Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums wins ‘Uniquely North East Award’ at Charity Awards

Image: (L-R) Phil Kite, Chair of Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums Development Trust, Sheryl McGregor, Head of Communications, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, Keith Merrin, Director, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and Helen Cadzow, Trustee, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums

Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums (TWAM), the organisation that manages some of the most popular venues in the region, won the Uniquely North East award at last night’s North East Charity Awards.

TWAM manages 4 museums, 3 art galleries, 2 Roman forts and 1 Archive, taking care of 1.1 million objects including collections of art, natural history, science and technology, archaeology, military, social history and fashion. It shares the stories of the North East past and present and access to all but one of its venues is free and all are free to under 16s, to ensure as many people as possible can visit.

The Uniquely North East award recognises ‘home-grown’ charities that are focused on supporting local communities and local heritage that have made a real difference to life in the North East. 

Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums Development Trust is the charity which enables TWAM to deliver its full range of activity supporting communities across the North East.

Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums’ learning teams deliver an award-winning programme of formal and informal learning activities focused on natural history, visual art, science, technology, engineering and maths, plus local heritage, inspiring 150,000 children and young people each year.

Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums has a strong legacy of using its collections to engage the communities of Tyneside - connecting creativity, health and wellbeing. Over 20 years it has developed programmes that recognise the positive health impacts of cultural participation. Working with partners, it runs projects, (in venues, the community, clinical settings and online) hosts special events, offers social prescribing opportunities, provides training, creates resources and more.  

During the year 2022/23 TWAM venues welcomed around 0.7 million visitors, enabled over 150,000 children and young people to take part in visits and activities, engaged 6,000 local people in community programmes, plus 559 volunteers gave almost 20,000 hours of their time to support the organisation. 

Keith Merrin, Director of Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, said: 

“We are absolutely thrilled to have won this award. It recognises the importance of art, culture and heritage in the North East and our mission to ensure everyone has access to our museums and galleries. We see first-hand every day the difference it makes to our communities to engage with culture and heritage and it's wonderful to have this celebrated. 

“We are incredibly grateful to all of our funders, sponsors, supporters and trustees who help us to keep showcasing our region’s awesome culture and heritage and to support our local communities.”

Highlights over the last year included:

Working with communities to share more diverse stories
This included piloting community-led research with people from South Asian, African and Caribbean diaspora communities. The group explored themes of empire, migration, and life in Britain with staff at Discovery Museum, to identify opportunities to tell more stories representing their communities. The output was a display about 16 Inspirational Women of Colour who enrich the North East in healthcare, science, education, activism and politics and an exhibition exploring an untold story about North East shipbuilding and Indian Indentureship. 

Providing personal development opportunities and a warm welcome
The Multaka North East programme for refugees and asylum seekers provides volunteer opportunities in museums so that new arrivals can learn more about the North East, make friends, gain language and employability skills. TWAM leads ‘Volunteer Here’, a new programme with 9 other cultural venues in Newcastle and Gateshead providing cultural volunteering opportunities for unemployed young people and older people living in isolation to enable them to connect, help others, learn new skills, gain confidence, and enjoy new experiences.

Promoting the North East’s outstanding art and heritage
In autumn 2022 the Lindisfarne Gospels, the most spectacular surviving manuscript from Anglo-Saxon England, was at the heart of an exhibition at the Laing Art Gallery on loan from the British Library. This provided a special opportunity for local people to see the Lindisfarne Gospels in the North East, where they were created. The exhibition attracted 56,784 visitors, 1,500 community engagements, 27,000 children and young people took part in activities, and 96 people volunteered.

Breaking down barriers
Ways to Play, a partnership with Tyne and Wear Metro, promoted accessible, free, family activities at museums across Tyneside and encouraged visitors to bring children for free on the Metro. The award-winning partnership was formed around shared values and objectives - to break down inequalities in accessing both museums and transport - so all families can enjoy good value days out. 

Supporting wellbeing
St Nicholas Hospital Heritage and Wellbeing Project used museum venues, collections and activities to support the recovery of patients on two mental health wards at the hospital. The project involved object handling sessions, visits to museums and art galleries and creative activities.