The Late Shows are a one weekend annual cultural initiative developed in Tyne & Wear since 2007. They are intended to attract new audiences to museums and galleries. They have become the largest programme organised in the United Kingdom for the ' Museums at Night Festival'. The Late Shows on teeshirts

History

The programme started as a one-night event with 14 cultural venues taking part including

Discovery Museum The Discovery Museum is a science museum and local history museum situated in Blandford Square in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It displays many exhibits of local history, including the ship, ''Turbinia''. It is managed by Tyne & Wear Archives ...

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and the

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. All the venues stayed open late and put on free events and exhibitions, which aimed to entice a new, younger audience through their doors. From the outset many different agencies came together to open their doors and this has continued. In mid-May 2013, more than 50 attractions feature in what an arts site for the region describes as "The North East’s legendary culture crawl, The Late Shows". An

Arts Council of England The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

case study demonstrates its impact. That report gives headline information thus "In 2009, 54 events held over two nights across the 29 venues taking part attracted 15,116 visitors. This involved nine commissions, 126 artists and four education sessions. The total audience, including print, broadcast and online was 701,800. The Late Shows 2010 has built on that success with over 19,500 people heading to NewcastleGateshead's museums and galleries after-hours. We supported The Late Shows with £25,000 of National Lottery funding from our Grants for the arts scheme. Support from other partner organisations included £39.974 from Culture 10, £8,703 from North East Regional Museums Hub and £17,990 of support in kind from the participating venues". In 2013 The Late Shows were a bronze award winner at the North East England Tourism awards.

Selected notable venues

North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers exterior with The Late Shows banner

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* Moorbank Botanic Gardens (now closed) *

Hatton Gallery The Hatton Gallery is Newcastle University's art gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is based in the University's Fine Art Building. The Hatton Gallery briefly closed in February 2016 for a £3.8 million redevelopment and reopened in ...

Tyne and Wear Archives Service Tyne and Wear Archives (formerly known as Tyne and Wear Archives Service) is the record office for the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Tyne and Wear Archives preserve documents relating to the area from the 12th to th ...

North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers The North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers (NEIMME), commonly known as The Mining Institute, is a British Royal Chartered learned society and membership organisation dedicated to advancing science and technology in the N ...

Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne The Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne (or the ''Lit & Phil'' as it is popularly known) is a historical library in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and the largest independent library outside London. The library is still avai ...

* Bessie Surtees House

Selected notable artists

Julia Vogl Julia Vogl is an artist originally from Washington, D.C. who lives and works in London, England. She is a social sculptor, and primarily makes public art. Through a process of community engagement, her works build bright color into existing ar ...

Jenny Holzer Jenny Holzer (born July 29, 1950) is an American neo-conceptual artist, based in Hoosick, New York. The main focus of her work is the delivery of words and ideas in public spaces and includes large-scale installations, advertising billboards, ...

References

External links

Bill Griffiths entry on London Museum's blog. Evaluation Case Study.Bill Griffith's explains the ethos and functionality of The Late Shows in the Culture 24 Museums at Night site.The Late Shows main page.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Late Shows Festivals in Tyne and Wear Nightlife Arts festivals in England Culture in Newcastle upon Tyne Gateshead Tourist attractions in Newcastle upon Tyne