A LEADING figure on the Teesside arts scene is in the running for a national award.

Creative Factory Producer Gordon Dalton has been shortlisted in the National Campaign for the Arts' (NCA) Hearts For The Arts Awards 2020.

The awards celebrate the unsung heroes of Local Authorities who are championing the arts, often within a climate of severe financial challenges.

Gordon has been nominated for Best Arts Champion – Local Authority or Cultural Trust Worker.

Middlesbrough Council's Creative Factory is a key strand of the Great Place Tees Valley project, supported by Arts Council England, National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The Hearts For The Arts Awards shortlist was judged by representatives from some of this year's partners in the awards including Culture Counts, Wales Council for Voluntary Action, the Local Government Association and Voluntary Arts Wales.

The NCA partners said: "Gordon sounds like one of these vital mavens at the centre of creative networks.

"Not only does his work raise the profile of the visual arts in Middlesbrough, he's a connector for artists to find resources required to develop their talents.

"The importance of Gordon's work helping make these connections is easily forgotten when metrics come down to visitors/audience/clicks. "It's folk like Gordon who keep creativity alive in cities."

Gordon said: "Artists add so much life to Middlesbrough and Teesside, often without much reward or recognition. It's great that the work they do and the effects it has on our communities is being recognised."

Councillor Mieka Smiles, Middlesbrough Council's Executive member for Culture & Communities, said: "Middlesbrough is the cultural and artistic focal point of the Tees Valley, and Gordon is one the key players in a vibrant and exciting scene.

"This nomination is deserved recognition of his contribution - to win would be the icing on the cake,"

The winners of the Hearts For The Arts Awards 2020 will be announced on Valentine's Day, Friday, February 14. The winners will be selected from the shortlist by a panel of key arts industry experts and practitioners.

For more information on the shortlisted nominees, visit forthearts.org.uk/campaigns/hearts-for-the-arts.