The North is proud of its distinctive cultural identity and rich heritage of art and creativity. It comprises the three regions of the North East, the North West and Yorkshire. The area has a third of England’s landmass and a population of 15.5 million people most of whom live in the five major cities of Newcastle/Gateshead, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield. The M62 corridor between Liverpool and Leeds is the country’s biggest area of high population density whereas parts of Cumbria, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and County Durham are the most sparsely populated and remote in the country.
Drawing on many years of history, world class collections and architecture, artists of global influence and reputation (both contemporary and historical) as well as some of England’s most exciting and ambitious arts organisations, Northern popular culture has been part of people’s lives for decades.
The area contains some of England’s most exciting, innovative and ambitious artists and cultural organisations working – at all scales – to engage and inspire audiences, to deliver creative experiences which make a difference to people’s lives and to their communities, and to collaborate with peers nationally and internationally to refresh and grow the North’s cultural ecology.
In recent years three of the North’s museums have been named Museum of the Year; our publishers have supported many award-winning writers and poets; our theatres regularly win theatre of the year awards and many of our cultural organisations have won tourism awards, including Yorkshire Sculpture Park in 2023. In the last 12 months we have celebrated Leeds 2023; Kirklees Year of Music; Lumiere, the UK’s light art biennial in Durham; and the opening of the landmark new cultural space, Aviva Studios, in Manchester as the home of Factory International. Looking ahead, ENO recently announced its decision to relocate to Greater Manchester, in 2025 Bradford will be the UK City of Culture and the National Centre for Poetry is being developed in Leeds.
We want the North to be a place where it is possible to live, train and sustain a creative career.
The presence of major cities provides critical mass and momentum which attracts and retains creatives and supports innovation as well as enabling the North to sustain large cultural organisations, conservatoires and events of international standing. Our renowned rural landscapes and industrial heritage continue to support a distinctive strength in arts and culture outside of traditional spaces, whether in the form of sculpture, outdoor arts or the re-use of industrial buildings.
The North continues to put culture and creativity at the heart of place-making, vibrant communities and the future growth of our economy. We currently invest over £187 million a year of National Lottery and Grant in Aid funding in organisations and individuals across the area.
The Arts Council has nurtured dynamic partnerships with local authorities in all three regions of the North, with whom we work collaboratively to promote cultural growth. We have a range of committed partners in local government, through elected Mayors, in Higher Education, health and the third sector who see culture as a vital part of what they do to improve people’s lives.
Major investment through Levelling Up programmes will bring about transformation in cultural organisations in places such as Barnsley, Hartlepool and Rochdale.
The recognition of the role of culture and creativity in the North’s future is stronger than ever and the Arts Council’s 10-year strategy, Let’s Create, is providing a firm platform to forge more partnerships and further expand the cultural ecology.