GATESHEAD.- Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead is today announcing a major donation from North East musician Sting that kickstarts the art gallery’s fundraising campaign for an Endowment Fund. Having welcomed its 10 millionth visitor in April 2025, Baltic is looking to the future with an ambitious initiative to fundraise a £10 million Endowment Fund.

Championing Baltic as a beacon of creativity, Wallsend-born Sting has generously donated to Baltic to launch the Endowment Fund.

As the Most Visited Free Cultural Venue in the North East (VisitBritain), the annual investment income from the Fund will combat the ongoing challenge of rising costs that threaten free entry in a region where a third of children grow up in poverty. Annually, Baltic engages 183,000 children and young people through activities and programmes that enhance their confidence, skills, and wellbeing. The Endowment will safeguard this crucial activity and creative futures on Tyneside by sustaining free access to Baltic’s exhibitions, its iconic building, and creative learning and community programmes, year on year.

A 17-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter with an illustrious career in songwriting spanning five decades, Sting, managed by Martin Kierszenbaum/Cherrytree Music Company, will also give an exclusive music performance and Q&A at Baltic's flagship Fundraising Gala on 30 October 2025 to an audience of philanthropists and patrons of the arts, to further support the initiative.

Sting said: “For me this is about legacy. The culture of the North East made me who I am, and I am proud of those roots. I want to acknowledge how lucky I have been and pay that debt back. Giving to Baltic is a way of saying Thank You and ensuring that the next generation of young people on Tyneside have access to arts and culture.

"I’m hoping that my donation to Baltic’s Endowment Fund will encourage others to give. We need to do everything we can to safeguard public funding through the Arts Council and bolster philanthropic giving. This is about investing in the future of the North East. It’s about unleashing the creativity of children and young people so they can dream and think big”.

Baltic’s Fundraising Gala will also stage an auction of unique experiences, and art works donated by internationally renowned artists Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor and Cornelia Parker. Celebrated South Tyneside-born singer/songwriter Nadine Shah is confirmed to open the Gala’s proceedings.

Baltic Director, Sarah Munro said: “We are incredibly grateful to Sting for his generous donation which is a major step in establishing a crucially needed £10 million Endowment. We are a much-loved gallery, welcoming 400,000 visitors through our doors each year, platforming artists, connecting communities and inspiring children and young people. We need to preserve this for generations to come.

"Sting’s donation, and his performance at our Fundraising Gala will enable Baltic to leverage further support from donors and stakeholders. The Fund is key in our long-term strategy to protect Baltic’s sustainability and future success. We look forward to creating a memorable experience with Sting and Nadine Shah for our guests at the Gala on 30 October.”

Baltic Chair of Trustees, Kirsty Lang said: "The North East of England has a long history of creativity. New technologies that changed the world were invented in this region from the locomotive to the lightbulb and it is now the fastest growing region for video games development. We are fiercely proud of our Tyneside location. We want to nurture the creative spark in our young people so they can be optimistic about their future. Sting’s generous gift will help us do that.”

North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said: “A big part of my mission as Mayor is to inspire our children to think big and dream big from an early age, so that every child growing up in the North East has the confidence and skills to fulfil their potential. Our cultural centres have a huge role to play so it is amazing to see Sting and Baltic come together to launch this new Endowment to create exciting and programmes and activities for years to come. We are doing our bit with Kids Go Free travel in school holidays and cheap £1 fares on bus and Metro to help for young people to get to Baltic and fabulous free venues like it right across our region. This endowment will make sure Baltic continues to inspire the creative talents we want to see in future generations.”