Within the past decade, the North-East's creative sector has more than doubled, contributing £2.65bn to the regional economy each year.

Deputy Business Editor Deborah Johnson investigates the cultural economic revolution that experts expect will continue for years

HISTORICALLY, the North- East does not have a reputation for its emphasis on the creative sector and the arts.

A region associated with traditional industries and hard toil, at the turn of the century, the North-East trailed the rest of the UK in terms of innovation and cultural investment.

But over the past few years, more than £200m-worth of investment has made the region one of the UK's cultural centres, with the North-East now having an international reputation for business and tourism.

Landmarks such as the Angel of the North and the Gateshead Sage have become icons of the North-East landscape, renowned around the world for helping to lead the region's cultural revolution. Since the turn of the Millennium, the economy has increased from employing about 30,000 people in 3,000 businesses to at least double that amount.

The cultural and creative sectors are thought to contribute about £2.65bn to the region each year. And tens of millions of pounds of investment in the region's creative and cultural economy have been earmarked.

Six areas have been highlighted for growth - advertising, design and brand communication, performing arts, publishing, new media, games and software, film, television and video, and music.

Hundreds of small businesses have been given funding and support over the past decade and more companies are expected to emerge.

Mark Adamson, creative industry senior specialist at regional development agency One NorthEast, said the creative sector is crucial to the North-East.

"While the region has never been completely without a creative sector and has always had strengths, until about seven or eight years ago it had not experienced the kind of growth we have seen since.

"It has been on a very significant scale.

"Now, we can safely say the sector is one of the priorities for the region.

Although it is doubtful the growth for the future will be at the rate we have seen over the past few years, the growth potential and growth predictions are very good.

"The sector is largely made up of small businesses, many of which have seen significant growth, especially in a field where there is such a high level of competition.

"We have some major projects under way in the region that give some indication of the kind of impact the region's creative economy will have in the future.

"All indications are for a very strong and exciting future for the North-East in that respect."

Mr Adamson said multi-million pound projects - including Middlesbrough's Digital City, Sunderland's Software City and Newcastle's Tyneside Theatre complex - would be important for the region's creative development.

The sector's small businesses play a crucial role alongside major tourism attractions.

The Arts Council England North- East is a major backer of creative businesses, investing tens of millions of pounds through initiatives such as its Cultural Business Venture (CBV) and Cultural Sector Development Initiative (CSDI).

Jonathan Martin, creative industries development officer at Arts Council England North-East, said the organisation was keen to help the growth continue.

"We want more artists and arts organisations to thrive artistically and financially," he said. "We want them to have the stability that will enable them to develop creatively and professionally and to increase the public impact of their work.

"Our aim is to encourage creative practitioners and artists to maximise their income-generating potential."

Through CBV, a scheme that has recently finished after nine years, £5m has been invested in small ventures, creating 730 jobs since 1999 and helping safeguard 530.

The fund has also helped at least 800 businesses to start or grow.

Among individuals who received funding and advice before setting up business have been Scott Henshall - an international designer and celebrity - and Hannah Campion, an acclaimed emerging fine artist.

The CDSI programme has been credited as having a massive impact on the future of the region's creative economy. By December, it will have committed £32.2m to the sector's development.

At least 6,600 businesses and more than 3,000 people will have benefited from the money.

One's Design and Creative Industries Investment Fund, run in conjunction with NStar, also commits millions to small businesses. Mr Adamson said the importance of funding to the creative economy's future was vital.

"The kind of support and guidance that is on offer really is crucial. So often, we have found that businesses aren't sure where to go and how to progress, so for the future of the creative economy, the support needs to be made accessible and relevant to businesses," he said.

"This kind of help, whether financial or business advice, can be invaluable and help small businesses to grow, diversify and become strong, vibrant ventures.

"This can only be good for the region, and help this already important sector grow further."

Anna's life in show business

SINGER Anna Reay started her business with £2,500- worth of funding three years ago and now plays to audiences across the world.

Gateshead-born Ms Reay graduated from Sunderland University with a degree in music, and a CBV grant enabled her to buy equipment.

Her repertoire features solo performances, as well as those backed by the Anna Reay Band.

She has performed at major events in the UK and abroad, and is a regular cruise ship entertainer.

Ms Reay sings a range of material, from classical to jazz and modern pop.

"I'm a really versatile singer.

On the cruise ships, it tends to be jazz and light pop, whereas at home it can be anything from soul to rock n roll and current chart material," she said.

Getting creative - North-East success stories

■ GATESHEAD QUAYSIDE

A SYMBOL of the region's cultural success, the Quayside has become one of the most recognisable scenes in the UK. The £70m Sage, a centre for musical education, performance and conferences, was opened in 2004.

It includes one of the best 1,700 seater acoustic performance theatres in the country.

The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Arts, converted from a Fifties flour mill, was opened in 2002 after a £50m investment.

Almost three million people have visited the venue to see exhibitions and art displays.

The Millennium Bridge is positioned between the two and was built at a cost of £22m. It was installed in late-2000, opening a year later, and has won design and innovation awards for its "blinking eye" function.

■ ANGEL OF THE NORTH

THE 200-tonne steel figure, left, on a hill near the A1, in Gateshead, has become a North-East landmark.

Designed by Antony Gormley, it was erected on Valentine's Day 1998, and is seen by an estimated 90,000 people a day and at least 400,000 people visit the sculpture each year.

Costing £800,000, it has the wingspan of a Boeing 767, and is one of the UK's best-loved pieces of art.

In 2002, the Angel was voted one of the eight "Wonders of Britain", alongside The Houses of Parliament, Stonehenge and Windsor Castle.

In 2001, it was named by the BBC as one of the classic designs of the 20th Century.

■ MIMA, MIDDLESBROUGH

THE Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (mima) gallery, opened last year and brought Middlesbrough's collections of art together under one roof for the first time.

Built at a cost of £19m and designed by Dutch architect Erick van Egeraat in his first British commission, mima includes work dating from 1900. Artists including LS Lowry and Tracey Emin have their work on show. It includes five galleries, two project spaces and a conservation studio.

■ SCOTT HENSHALL

FROM starting out as a budding "fashionista", winning national competitions since he was 14 years old, Scott Henshall is a big name on the UK fashion scene.

Backed by Arts Council funding while he was a student at Northumbria University, Hartlepoolbased Mr Henshall set up a design business in 1998.

He created the most expensive dress ever made, encrusted with £5m-worth of diamonds, in 2004, which was worn by singer Samantha Mumba at the premiere of Spider- Man 2. Mr Henshall has also dressed celebrities including Kylie Minogue, Victoria Beckham and Denise van Outen.

Despite being a regular on the London fashion scene, and his appearances on TV shows including I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, Mr Henshall continues to spend most of his time at his Hartlepool studio.

■ HANNAH CAMPION

FINE artist Hannah Campion is widely tipped to be one of the leading names in the global art sector.

Ms Campion, from Redcar, has exhibited at some of the most wellknown galleries in the world, and was able to start out in 2003 with funding from CBV.

She discovered her talent for painting while studying fine art at Loughborough University. As an accomplished scuba diver, free diver and underwater photographer, she collects source material from landscapes, seascapes and underwater environments including the Pacific, the Red Sea, Asia, Thailand and the Atlantic.

After setting up Hannah Campion Fine Art, she held her first solo exhibition at The Hilton Park Lane, in London, in 2004.

More exhibitions followed, including at the Beverley Knowles Fine Art studio, in London, Mall Galleries, in London, and the AAF international art fair, in New York.

In August, Ms Campion will host an Asian exhibition in Kuala Lumpur.

10:01am Tuesday 22nd April 2008

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