For Our Communities
Baltic’s programme for communities asks how can we be a good neighbour to the people around us?
We collaborate with organisations and individuals based in Gateshead and further afield, working together on creative projects which respond to the ideas and concerns of people and their neighbourhoods.
Our work onsite at Baltic centres around creating space for encounters where everybody feels welcome and facilitating social connections between people to build understanding and solidarity.
We also offer a range of activities and longer-term projects in community settings with an ethos of mutual learning, exchange and care. We aim to find points of connection with people and groups, working collaboratively with artists and community members on creative projects that have shared purpose.
Join the Sanctuary and Culture Network
Make the North East a More Welcoming Place Through Arts and Culture
Are you passionate about building a more inclusive, welcoming region for people with lived experience of displacement? Whether you’re an artist, cultural worker, academic, refugee-led organisation, volunteer, or simply someone who cares about social justice – you are warmly invited to join the Sanctuary and Culture Network.
The network brings together people and organisations across the North East to share knowledge, strengthen access to the arts, and create sustainable opportunities for people seeking sanctuary. We believe culture has the power to connect us, and that everyone should have access to creative spaces where they feel seen, safe, and heard.
Together, we:
- Share ideas and resources through regular meetings
- Identify areas of need, opportunity, and collaboration
- Work collectively to build a vibrant cultural offer that includes and supports people resettling or temporarily living in our region
Now in its fourth year, the network is currently coordinated by D6: Culture in Transit and Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. Along with Baltic and D6, North East Museums was a founding member. We meet quarterly throughout the year at different cultural venues and community spaces. Meetings include practical workshops, discussion sessions, and informal opportunities to connect. We also keep in touch via a Google group.
The network is not formally constituted but aims to provide a mutually-supportive space to come together to take collective action.
Everyone is welcome. Whether you’re new to this work or already active in the sector, we would love for you to be part of shaping a more equitable cultural future in the North East.
Interested in joining or finding out more? Contact annieb@balticmill.com.
Let’s come together to ensure that the North East is not just a place of sanctuary, but a place where everyone can thrive through culture and creativity.
Neighbourly
A long-term focus for Baltic’s communities programme centres around providing welcome and support for people with experience of migration and displacement. Known as Neighbourly, this programme includes, but is not limited to, bringing people together to celebrate cultural and faith events, facilitating spaces for shared conversation, making and food, language learning support, wellbeing and skills development.
Neighbourly programmes and events include:
Celebrations and Special Events
We collaborate with organisations and individuals to co-create cultural and faith-based events which bring people together in peaceful and purposeful ways, creating space for community togetherness, sharing and mutual learning.
Ongoing events include:
Find out more about our Learning and Teaching
Donate to keep Baltic free
As a registered charity, donations to Baltic are crucial as rising costs threaten our ability to
- Keep our exhibitions free entry and accessible to everyone
- Preserve support and opportunities for our communities to thrive
- Maintain our historical and iconic building