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Connecting artists, venues and festivals
Monday 18 November 2024
2pm – 4.30pm
Caedmon Hall, Gateshead
Free to attend
Are you a performance-based artist, creative or programmer based in the North East of England? Do you want to share what you do with other people, and find out what others are doing?
Designed to help connect North East based artists, creatives and venue/festival programmers working in performance, the North East Exchange is a friendly, safe environment to share ideas, plans and priorities.
The event will involve presentations as well as informal chats.
Any artist, creative or programmer can book a presenting slot on a first come, first served basis, in which they will get three minutes to share their work and plans with everyone in the room.
If you are an artist, you could choose to speak about who you are, what your practice is and what opportunities you are looking for, or you could talk about a show, whether at an initial idea, tour-ready or any stage in-between.
If you are representing a venue or festival, you could speak about your artistic policy, what kind of performance work you are looking for, and any opportunities for artists you are offering.
North East Exchange is an opportunity to talk about your work, face to face, and get people excited about it. There is no technical support available, so please ensure your presentation does not rely on sound or visuals as there won’t be any equipment to support playback.
It builds on previous events such as Meet the Programmers (pre-2020) and the North East Culture Socials that emerged during the pandemic.
We want to maintain and support relationships and networks – between artists, between programmers, and between artists and programmers. And we want to have positive conversations about performance-based work in the North East.
If you are interested in performance, the future and are based in the North East – please come!
Access
Access support is available (e.g. BSL interpretation, a quiet space, assistance working out where to park etc) – please tell us what you need so that we can make arrangements to meet your requirements. This also includes access surrounding the allotted time you have to present – if you have an access requirement that means three minutes is unsuitable, please let us know. Please email [email protected] with any access requirements.
Arriving at Caedmon Hall
If you haven’t been to Caedmon Hall before, there is a chance to arrive early and have a look round the building. Please meet in the main foyer at 1pm. Jill Bennison, Community Arts Officer from Gateshead Arts Development Team, will be there to meet you and show you around.
If you arrive early, there is seating in Bewicks Coffee Shop downstairs in the library, serving snacks and drinks.
Tea/coffee will be served from 1.30pm in the foyer and staff will be on hand to meet you. There won’t be awkward networking, you can just grab a drink and take a seat.
Event format
1pm: (Optional) Tour of Caedmon Hall
1.30pm: Refreshments served
2pm: Everyone will be invited into the auditorium. It will be laid out with rows of seats. You can sit wherever you like, and staff will be around to introduce you and help everyone find somewhere they are comfortable to sit.
Jill Bennison, Community Arts Officer from Gateshead Arts Development Team, will give a brief introduction to the space and go through any housekeeping.
The event will then be hosted by Andy Newcombe from ARC Stockton. They will say a brief hello, and then the presentations will begin. The day will run like this:
2.10pm: Presentation Group 1
2.50pm: Comfort Break
3.05pm: Presentation Group 2
3.45pm: Break / Informal Conversations
4.30pm: Wrap Up
Whether you’re choosing to present, or just to attend – anyone who is coming along to the North East Exchange will be able to let us know ahead of the event if there is something in particular they are looking to ‘connect the dots’ with others on.
You may have something in mind you want to create, produce, fund, commission, collaborate on – there’s so many possible ways to connect, and we want to make those connections possible.
You can let us know via the option on the booking form. We’ll circulate this information a few days before the event, and display it on the day, allowing you to link up during the Extended Break.
We’ll send round a contact list afterwards, so you can follow up on all of the brilliant conversations you might have started.
How to get to Caedmon Hall
There is lots of information here about travelling to Caedmon Hall by public transport as well as parking and access information: How to find us
Let us know you are coming
If you would like to come, please book via Eventbrite
If you would prefer to book by telephone, please call ARC’s Box Office on 01642 525181 or by email to [email protected].
Help spread the word
This event is free to attend and open to anyone working in performance in the North East. Please share the invitation with your networks and encourage others to attend.
This North East Exchange event is funded by:
ARC Stockton
Dance City, Newcastle
Darlington Hippodrome
Gateshead Libraries, Arts & Heritage
Gosforth Civic Theatre
Highlights Rural Touring Scheme
Live Theatre, Newcastle
Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham
Stockton International Riverside Festival
Sunderland Culture
The Customs House, South Shields
Theatre Hullabaloo, Darlington