The North East Culture Partnership and Case for Culture

The North East Culture Partnership is delighted to once again be one of the sponsors for the North East Culture Awards, which showcase the amazing cultural activity taking place across the region.

In 2013 the North East Local Authorities had the vision to establish the North East Culture Partnership (NECP) as a strategic and independent voice for the cultural sector for the North East.

In 2015 a 15-year commitment was made with the publication of the ‘North East Case for Culture’ – an ongoing campaign and set of events led by NECP to encourage greater investment and support for arts and heritage in the North East.

The Case for Culture was launched at Durham Castle and at the Houses of Parliament in 2015 as a positive statement of ambition for a 15 year period to 2030. Created through engagement with the culture sector itself, Case for Culture built on the strengths of the region’s diverse creative communities and made the case for sustained investment in arts and heritage of the North East of England.

In 2022 we refreshed the Case for Culture to reflect the major economic challenges which the sector faces as it recovers from the impacts of Covid and we are now delighted to see that culture is such a positive theme within the new North East Combined Authority.

The North East Culture Partnership is excited about the opportunities which devolution can bring for the culture sector, North East communities and particularly children and young people.

NECP has worked to encourage widespread support from the culture sector for North East Devolution through our events and online engagement with the region's cultural sector and we continue to make the case for more national funding to be invested in the region to enable our arts and heritage organisations to grow and thrive.