Work is well under way on Sage Gateshead’s iconic concourse, transforming the ‘town square’ of the venue into an even more welcoming and enjoyable space for visitors.
The Box Office, bars, Brasserie and café will be refurbished, and a new private dining area will be created as well as pop up retail stands.
It is part of a £2 million capital programme that will also enable more part-standing gigs in Sage One, thanks to a new, quick-release seat system that will be installed later this year.
Managing Director Abigail Pogson said it was the first major refurbishment to take place since the building opened in 2004.
“As we celebrate our fifteenth year we want to reach more people and create more opportunities for a wider range of people,” she said.
“We want to ensure music is a central part of life and that access to arts and culture is part of life in the North East and part of the identity of Sage Gateshead.
“We’re improving the spaces where people come to spend time before a concert or a class, to drop in for a coffee or to meet friends. We’re going to upgrade audio in those spaces and put up digital screens so we can project and promote information about everything we have to offer.
“Taking the seats out to allow us to programme regular, part-standing gigs means we can attract a totally different range of artists and give audiences a different experience. It will also mean greater capacity in the hall (up to 2,000 people) whilst still retaining that fantastic intimate vibe you get in Sage One.
“Above all I hope that these improvements will mean more and more people want to use the building and connect with its work.”
Sage Gateshead was awarded £1.2 million in National Lottery funding through Arts Council England’s capital programme to enable the full project to go ahead.
This has been matched by generous donations and pledges of £800,000 from Gateshead Council, individuals, trusts and businesses from the North East and across the country, including The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust, Barbour Foundation, The Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust, The Foyle Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, Stuart Halbert Foundation, LNER Customer and Community Investment Fund (CCIF), Sir James Knott Trust and Wolfson Foundation, all recognising Sage Gateshead’s importance as the North’s leading centre for music.
North East firm Aptus Fit Out has undertaken the refurbishment. The full design team has included architects Howarth Litchfield and quantity surveyors Artis Consulting.
Sage Gateshead is open all year round and is free to visit, currently welcoming around 500,000 visitors a year. In the first phase of the work the Box Office will move from the East entrance to the West entrance. During this work there will be no disruption to customers visit to Sage Gateshead. Tickets can still be booked via our Box Office in person or on the telephone during our regular opening hours and customers can enter the building via the East and West entrances as usual and access to and from Sage Gateshead’s car park will remain unchanged.