The world-class Sage Gateshead is inviting local people to share their views about its planned name-change as it looks ahead to a new chapter and a post-pandemic future.
As it approaches its 20-year anniversary, the music centre is taking a new name to make it distinct from the adjacent new Sage conference centre which is taking shape on Gateshead quayside and to encompass its role in the community, which it has reflected upon during the pandemic. This Thursday it reveals details of a campaign inviting members of the public to have their say on ideas for the venue and what that new name should be.
This and its new "visual identity" are set to unveiled around September. The iconic music centre, designed by Norman Foster's company, opened on the banks of the Tyne in 2004 and takes its current name from The Sage Group, the local software company which is one of its patrons. The technology giant is now sponsoring the adjacent conference centre and arena which are under construction, having agreed a £10m naming rights deal.
Read more: New Gateshead conference centre to be sponsored by Sage
With this ambitious new development now set to be called The Sage when it opens in 2024, a change of title for the music centre was essential to avoid confusion. "We all agreed it was the right thing to do," said Sage Gateshead 's managing director Abigail Pogson.
But it also proves timely as in the wake of the pandemic the venue, a charity, has been taking stock - like most cultural venues - and is looking at how to best meet needs in a changing world, while taking its place in what will become a far busier Gateshead Quays. Abigail had earlier said there will be no public vote regarding the name - "no Sagey McSageface " as she put it, in reference to the humorous Boaty McBoatface which won a public vote to name a vessel in 2016.
But people's views, memories of their Sage experiences and ideas will all inspire the end decision. Ahead of Thursday's announcement she added: "We will use all of that as inspiration to feed into the new name and identity.
"A group of people within the organisation and led by our board hope to be in a position to announce that new name in the early autumn." Details of the music hall's new visual identity - including its logo - will follow in 2023, by which time the name will have bedded in and become familiar, she said, and the Sage will be preparing to play a part in a developed Gateshead Quays where the new businesses will come together to form a sparkling visitor destination.
And with the approach of the venue's 20th year, that milestone too will be used "as a way to signal a new era". This is an opportunity, she said, to affirm "who we are, how we want to be known and what we look like."
Over the years, during which the Sage is estimated to have contributed half a billion pounds to the regional economy, it has attracted millions of people from across the North East and beyond with a programme aimed at all ages and including a variety of music from classical concerts by its in-house Royal Northern Sinfonia orchestra to bands; events for children and community choirs.
It also focuses upon music learning and widened its online offering during the Covid crisis when it also talked to the local community about what they wanted from Sage and when it became evident just how important a role music can play in our wellbeing. The pandemic closure saw the Sage take a huge financial hit and prompted the launch of a three-year fund-raiser to get it back onto an even keel.
Alongside help from the Government's Culture Recovery Fund, this Crisis, Recovery and Renaissance campaign received donations of thousands of pounds which means the Sage is now in recovery and on track to reach its £3m target. Abigail said: "We are really, really overwhelmed and grateful for the support people have given us over these past few years - we simply would not have been here without that and the Government support."
Difficult decisions had to be made at the time to reduce costs and while it's not out of the woods yet, the remainder of the campaign should seal the deal. And now, with exciting new times ahead, she hopes that as many people as possible will participate in the new #sgchanges campaign.
This will run throughout the summer and asks everyone who value the Sage - audiences, artists and communities - to share their thoughts and ideas along with memories and photographs. When the new name is unveiled in the autumn, The Sage will at the same time unveil a fresh plan for music-making, in response to the past two years which it spent talking to communities about what live music means to them and how they see its future.
Of the new name Abigail says: "I hope it will encapsulate the range of what we do and what we mean for people".
She added: “We are one of the most active music charities in the UK, with musical memories made, friendships forged and careers born in our iconic Foster + Partners building and in activity across the region. We want to capture our first 20 years and look to the next 20 together.
Those interested in taking part in the campaign can have a say by sharing content on an online Story Wall on the Sage's website here or else by visiting the building in person to leave a message on a postcard or by using the hashtag #sgchanges to add a video message or photo on social media.
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