A SPOTLESS PERFORMANCE; Baltic team makes a clean sweep at awards.

Byline: LINDA RICHARDS 

IT'S a work of art keeping the Baltic spick and span.

And the Gateshead Council team, who make sure the contemporary art gallery is always looking its best, have cleaned up at an awards ceremony.

The 11-strong team who clean the 3,000 square metres of artists studios, cinema, lecture theatre, library, offices, restaurants and five galleries, swept the floor with fellow competitors at the Kimberley Clark Golden Service Awards.

Taking the title for the best cleaned public sector building, the team were the only local authority nominees from a total of 77 finalists.

Millions of visitors have passed through the doors of the Baltic Gallery for Contemporary Visual Art since it opened in July 2002 and a host of famous names have exhibited their work.

And since the opening, Karen Pape has been on standby, mop in hand, to make sure the building is as stunning as the artwork it showcases.

"I love it," said Karen, 46, a mother-of-four and grandmotherof-two. "We don't touch the art, we clean around it.

"We are really busy, and changeover days are a nightmare, when they take down an exhibition to put up another. You have to see it to believe it - it's like a builder's site."

The team each work 15 hours a week, with one person on site in between times, polishing, dusting and scrubbing, using run-of-the-mill cleaning tools like mops, polish, dusters and vacuum cleaners but bringing out the heavy artillery in the shape of specialist machines to clean the slate floor on the ground floor and mop up any paint spillages.

Karen, from Windy Nook, Felling, Gateshead, loves the views from the converted flour mill, especially when the Tall Ships are in town but she has mixed feelings on the art.

"Some of it I like, but you get some strange art in the Baltic, so some I'm not so keen on," said Karen, who has also rubbed shoulders with some of the artists. "I've met Antony Gormley and Yoko Ono. I only spoke a few words to Antony Gormley, Yoko Ono was really nice, and she's so small. She said she loved the views from the Baltic and thought the local people were really nice."

Fellow worker Cath Horner, 58, a mother-of-two from Felling, has worked at the Baltic for four years and for Gateshead Council for 15.

"I think it's excellent to have won the award. We work very hard here and it's nice to be recognised," she said.

"Everyone pulls together, we've got a really good team."

Dale Robson, Gateshead Council head of transport, cleaning and catering, said: "I think any visitor to such a prestigious and impressive attraction will have very high expectations, and I know our staff put in a great deal of effort to make sure that they are not let down when it comes to keeping the place spick and span.

"I'm delighted that we've picked up this award, as it really reflects the hard work and high standards that our staff work to."

James Johnson, head of building services at Baltic, said: "The team's tireless hard work and dedication has earned them this prestigious award and guarantees that Baltic looks its very best at all times," he added.

"As one of Gateshead's landmark buildings, it's important that the very highest standards are maintained for our visitors, and this accolade illustrates that the team continue to deliver.

"Myself and all the staff at Baltic would like to congratulate them on receiving this acclaimed national award and thank them for their continued commitment."

CAPTION(S):

TIDY WORK: Gateshead Council cleaners at the Baltic with their awards PANE RELIEF: One of the cleaners cleaning the windows at The Baltic. Right, cleaner Cath Horner