North East Heritage Forum 2024 puts a spotlight on the future of the heritage sector

These questions were discussed at our recent North East Heritage Forum, which we arranged in partnership with Historic England. This annual forum is a chance for professionals in the heritage sector to come together and examine  current issues, explore opportunities and learn from each other. 

This year’s event took place on the afternoon of Tuesday 26 November, in the stunning Great Hall at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne. It began with a Marketplace, where attendees could visit the stalls of heritage organisations and chat to them about their work. Market Places stalls included: 

• Historic England & the North East Culture Partnership with consultation about the creation of a new North East Heritage Network 
• Curious Arts and LGBTQIA+ histories of North East England 
• The National Lottery Heritage Fund 
• North East Museums 
• Locomotion, Shildon, County Durham & S&DR 200 

Delegates were welcomed to the venue by Keith Merrin, Director of the newly rebranded North East Museums, formerly Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums. The Museum service has been given a new name and look to better reflect its work, which has now expanded into Northumberland. 

Carol Pyrah, CEO of Urban Green Newcastle and Chair and a Trustee of the England, North Committee of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Chair of the Heritage Forum gave an introduction. Tom Frater, Regional Director – North East and Yorkshire, Historic England then set the scene and gave some context to the discussions of the day. 

In the first session, Carol Pyrah chaired a panel with key figures involved with the North East devolution deal, to discuss what opportunities the newly formed North East Combined Authority might hold for the heritage sector. On the panel were:

• Mark Adamson, Principal Sectoral Growth and Delivery Manager, North East Combined Authority 
• Alison Clark, Head of Culture, Sport and Tourism, Durham County Council 
• Tom Frater, Regional Director, North East and Yorkshire, Historic England 
• Heather Orton, Principal Manager for Housing and Infrastructure, North East Combined Authority 

Session two was a quick-fire round of presentations on learning, skills and engagement in the sector. 

• Tess Gale, Historic England Sector Resilience and Skills Director gave a national perspective on the subject, including the skills required for retrofitting buildings. 
• Dr Carol Davenport, Associate Professor and Director of NUSTEM at Northumbria University and Liz Ferguson, Learning Manager, Museums Northumberland spoke about a project focused on learning STEM subjects in heritage spaces.
• Sofia Barton, a multidisciplinary artist based in Newcastle, spoke of her work which tells stories of the culturally diverse heritage of North East England. 
• John Castling, Archaeology Curator at The Auckland Project, Bishop Auckland discussed pathways into a career in archaeology, and was joined by archaeology student Annabelle Scullion who shared her experience of getting into the field.
• To close the session, Michelle Stone, Principal Skills Manager, North East Combined Authority  outlined some of the new authority’s plans for skills development across the region.

The last formal session was a breakout session, in which delegates were asked to work with the people at their table to discuss what the heritage sector might look like in three years. Some key themes across the groups were increasing and future-proofing the skills capacity of the sector, more collaboration between organisations/freelancers, more social prescribing and the evolution of AI. A report on this session is being prepared and will be sent to all delegates and to decision makers at the new combined authority. There was also a lot of discussion about how those in the room can share their knowledge and have influence within the North East Combined Authority and with funders. 

The day closed with some informal networking and the opportunity to visit Discovery Museum’s current Steam to Green exhibition, which explores the story of energy in the North East.

Feedback from delegates about the event was very positive.  Here’s a snapshot:

“It was interesting to hear from NECA staff and how heritage can feed into wider NE/UK funding and it was well balanced with independent project speakers.”

“Useful delegate pack and thoughtful planning. Event structure worked well. Quality of content good, including well-pitched chairing and focused Q&A. Networking opportunity quite good, not too cliquey (“Market Place” conversation opportunities helped with that).”

“As a disabled attendee, accessibility within the venue & event was excellent with ramp, lifts & friendly staff throughout. On screen live transcription of dialogue is also a fabulous feature of all NECP forums.”

“A great range of speakers and case studies, and a great range of delegates. It would be good to encourage out of sector attendees, who could learn from some of the amazing opportunities there are in working with the Heritage Sector, and also some of the challenges we’re facing, which they could help us support. Also an amazing choice of venue – really helped get the creative juices flowing.”

“In no particular order- the speakers, the structuring of the forum, stalls, networking time, range of people, freelance bursaries, the beautiful venue and it being across an afternoon and into the evening rather than a full 10-5 day. It was really informative to hear about the North of Tyne Combined Authority, Devolution, what that will mean for Arts and Heritage. Interesting conversations around building preservation v’s heritage and intangible cultural heritage. Really insightful afternoon.”

Feedback also included useful suggestions about the format of the event, how to facilitate networking beyond the event, and possible locations for any future events. The North East Culture Partnership always gives consideration to feedback from events to inform future planning. 

The North East Heritage Forum was organised by North East Culture Partnership and Historic England. We’d like to thank the speakers for giving their time and energy to help us create an informative event, and the delegates for their engagement both on the day and in giving us their feedback. Thank you to Discovery Museum and North East Museums for allowing us to use their stunning heritage building to host the event. 

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