Nicholas Craig column

Jul 8 2005 By Nicholas Craig, The Journal

A sense of belonging. Without it, commercial concepts fall flat on their face, particularly in this region, which remains coolly unimpressed with London-led ideas.

Lifestore, Marks & Spencer's ill-fated idea, took only 10 months, and a whacking £50m, before it admitted defeat.

Baltic, the mini-me Tate Modern, has alienated many local people with its shaky choice of exhibitions.

Many visitors still prefer to use it as a lift shaft to get views of the city, or as a café stop, post-Millennium Bridge stroll.

This week we have learned that Danish furniture retailer Ilva will take over the Lifestore building. Fewer concepts will be on show, but just as much cutting edge design as Marks & Spencer could offer, in a building that is easy to understand and appreciate.

At the same time, the Baltic is hoping to encourage up to 7,000 local people to crouch naked for the latest `artwork' by an American artist. Art? Exhibitionism? A quick way to get BBC 3 interest but another splinter in the synchronicity between gallery and regional approval. Public art thrives in the region - notably the Angel of the North, but also Conversation Piece at South Shields, Tyne Anew at Royal Quays, Edward Paolozzi at Central Square and the sprinkling of large and small sculptures along the Quayside.

As a region we are enthusiastic about new, strong, surprising concepts that mesh with and enhance the landscape.

The Tate Modern's fantastic collections provide artistic excellence all year long in a great building that satisfies "arty" classes and "non-arty" people alike.

The Baltic is a superb building without the breathtaking collections or visiting exhibitions that guarantee good local and national audiences.

Now it appears to be going for shock value to win media coverage. Whether that will convert into visitor numbers has yet to be seen.

What is definite is that affected notions in retail and culture get short shrift in the North-East.

Lifestore decided to celebrate its opening in 2004 with an exhibition at the Baltic. Its `Lifeweek' was publicised with the slogan: "Now imagine an empty living room, it can be any size as long as it's bare." What a frighteningly accurate forecast.

Nicholas Craig is a partner at Watson Burton LLP