Integrating Music and Art

Kate Maestri's Balustrade

Kate Maestri's impressive glass balustrade is immediately obvious, as it is now part of one of the most recognisable views on Tyneside.

A 200 metre ribbon of coloured glass, it overlooks the River Tyne, bringing a whole new dimension to views of the Tyne Bridge and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge.

The balustrade was designed to seamlessly integrate into the architecture of the building, defining the public route and connecting it to the public squares on either side.

The abstract blocks of colour are deliberately
minimal and transparent to create a splash of colour and light.

It is a focal point, drawing visitors into the heart of the concourse, a new 'urban living room' for Gateshead and the North East.

• It is made up of 101 panels in total, is 200 metres long and weighs 8,224 kilos.
• Or to maintain the musical theme, it is the same in length as 611 violins, 15 grand pianos or 2 Northern Sinfonia orchestras.

Kate is an architectural glass artist with a reputation for a number of high profile commissions, including several leading London hospitals, the Open University and financiers Morgan Stanley.

Another startling new work is hidden away in the lift area of the car park block behind The Sage Gateshead.

Rather than abandon this space to the purely functional, the Star Ceiling was designed by international artist Jo Fairfax as a new artwork to lift and light up the visitor experience at The Sage Gateshead.

• Star Ceiling represents the night sky and animates this otherwise plain space, adding an exciting new dimension to waiting for a lift.
• Suspended from the ceiling, Star Ceiling is made up of 116 fibre optics of different lengths.
• Hung in a grid format, the optics are pre-programmed to change colour, resulting in a flow of sparkling light.
• At the middle is a 600mm toughened glass lens which acts as a focal point and allows visitors in the car park block entrance to view the piece from above.
• The manufacture of Star Ceiling involved approximately 18,000 metres of sidesparkle fibre being fed into to 116 clear acrylic tubes ranging from 2 to 5 metres in length.

Both artworks continue Gateshead Council's policy of incorporating visual art into everyday spaces around the borough to improve the local environment for residents and visitors, challenge people's perception and response to public art, and bring about cultural regeneration through creative projects.