MEDIA RELEASE COURTESY OF: ARTSBANK

ArtsBank is a major new artistic initiative, privately funded, and based on Teesside. Successful local businessman Bryan Goodall (FRSA and chairman of the Hambleton Group) has assembled a group of like-minded directors, and has formed ArtsBank, with a £600k initial investment. ArtsBank is a Community Interest Company, and it aims to give a massive boost to the work of creative people across the north east, and beyond.

ArtsBank has acquired and converted a substantial Victorian property (the old HSBC bank) in the heart of the beautiful and spectacular resort of Saltburn-by-the-Sea. The whole building has been transformed into a five-floor gallery and centre for the arts, with something for everyone.

At its April opening, ArtsBank will showcase more than fifty visual artists. They are the cream of an enormous and rich crop of northern talent: painters, photographers, sculptors and craftspeople, from all generations. Some are renowned. Some are neglected. Some are unknown. But all deserve the widest exposure.

ArtsBank will make that exposure possible, by promoting the work of its artists on an unprecedented scale. Thanks to the established business background, the activities of the Saltburn commercial gallery and shop will be matched by access to a huge international online marketing facility, and to a large number of real buyers around the globe, via ArtsBank's website.

ArtsBank aims to present the work of all its artists without apology, and with pride, to the broadest community. Affordable prints (manufactured in-house to the highest standards) and original art, all hand crafted in the north east, will be delivered to the world, as well as being sold in Saltburn. ArtsBank will tour the country, promoting its artists at shows and fairs. And, as it's a Community Interest Company, ArtsBank's profits will be reinvested, to make the company stronger, and to help it expand.

Central aims for ArtsBank are to involve people from all backgrounds in the cultural life of the region, and to raise the cultural profile of an often-neglected area. ArtsBank hopes to inspire new creative work, across the media, and especially from the young. Outreach activities will strengthen ArtsBank's educational and community links. Classes and workshops will be run, developing ArtsBank’s association with schools, colleges, community groups and national organisations.

ArtsBank is also a live venue, hosting a wide range of events, talks, etc. Musicians and film-makers will finally have a local platform for their work, with regular performances and screenings at the Saltburn facility. In addition, a free-of-charge mini-cinema at ArtsBank will show each day short films of local interest, together with ArtsBank's own artist-profile movies, again made in-house.

The founders of ArtsBank are ordinary people, driven only by shared commitment to the cause, a passion for art, and an equivalent passion for north east.

Exhibitions will also demonstrate engagement with current issues, and with our shared heritage. The work on show at ArtsBank is not exclusively northern, but future shows will focus on major creative figures, most of whose work has its roots in the region.

The ArtsBank building will be open seven days a week, 10.00am until 5.00pm from Friday April 2nd 2010.