BALTIC is a major international centre for contemporary art situated on the south bank of the River Tyne in Gateshead, England and has welcomed over 6 million visitors since opening to the public in July 2002.
BALTIC presents a distinctive and ambitious programme of exhibitions and events, and is a world leader in the presentation and commissioning of contemporary visual art. Housed in a landmark ex-industrial building, BALTIC consists of 2,600 square metres of art space, making it the UK’s largest dedicated contemporary art institution.
BALTIC has gained an international reputation for its commissioning of cutting-edge temporary exhibitions. It has presented the work of over 300 artists from 52 countries in 183 exhibitions to date ranging from acclaimed figures such as Anish Kapoor, Steve McQueen, Antony Gormley, Susan Hiller, Yoko Ono, Ed and Nancy Kienholz, Daniel Buren, Jason Rhoades, Fiona Tan; through to emerging artists.
BALTIC 39 is home to the BxNU Institute of Contemporary Art. BxNU is the innovative partnership between BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and Northumbria University. Our organisations have come together with a shared vision to support creative talent development, ‘place-making’, public engagement and artistic excellence. BALTIC 39 is a vibrant community of practicing artists located on High Bridge in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne. This publicly accessible, cultural hub for contemporary art practice and research opened in April 2012 as a unique collaborative venture between Newcastle City Council, Arts Council England, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and Northumbria University.The BxNU Institute is a base for world-class teaching and mentorship in contemporary art practice and research, generated by the dynamic partnership between BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and Northumbria University.
BALTIC Professor Christine Borland and a network of internationally active artists, academics and curators lead the Institute’s energetic post graduate community, which includes the Northumbria-Sunderland AHRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Art and Design and the BxNU Master of Fine Arts course. It is also the studio base for Northumbria University’s Warwick Stafford and Woon Art Prize Fellows, the winners of two generous annual prizes aimed at early career practitioners in Fine Art.
The Institute fosters research and experimentation in curatorial and art practice through its lively programme of collaborative BxNU public events and discussions. The vibrant studio culture of postgraduate research at the BxNU Institute includes MFA, MRes and MA Fine Art and Education students as well as a large cohort of practice-based Fine Art PhD researchers. Teaching and supervision benefits from the Institute’s direct proximity to BALTIC’s stunning top floor galleries. These spaces are managed and programmed by the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and offer artists and guest curators the creative freedom to experiment and stretch the boundaries of critical art practice as well as being the site for the MFA graduating exhibition.
