The mighty Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art will lead the project in the north east. Photo: Jon Pratty. © 24 Hour Museum.

From Baltic in the north to Fabrica in the south, art galleries are getting together to take part in a new research programme.

The so-called gallery clusters will work in partnership with local arts and education groups, as well as a higher education institution in their area, on the en-quire programme.

Led by engage, the national association for gallery education, en-quire will explore the special contribution galleries and the visual arts can make to education.

"It’s very much in response to some of the other research that’s gone on in the last two years," Barbara Taylor, en-quire Programme Director, told the 24 Hour Museum.

Brighton's Fabrica will form a partnership with other galleries in the area, as well as universities. Photo by Doug Devaney.

Previously director of Bury St Edmonds Art Gallery, Barbara is a former Arts Council Officer and will co-ordinate the 18-month project.

"There’s a feeling that galleries working with contemporary art do the things that museums do in terms of the direct relationship between students and the artefacts," she added.

"But there are other factors and the whole programme is designed to explore those other factors that make the work galleries do, so special."

Funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Education and Skills, en-quire will be delivered in consultation with Arts Council England and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA).

It will fund additional gallery and artists’ projects for schools in the selected clusters, researching how gallery education projects help participants to learn.

engage is the UK's national association for gallery education.

Areas of learning looked at will include curricular subjects and extra-curricular topics, as well as the ability to learn and access cultural experiences more generally.

The nominated lead galleries are Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in the North East, Whitechapel Art Gallery in east London and a partnership of Fabrica, the Towner Art Gallery and Museum and the De La Warr Pavilion in the south.

As well as partner galleries, arts centres and teachers networks, the clusters will work alongside four higher education institutions: the Universities of Sussex, Newcastle and Northumbria and the Institute of Education in London.

The institutions have been specifically chosen for their involvement in visual arts, gallery and education research.

Eastbourne's Towner Art Gallery is forming a south coast partnership with Fabrica in Brighton and the De La Warr Pavilion in Hastings. Courtesy Towner Art Gallery and Museum.

At the end of the 18 months, a report will be written and seminars will be held to help circulate the findings, allowing them to be accessed by the wider sector.

"Baltic is delighted to be nominated as one of the lead galleries in the new en-quire programme," said Judy Thomas, Acting Head of Education and Public Programme.

"Baltic works closely with an excellent network of arts organisations and institutions in the region and en-quire will provide a fantastic opportunity for us to build upon the innovative work that already takes place."

Her words were echoed by Iwona Blazwick, Director of Whitechapel Art Gallery: "Whitechapel Art Gallery has a long track record as one of the pioneers in gallery education, with a deep commitment to public access and education," she said.

"en-quire offers us an exciting opportunity to play our part in helping move forward the thinking and theorising about learning through art, in order to enrich work with schools both here at the Whitechapel and in the gallery sector more widely."