ARTS AND CULTURE ORGANISATIONS BREATH LIFE INTO NEGLECTED CITY CENTRE AREA

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, FRIDAY 29TH JANUARY 2016, 7pm – 11pm

The creative and cultural organisations of Pilgrim Street, Market Street and New Bridge Street West open late for a showcase block party.

Within the confines of just 1 city centre block, 17 organisations and dozens of artists are coming together to showcase the creative work housed in the East Pilgrim Street area. From theatre companies such as Alphabetti Theatre, to art galleries like The NewBridge Project, and community venues such as ¡VAMOS! Social, this quarter of the city centre has become a vibrant hub for artistic and cultural organisations, experienced by many thousands of people over the past few years.

East Pilgrim Street, once the “gateway to Newcastle", had fallen into disuse over the past decade. Both loved and hated buildings such as the Odeon Cinema and Commercial Union house have become commercially uninhabitable whilst awaiting demolition as part of the East Pilgrim Street regeneration project, which will eventually feature shops, offices, accommodation and leisure facilities. Owned by the Reuben Brothers, one of the most successful property developers in the country, the area will eventually become on the largest development projects that Newcastle has seen in many decades.

Whilst the area is awaiting redevelopment, many of the empty buildings have been occupied by cultural organisations and house a diverse range of arts, education and social enterprises. This has taken the area from an empty boarded up shell to a populated cultural draw with a high density of some the city's oldest and newest arts producers.

On the 29th January the venues and organisations of the Creative Quarter will be opening their doors late to create a block party with a vast array of culture on offer, all for free. The evening kicks off at 7pm and comes to a close at ¡VAMOS! Social for late night music and dancing. Highlights include music from Haythem and Yoko Pwno at Alphabetti Theatre, the opening of a new second installation by Gareth Hudson as part of his extremely popular series at The Globe Gallery, a video game workshop by local developers Nosebleed Interactive at Bamburgh House, dance company FRESH North East launching their new brand Moving Art Management at Space Six and the opening of a group exhibition of local and international artists who have worked in the East Pilgrim Street area over the past year at Abject Gallery.

With such a tight footprint, the free arts and culture on offer for the evening within just 3 streets will mean visitors can experience some of the best and most diverse the city has to offer with no more than a few steps door to door.

More programme information will be available at blockparty.breezecreatives.com

“A mutually beneficial relationship between the Reuben Brothers and numerous arts organisations of the city has seen the cultural sector of Newcastle thrive at an exponential rate". Daniel Gibson, Co-Director, Breeze Creatives

A full list of participating organisations is as follows:

Abject Gallery
Alphabetti Theatre
Arcadea
B&D Studios
Broadacre House
FAD
The Globe Gallery
Inspired Support
The NewBridge Project
The Northern Charter
Nosebleed Interactive
Space 2
Space Six
Tyneside Film School
¡Vamos! Social
Vane

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Information for editors

For media enquiries contact Zoe Anderson on 07533 195512 or email info@breezecreatives.com.

Press images can be emailed upon request.

• Alphabetti Theatre is based in Newcastle upon Tyne and was formed by Ali Pritchard and is currently the only independent theatre in the city. They create, produce and program new original work from emerging artists across the performing arts. The intimate performance space plays host to music, comedy, poetry and theatre is a place for artists to experiment, evolve and discover excellence. Hidden in a basement of an old office block it's complete with its own bar is open from 11am – 11pm Monday to Saturday and is one of the best kept secrets in Newcastle. Alphabetti champions fringe culture, developing high quality, professional productions in the grassroots; growing new audiences and artists alike. alphabettitheatre.co.uk
• Breeze Creatives is a Community Interest Company based in Newcastle upon Tyne that specialises in cultural projects and events around the North East of England, and provides artist studios and project spaces in Newcastle city centre. Breeze Creatives latest project is Abject Gallery, a contemporary art gallery exhibiting a mixture of national and international emerging artists. breezecreatives.com
• Set up in 1995 Globe Gallery is a Not for Profit organisation. We have a long history of working with regional, national and international artists. Our aim is to bring contemporary art to as wide an audience as possible, support artists through exhibition opportunities, provide volunteers with a great learning experience and work closely with our community to encourage greater participation in the arts. globegallery.org
• The NewBridge Project is an artist-led community comprising of over 80 artist studios, an exhibition space and book shop based in a 29,000sqft former office block in Newcastle city centre. The NewBridge Project was established in 2010 to provide exchange and support in an engaged and discursive community of artists. The shared workspace is a critical and collaborative environment that allows artists to discuss and develop new ideas and projects. thenewbridgeproject.com
• Nosebleed Interactive is an independent game developer based in Newcastle upon Tyne; the heart of the North East of England. Our talented team has over three decades of industry experience between us, and we've worked on some of the world's biggest selling and most loved franchises and on numerous award winning games. nosebleedinteractive.com
• Space Six is a hub in the heart of Newcastle comprising of affordable individual studios and bookable rehearsal space for North East based performing artists. As an organisation Space Six aims to support and retain talent in the Performing Arts within the North East. space-six.org
• In 2015 ¡VAMOS! presented its 10th edition in the North East, a pilot ¡VAMOS! Leeds programme, a new '¡VAMOS! Social' venue and very soon to be announced ¡VAMOS! Liverpool! In celebrating Spanish and Portuguese speaking cultures, it combines cuisine, art, film, theatre, dance, music, literature, fashion, sport and education offering an international festival appealing to partners and diverse mainstream audiences. It is supported by many partners including Newcastle University, Arts Council England, The Mexican Embassy and Instituto. vamosfestival.com