New Energy: Holly Bailey captures the heart and soul of the North East  

NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI) has announced that Holly Bailey has been named the winner of a competition with Newcastle College Group (NCG), where graphic design students were set a creative challenge to create a bold, eye-catching piece of artwork that captured the heart and soul of the North East. 

This was part of North East England’s presence at UKREiiF 2025 and demonstrated a commitment to giving emerging and young talent a platform to shine. Initiatives and collaborative projects like this highlight the region’s collaborative spirit and collective ambition to support and nurture future generations. 

Holly’s design stood out for its visually striking style, commercial potential, and clear interpretation of the brief – celebrating the region’s unique character in a fresh and compelling way. 

Holly’s winning artwork will be featured across NGI’s digital channels and published on the leading regional news platform, Bdaily. 

The competition received some fantastic entries, and NGI was grateful to have the support of Pete Mallon, Managing Director at North East Times, and Kieron Goldsborough, Managing Director at Different Narrative, to help judge the submissions. Their input was invaluable in selecting Holly’s work from such a strong field. 

This design competition was the final piece in a wider and very rewarding partnership with NCG, which brought real energy, creativity, and community impact to the North East’s programme of activity at UKREiiF this year. 

To help turn heads – and start conversations – the college’s performing arts students delivered a surprise flashmob that lit up the Dockside Zone and certainly disrupted a few lunch meetings. Their dynamic performance captured attention and made sure the North East was heard loud and clear. 

After the flashmob, music students performed live, providing the perfect backdrop during the networking receptions and showcasing just how rich the region’s creative pipeline truly is. North East pianist Ben Lawrence, a former student at The Glasshouse’s Centre for Advanced Training, also performed, helping celebrate 20 years of that iconic institution’s social and economic impact. 

NGI is proud to promote Newcastle, Gateshead and the wider North East as a fantastic place to live, work, visit and invest. But doing that well means elevating all voices – especially the next generation who will help shape the future. 

This partnership with NCG is a perfect example of putting those principles into practice – not only by spotlighting emerging talent like Holly’s, but by creating real platforms for young people to be seen, heard, and celebrated. 

Congratulations again to Holly, and thank you to the entire team at NCG. Anyone interested in working on a future campaign or helping to amplify the work of the next generation is encouraged to get in touch.