CASE STUDY

Northern Art Prize

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Since winning a competitive pitch for the first Northern Art Prize we developed a national profile for this new competition and exhibition for artists in the Northern region.

Set up by a partnership of Logistik Ltd and Leeds City Council the Prize was born into an era of tremendous economic uncertainty and into a generation of culturally curious consumers with a large and growing appetite for contemporary art, symbolised by the expansion of Tate Modern. Relatively young and small, the Northern Art Prize became a champion for contemporary art in the North of England, as well as a must-attend event on the cultural calendar in Leeds.

The profile of the Prize grew significantly year on year, with coverage in The Guardian from the start. We secured a media partnership with Sky Arts and it was featured on BBC Radio 2’s The Arts Show with Claudia Winkleman, in addition to Art Review, AN and other trade media where the Prize was very well received, as well as widely across the regional press.

The Northern Art Prize attracted sponsorship from Arup, Leeds Metropolitan University and Welcome to Yorkshire. We secured sponsorship from Mint Hotel Leeds (the rebranded City Inn) and, in partnership with Welcome to Yorkshire, the Northern Art Prize became the catalyst for a new

 contemporary art map that included a special deal to attract visitors to stay at Mint Hotel.

Once established, we were able to introduce some fun, running a competition to find the best Northern Art Pies in collaboration with Boutique, and Culture Vultures with proceeds going to local charity Pyramid of Arts.

The Prize achieved trade, national and regional consumer coverage in print, broadcast and online media, resulting in 162 pieces of coverage with almost 1.5 million editorial opportunities to see.