Member Article

Regeneration Success in Middlesbrough

mima’s (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) success has exceeded expectations with 80% of projected annual visitor numbers achieved in its first six months of opening, building confidence in the regeneration currently underway in the Tees Valley. More than 81,000 people have visited the £14.2m gallery since its opening in January which has led to increased visitor numbers and money spent in the region.

mima opened to the public on Saturday 27 January with a spectacular firework display where thousands gathered on Centre Square to watch. Many queued outside for the chance to be one of the first to see inside the new gallery designed by Erick van Egeraat Associates. The inaugural exhibition ‘Draw’ attracting national and international media attention featured works by Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol and Gavin Turk.

Godfrey Worsdale, mima Director, said: “We are delighted with the overwhelmingly positive feedback mima has received since opening. We have welcomed over 81,000 visitors to the gallery so far and with our changing exhibition programme and the range of activities and events we offer, we hope that visitors will come back again and again. We know some of our visitors have already been several times in just six months.”

The gallery attracted funding from Middlesbrough Council, Arts Council England, One NorthEast, European Regional Development Fund, Northern Rock Foundation and The Christina Foyle Foundation.

Stacy Hall, Director of Communications and Tourism at One NorthEast said: “We are proud to have made a significant contribution to the funding of mima and are delighted by the success of regeneration taking place in Middlesbrough. mima is a fantastic asset to the Tees Valley and complements the regeneration going on in creation of the nearby BoHo Zone as well as the redevelopment at Middlehaven. “mima is a significant asset in the cultural and economic regeneration strategy for Middlesbrough and the Tees Valley - its success also leading to increasingly positive perceptions of the region.”

Councillor David Budd, Executive Member for Economic Regeneration and Culture, Middlesbrough Council said: “We are thrilled with the success of mima, the square and the many regeneration projects currently underway in Middlesbrough. I don’t think that the local community really believed how investment would change the area, until they started to see it with their own eyes. This and future developments will help to recreate the ambition and aspirations so vital to the success of the Tees Valley.”

James Bustard, Head of Visual Arts, Arts Council England, North East said: “We had every confidence that mima would capture the public’s imagination in its opening year but this level of response has been overwhelming. People in the Tees Valley have voted with their feet and the message is clear: there is an enthusiastic and growing audience in the North East for contemporary visual art, well promoted and displayed in an excellent venue.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .