South Tyneside wind farm maintenance base teams up with Newcastle art gallery to invest in local artwork

The base, at the Port of Tyne, will work alongside Gallagher & Turner to permanently display artwork from artists across the North East.

It represents a major investment in the region’s creative industry with more than 30 pieces set to be displayed.

Employees at the operations and maintenance base have helped to select what artwork will be displayed at the site, which was officially opened last month.

Clare Turner, a partner at Gallagher & Turner, has welcomed the opportunity that has been presented to the art gallery from Dogger Bank Wind Farm.

She said: “The request to provide art for the Dogger Bank Operations and Maintenance base was an amazing opportunity for us to be able to assemble a portfolio of unique pieces  by artists who work in the region.

“We immediately felt creatives whose practice relates to the local  environment, the narratives of the Tyne, the North Sea coast, its history and the unique power of the landscape  of the North East, were going to connect best with all our shared environmental concerns.

“We were also  delighted to be asked to work with an organisation that is making a profound effort to connect with the local  area commercially as well as visually by supporting a small independent art gallery.”

Among the pieces featured at the base, the art works will include a new Ringed Plover painted commission by Paul Henery, as well as two new large scale glass commissions created by Crispian Heath.

As part of the work between Dogger Bank and Gallagher & Turner, a yearly purchase prize will be in place for art students at the University of Sunderland and Newcastle University for the next four years - with the selected works to be displayed at the facility.

The partnership will also see plans to commission three original murals that will be displayed by working with the local community, South Tyneside Council and Foundation Press.

Felicity Wann, the operations leader at Dogger Bank Wind Farm, commented: “We wanted our new O&M base to  reflect the Dogger Bank strategy of investing in the local community, as well as giving employees the  opportunity to shape the O&M base and really make it their own.

“By investing in art by local artists we have  been able to do both these things.

“Working with a fantastic local gallery, who guided us throughout and  ensured we have a cohesive collection, reflecting the Dogger Bank environmental focus and the landscapes of  North East England, has made the whole process a joy.”

Costing £9billion, Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm and it will be capable of powering one in five UK homes by 2026.

The renewable energy deployment is a joint project which sees SSE Renewables as the lead operator for development and construction, and Norwegian energy giant Equinor as the lead operator of the wind farm on completion.

The colossal farm will begin generating power in 2023, from its first phase – Dogger Bank A – and go on to provide about 5% of the UK’s entire energy needs by 2026, when phases B and C will also both be online.

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