DJ wants an end to festival funding row
WEAPONS GIANT’S CASH IS BACKING EXHIBITION
RADIO DJ Lauren Laverne has spoken out as the Great Exhibition of the North organisers face a backlash over sponsorship from BAE Systems.
Ticket sales for gigs at the Sage have been frozen as organisers desperately try to keep artists on board.
Billed as the biggest event of 2018, the Great Exhibition of the North is made up of dozens of events, exhibitions and artwork to show off the North’s innovative talents.
Stephenson’s Rocket will be returning to the region for the 80-day exhibition and BBC broadcaster Ms Laverne has curated ‘the Great Northern Soundtrack’ gig series.
But after one of her chosen acts, Nadine Shah, said she would pull out over the sponsorship from weapons giant BAE, the DJ said their involvement raised questions.
On Twitter she said she had only been made aware of the sponsorship deal last week, after the exhibition’s programme unveiling.
Organisers and BAE Systems publicly announced the firm would be one of three premier partners on February 13.
Ms Laverne tweeted: “I was made aware of the sponsorship of @getnorth2018 by BAE Systems on Wednesday night.
“While Sage Gateshead’s programme is not funded by BAE, their involvement in the broader festival has raised questions for many of the artists on the line-up we have been developing, and for me.
“I am working with the team at @Sage_Gateshead in the hope of finding a solution that will allow our shows to go ahead. Please bear with us while we go through this process. Thank you.”
The Sage and the Baltic have both said they won’t accept funding from BAE, and that their content will be funded by Arts Council England.
Abigail Pogson, managing director at Sage Gateshead and Sarah Munro, director at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, released a joint statement and said: “Sage Gateshead and BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art acknowledge the concerns raised by artists, members of the artistic community and our partners in connection to the sponsorship of Great Exhibition of the North.
“We wish to reassure our artists, partners and stakeholders that Arts Council England are supporting the delivery of our artistic content, including the concerts, exhibitions and offsite commissions presented by Sage Gateshead and BALTIC. We are not in receipt of funds from BAE Systems.
“Our conversations and commissions with artists and partners began some months and years ago, well in advance of the announcement of BAE Systems as a premier partner of the Great Exhibition of the North.”
BAE Systems is among the world’s largest defence companies and one of the UK’s biggest manufacturers.
It has a large base in Washington, as well as centres at Preston and Barrow in Cumbria.
The company has said it is proud to sponsor the event as one of the largest employers in the North of England, employing more than 18,000 people.
A spokesperson for the firm said: “BAE Systems is supporting the Great Exhibition of the North as part of its commitment to address the UK skills shortage by encouraging more young people to consider science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) careers.”