

The BALTIC has been one of the regions great success stories. Since 2002 it has hosted over 190 exhibitions of work by 388 artists from 53 countries. It has attracted more than 6 million visitors in the process with over 149,000 visitors in 2011 to experience the first Turner Prize hosted outside a Tate gallery. During 2016/17, the BALTIC hosted 25 exhibitions from 43 artists and attracted over half a million visitors while also commissioning 22 original new works of art.

The charity is much more than an art gallery. The centre has developed an extensive and highly successful learning and engagement programme with the aim of increasing participation with those who are least engaged with the arts. Projects are as diverse as working with refugees in Gateshead, to running autism-friendly days at the gallery. The schools' programme has supported over 23,500 engagements with children and young people through artist-led workshops and visits to the centre.

Although the vast proportion of their income is derived from grants (£3,597,039) of which £3,158,800 was funded by the Arts Council. As one of the Arts Councils National Portfolio Organisations, the BALTIC has obtained a funding commitment of £12,632,000 between 2018 and 2022. Despite being free to visitors, the BALTIC also received £52,846 in donations in 2017.

Vital Statistics (year to 31/04/2017)

Website
http://baltic.art/

References