Baltic Centre For Contemporary Art - Reception

Reception

Publicly Baltic’s profile has been considered rocky and despite its youth it has experienced three directorial changes and has fallen foul to much public gossip and speculation. The founding director, Sune Nordgren was appointed in 1997 and was integral in Baltic's pre-launch period, having overseen the building of the gallery and witnessed the first one million visitors through the doors. After almost six years, Nordgren left to take up a new post as founding Director of the National Museum for Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, Norway. He was briefly succeeded by Stephen Snoddy who was only with the organisation for one year. Snoddy was succeeded as Director by Peter Doroshenko in 2005, who approached the challenge with plans to increase visitor numbers and resolve the financial situation. Doroshenko organized several exhibitions during his time at the BALTIC, including 'Spank the Monkey.' In November 2007, Doroshenko left the gallery to head up the Pinchuk Art Centre in Kiev, Ukraine. Since 2008 the director has been Godfrey Worsdale, founding director of the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art.

BALTIC has in only five years welcomed more than 2.5 millions visitors, with an additional 1 million virtually in the last year alone through its websites, webcasts, podcasts and Library and Archive facility. BALTIC has exhibited nearly 200 artists from 24 countries, including Anish Kapoor, Sam Taylor-Wood, Antony Gormley, Lev Manovich, Ed and Nancy Kienholz and Spencer Tunick. BALTIC has commissioned over 30 new works, enabling it to support established and emerging artists.

In the summer of 2007 Baltic celebrated its fifth birthday with a Beryl Cook exhibition and the opening of Quay, a new Learning and Community Centre within the gallery. This new resource, created following a donation of £500,000 by Rootstein Hopkins Foundation enables BALTIC to widen its education remit to work both on and off site, encouraging more people, young and old, to interact and experience contemporary art ‘up close and personal’. Each year BALTIC provides formal education for over 10,000 school children, during nearly 400 sessions ranging from art clubs, photography courses, artist talks and artist-led workshops.

On 20 September 2007 BALTIC management contacted Northumbria Police for advice regarding whether or not a photograph should be displayed as part of the Thanksgiving installation, a forthcoming exhibition by American photographer Nan Goldin. The photograph entitled Klara and Edda belly-dancing (which, along with the rest of the installation, is part of the Sir Elton John Photography Collection) features two naked young girls and had previously been exhibited around the world without objections. The installation, which had been scheduled for a four-month exhibition, opened with the remaining photographs but closed after just nine days at the request of the owner.

In 2011 the Baltic was the venue for the Turner Prize, this was the first time the event has been held outside of a London or Liverpool Tate in its 25 years. The Turner Prize exhibition at the Baltic attracted over 149,000 visitors, more than at any previous Turner Prize exhibition.