The Customs House launch art competition to celebrate 30 years

South Shields top theatre venue, The Customs House are set to celebrate their 30th anniversary this year.

The Customs House is a highly regarded entertainment venue located at Mill Dam in South Shields. The venue hosts various theatre productions including an annual Christmas pantomime, comedy, music performances and more, as well as having its own cinema, which offers tickets at affordable prices.

It has also played a crucial role in showcasing local talent from people of all ages and abilities, and some of the famous faces from the North East such as Chris and Rosie Ramsey, Jade Thirlwall, Jason Cook and Joe McElderry have performed there early in their careers, with some of them still continuing to perform in the space.

This year, The Customs House will celebrate their 30 year anniversary, and they are calling on the community to get involved in the celebrations.

To mark the start of the 30 year anniversary celebrations, they have launched a competition for the public to enter, which is named Fill The Frame.

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Fill The Frame is an art competition, where original work can be submitted to The South Shields Arts Centre, with the theme; What does The Customs House mean to you?

The competition officially launched on Friday, October 27 and will run until Wednesday, November 29.

The competition is open to all, and submissions can include a drawing, painting or digital design.

The winner of the competition will have their artwork transformed into a 6 metre high banner which will be displayed outside of the venue for several months.

There will also be an anniversary celebration gallery exhibition which will take place in January 2024, where selected pieces of artwork from the competition will be displayed.

Executive Director of The Customs House, Ray Spencer commented, “Shows filled with laughter, love, music, and mayhem. Celebrations and traditions which make magic memories.

“After almost 30 years of serving our community, we want to know what we mean to you. How do you sum it all up in just one memorial image that tells the world?

“We can’t wait to see your responses and share many of them in a special gallery exhibition and of course one very lucky winner will be our Birthday Banner. Let’s create something incredibly special.”

For more information on how to enter the Fill The Frame competition, please visit www.customshouse.co.uk/get-involved.