Art - What’s On | The Crack Magazine

Innovation Platform

Innovation Platform will inspire visitors with the inventiveness and ingenuity in rail. This exhibition highlights emerging ideas and extraordinary achievements from across the rail industry. Showcasing the latest and greatest in rail innovation, Innovation Platform celebrates the creative by focusing not only on the technology itself, but by giving just as much attention to the context in which objects were developed. Through imaginative problem-solving and original thinking, the railways are progressing, armed with technologies designed to improve all aspects of the industry. The Innovation Platform will show the very best of these to those who will feel their benefit most greatly—you!

Venue:: Locomotion, (previously Shildon Locomotion Museum), Dale Road Industrial Estate, Dale Road, Shildon, County Durham, DL4 2RE
Date:: Jan 11th 2023 - Dec 24th 2024
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Hannah Perry: Manual Labour

A major body of new work that considers labour, motherhood and class. British artist Hannah Perry works across installation, sculpture, film and printmaking. Perry continuously generates and manipulates materials to develop a sprawling network of references. The result is an often candid, and personal exploration of mental and emotional health in our contemporary, hyper-networked society.

Venue:: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Date:: Jun 22nd 2024 - Mar 16th 2025
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00
Price:: Free

SCRAN! A history of Food & Drink in South Tyneside

Food and drink is the mouth-watering theme for South Shields Museum’s latest exhibition. The exhibition charts the story of food and drink across South Tyneside and celebrates the traditional cuisine of the North East, from regional favourites such as stottie cakes and leek pudding, to singing hinnies and panaculty. In this exhibition, visitors can discover South Tyneside’s evolving food and drink story, from Roman times up to the present day, and learn of the origins of some of the borough’s most iconic eateries, including Colmans fish and chips, Dicksons pork butchers and Minchella & Co’s ice cream.

Venue:: South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, Ocean Road, South Shields, NE33 2JA
Date:: Jul 18th 2023 - Jan 25th 2025
Opening Times:: Sat 11:00 - 16:00 , Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Kith and Kinship: Cornish and Lowry

Experience rarely seen and often overlooked works by Northern artists, Norman Cornish and L S Lowry, in this powerful exhibition celebrating the region’s distinctive industry, emotive landscapes and playful recreation activities. Over 50 of the artists’ paintings, drawings and sketchbooks spotlight their friends, neighbours, passers-by and relatives in familiar scenes from across the region. Working with people from the communities they depicted, the Museum will build new and varied interpretations of the works; bringing to life the relevance of these pieces today and how they resonate with a sense of place, hope and aspiration.

Venue:: The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8NP
Date:: Jul 20th 2024 - Jan 19th 2025
Opening Times:: Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: £17.50/under 18s Free

Angels of the North

An exploration of angels in Ushaw’s collections through a display of art and theology objects and archives from our permanent holdings.

Venue:: Ushaw: Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, Woodland Road, Durham, DH7 9RH
Date:: Nov 9th 2024 - Jan 26th 2025
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:: Adults £10 / Children £6 / under 5s free / annual memberships available

Romey Chaffer: Tipping Points

A selling exhibition of new work by well-known Durham- based artist Romey Chaffer exploring themes of ecology and landscape.

Venue:: Ushaw: Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, Woodland Road, Durham, DH7 9RH
Date:: Nov 9th 2024 - Jan 26th 2025
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:: Adults £10 / Children £6 / under 5s free / annual memberships available

Houghton Art Club: Group Show

A group exhibition of new work by members of Houghton Art Club. The selling exhibition includes oils, drawings and watercolours.

Venue:: Ushaw: Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, Woodland Road, Durham, DH7 9RH
Date:: Nov 9th 2024 - Jan 26th 2025
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:: Adults £10 / Children £6 / under 5s free / annual memberships available

Steam to Green: A North East Energy Revolution

Discovery Museum’s major new exhibition will tell the story of energy and the climate crisis in the North East by looking back to the industrial revolution, and forward to the pioneering contributions in green technologies happening now across the region. With exciting new displays, science and engineering objects from the museums’ historical collections, and new interactives, Steam to Green will demystify new technologies and showcase how the North East is leading the way once more.

Venue:: Discovery Museum, (Closed on all Bank Holidays) Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4JA
Date:: Jul 20th 2024 - Jul 20th 2026
Opening Times:: Sat-Sun 11:00 - 16:00 , Mon-Fri 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Franki Raffles: Photography, Activism, Campaign Works

The first major retrospective exhibition of feminist, activist, social documentary photographer Franki Raffles (1955–1994). Raffles documented the lives of women in the UK, predominantly in Scotland, and during travels with her family in the 1980s across the Soviet Union (Russia, Georgia and Ukraine), China, Zimbabwe, the Caribbean, Israel and Palestine. In Edinburgh she worked as a freelance photographer with schools and women’s groups. Her photography focused attention on women’s lives and their work, addressing issues such as inequality, gendered violence, disability, activism and sisterhood.

Venue:: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Date:: May 11th 2024 - Mar 16th 2025
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00
Price:: Free

Ian Macdonald: Shooting Time

A retrospective exhibition across two venues – Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens and Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art – exploring 40 years of work by renowned British photographer Ian Macdonald. Ian Macdonald has spent four decades recording life, working class communities, industry (and its decline) and the landscape of the North East of England since the late 1960’s. A master printmaker, Macdonald has sensitively documented the overwhelming pace of change faced by the North East during a sustained period of deindustrialisation and social upheaval which accelerated through the late 1970s and 1980s.

Venue:: Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Mowbray Gardens, Burdon Road, Sunderland, SR1 1PP
Date:: Jul 20th 2024 - Feb 1st 2025
Opening Times:: Mon-Fri 09:30 - 17:00 , Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

You Look Like You by Michael Sreenan

In 2021, Michael suffered a traumatic brain injury which resulted in various aspects of his life being affected. Some of these effects included trouble with abstract thinking, a flat emotional response, fatigue, and communication problems. ‘You Look Like You’ is an ongoing project that explores thoughts and experiences of the recovery process. Continued reflection informs the project; as life changes, the project will also change.

Venue:: Redcar Contemporary Art Gallery, 13 West Terrace, Redcar, TS10 1DS
Date:: Nov 8th 2024 - Dec 13th 2024
Opening Times:: Wed-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Precarious by Samba

Venue:: Redcar Contemporary Art Gallery, 13 West Terrace, Redcar, TS10 1DS
Date:: Nov 8th 2024 - Dec 13th 2024
Opening Times:: Wed-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Redcar Affordable Art Fair

Venue:: Redcar Contemporary Art Gallery, 13 West Terrace, Redcar, TS10 1DS
Date:: Nov 8th 2024 - Dec 13th 2024
Opening Times:: Wed-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art Collection Display

On display across National Glass Centre are a selection of photographic works taken from Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art’s Collection (NGCA). The photographic works were originally exhibited as part of exhibitions held at NGCA during its existence at Fawcett Street, Sunderland and now National Glass Centre. They delve into extraordinary worlds, mapping the contours of Alpine glaciers, a 3D model of a tree surrounded by a blanket of millions of individual crystals and document the lives of stage entertainers across the world from Las Vegas to India to Blackpool. Artworks on display by Michelle Allen, Alice Hawkins, Dan Holdsworth, John Kippin, Tim Mitchell, Kelly Richardson and Simon Roberts.

Venue:: Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, c/o National Glass Centre, Liberty Way, Sunderland, SR6 0GL
Date:: Jan 16th 2024 - Dec 31st 2024
Opening Times:: Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Coalface Drawers: 90 Years of the Pitmen Painters

In October 1934, Robert Lyon arrived in Ashington for the first time to deliver a class on Art Appreciation to a group of local mine workers. What began as a series of slideshow lectures soon developed into a career defining project for Lyon and a lifelong passion for the soon-to-be ‘Ashington Art Group’. Reuniting artworks and artefacts back together where it all began in Ashington, ‘Coalface Drawers’ offers an exciting opportunity to revisit the beginnings of the Pitmen Painters project and to celebrate their innovation and vision anew, nine decades on.

Venue:: Woodhorn Museum , Queen Elizabeth 2nd Country Park, Ashington, Northumberland, NE63 9YF
Date:: Oct 5th 2024 - Jan 5th 2025
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: £9.50/£8.50/under 18s Free

Art Cares

Art Cares is a transformative exhibition showcasing care experienced young people’s art works. Previously displayed in bus shelters across the region as part of the Art Stops project, the art works will be brought together as a whole collection at Bishop Auckland Town Hall. Young people are at the forefront of this exhibition, their artworks expressing the thoughts and messages that these young people are passionate about; showcasing their diversity and shouting out to the world . . .“Art cares”

Venue:: Bishop Auckland Town Hall, Market Place, Bishop Auckland, DL14 7NP
Date:: Sep 11th 2024 - Nov 30th 2024
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Invisible Visible

Being disabled can feel akin to being both invisible and hyper visible, without ever really feeling seen. Invisible Visible invites an unflinching foray into the individual and collective experiences of those with disabilities in the workplace, illustrating the stories that need to be centred in order to incite change towards a better world. This exhibition details seven unique and anonymous first-hand accounts of being disabled in the workplace, translated into visual language to incite conversations around a topic that is too often treated as taboo. With unabashed honesty the collection chronicles a narrative forgone by wider society, and which challenges the very foundation of our relationship with both work and disability.

Venue:: Bishop Auckland Town Hall, Market Place, Bishop Auckland, DL14 7NP
Date:: Sep 11th 2024 - Nov 30th 2024
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Artists Of Newcastle Arts Centre 24

This exhibition celebrates the creative practice of those who work and spend time in Newcastle Arts Centre buildings.

Venue:: Newcastle Arts Centre, 67 Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1SG
Date:: Nov 16th 2024 - Jan 1st 2025
Opening Times:: Sat 00:00 - 17:00 , Mon-Sat 09:30 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Towards New Worlds

A large-scale exhibition sharing fifteen artists’ experiences of seeing, hearing, feeling and sensing the contemporary world. The exhibition explores a rich variety of human perceptions and sensory experiences through works of art, which make connections between the artists’ internal worlds and their external environments. The artworks consider issues in the contemporary world, including justice, ecological consciousness, connectivity and care. Each of the artists involved is disabled, D/deaf and/or neurodivergent. The artists interpret their own perspectives, offering new insights for those encountering their work while recognising that we can never fully inhabit someone else’s experience.

Venue:: Mima, Centre Square, Middlesbrough, TS1 2AZ
Date:: Jul 19th 2024 - Feb 9th 2025
Opening Times:: Sun 12:00 - 16:00 , Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:30
Price:: Free

Mali Morris: Returning

The largest exhibition to date by this renowned British abstract painter, who studied at the Department of Fine Art, University of Newcastle, from 1963 -1968. She is best known for her use of fresh, vibrant colour, her paintings noted for their luminosity and translucence, characterised by a lightness of touch. The show features around 50 key works spanning 45 years, tracing the development of her painting from the early gestural and stained pieces to the more recent geometric layering.

Venue:: Hatton Gallery, The Quadrangle, University of Newcastle, 6 Kensington Terrace, Newcastle, NE1 7RU
Date:: Sep 14th 2024 - Jan 11th 2025
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Belonging

The word ‘belonging’ comes from the Old English word langian, which forms the root of ‘longing’. It means a sense of powerful emotional attachment to ‘my place’, where I am ‘at home’, and implies a sense of permanence. This exhibition highlights artworks from the Laing collection and explores the different forms of belonging. Geographical experiences of belonging are represented by local histories and landscapes. At first glance, maps appear scientific and trustworthy, but in the context of an exhibition, their status as an artwork – the product of human creation – is provoked.

Venue:: Laing Art Gallery, New Bridge Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8AG
Date:: Jul 20th 2024 - Nov 30th 2024
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:30
Price:: Free

Ted Holloway: A Bevin Boy Remembered

Eighty years ago, during the Second World War, artist Ted Holloway was conscripted to work in the coal mines as a Bevin Boy. This exhibition brings together a selection of his paintings and drawings spanning the course of his life and journey from miner to art teacher and professional artist, and reveals the enduring influence of mining on his work as an artist.

Venue:: Mining Art Gallery, Bishop Auckland, County Durham
Date:: Oct 19th 2024 - Jun 8th 2025
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:: £6/conc £4/child £3

Festival of Light

This exhibition celebrates secular and religious festivals of light, ancient and modern that characterise the winter period.

Venue:: EDAN Gallery, The Art Block, 74 Church Street, Seaham, County Durham, SR7 7HF
Date:: Nov 5th 2024 - Dec 22nd 2024
Opening Times:: Tue-Fri 11:00 - 15:00 , Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Recycling the River Tees

The river Tees runs through the heart of the Tees Valley, connecting local communities in both work and leisure. This exhibition created by artists and young people living in the Tees Valley features artworks inspired by the rivers natural and industrial heritage – all created using recycled materials!

Venue:: Kirkleatham Museum, Kirkleatham Village, Redcar, Cleveland, TS10 5NW
Date:: Jul 1st 2024 - Nov 30th 2024
Opening Times:: Sun and Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Microworld

A new touring exhibition featuring eight different digital creatures. Move around the space and play with the creatures to find out more about what they do and how you can interact with them, whether it is through movement or sound, or you can simply watch them in action. Microworld is an immersive space filled with digital creatures which through projection and animation encourage interaction, experimentation and play. The creatures communicate with each other and visitors. Sensors, projectors and screens in the space create an engaging and intuitive digital ecosystem.

Venue:: The Word, The National Centre for the Written Word, 45 Market Place, South Shields, NE33 1JF
Date:: Jul 15th 2024 - Jan 5th 2025
Opening Times:: Mon-Thu 09:00 - 19:00 , Fri 09:00 - 17:00 , Sat-Sun 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Paxton House: Crossing Borders

Paxton House: Crossing Borders reveals how the history of this magnificent Georgian house and its beautiful setting entwines the people of Berwick and the Borderlands. It tells the story of the Home family who built and owned Paxton House for over 250 years, through splendid costume, furniture, paintings and family histories. The exhibition is a new opportunity to discover the secrets and stories of this fascinating home, situated in Scotland, but at the same time Berwick’s ‘hidden gem,’ just over the border.

Venue:: Granary Gallery, Dewar’s Lane, Berwick-upon-Tweed, TD15 1HJ
Date:: Nov 9th 2024 - Feb 23rd 2025
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Under Durham: The Untold Stories

When you think about the history of Durham, what comes to mind? Beautiful architecture, rich and powerful people and the history you find in textbooks. But how often do we stop and think about the lives of ordinary people? This exhibition explores the past of Durham through the ordinary people who lived and worked here. The exhibition focuses on a few unique stories of individuals, objects for special celebrations, and objects used in everyday life – even some that you might recognise from home.

Venue:: Museum of Archaeology, Museum of Archaeology, Palace Green Library, Palace Green, Durham, County Durham, DH1 3RN
Date:: May 24th 2024 - Nov 21st 2024
Opening Times:: Mon 12:00 - 17:00 , Sun and Tue-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Neapolitan Nativity

Be dazzled by a monumental 18th-century Neapolitan Nativity scene. This remarkable Baroque créche, known in Italian as a presepe, is a giant Nativity scene staged in a true-life Neapolitan setting. Measuring a remarkable 11ft tall and 15ft wide, it is one of the most impressive and important examples outside Italy and brings together classical and Christian mythology with the traditional folk culture of everyday Naples. Over 421 individually carved figures make up the full nativity scene.

Venue:: Faith Museum, Auckland Palace, Market Place, Bishop Auckland, DL14 7NR
Date:: Nov 15th 2024 - Dec 31st 2024
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:30 - 16:00
Price:: Christmas at the Palace £20/under 16s £12.50

Pedagogue

Pedagogue (1988) is an agit-prop video made by Stuart Marshall, Neil Bartlett and Newcastle Polytechnic students. In a 10-minute performance to camera by performer Neil Bartlett, the video explores in comic style the implications of Section 28 – a British Government legislation (1988-2000/2003) prohibiting the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality in education. Watch the video in the Reading Room alongside books and archival materials that explore the legacy of artist Stuart Marshall, histories of AIDS activism, Section 28 and the Gender Recognition Act

Venue:: The NewBridge Project, Shieldfield Centre 4 - 8, Clarence Walk, off Stoddart St, Newcastle, NE2 1AL
Date:: Nov 20th 2024 - Dec 13th 2024
Opening Times:: Daily 12:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Knitted together: the Korean lives and legacies of Richard and Joan Rutt

Drawing on the objects and photographs of the main donors to the Korean collection at the Oriental Museum, Knitted Together details Richard and Joan Rutt’s 20 years living in South Korea in the immediate aftermath of the Korean War (1950 – 1953). Coinciding with the 70th anniversary of when Richard first arrived in Korea as a missionary in 1954, and 50 years since both Richard and Joan Rutt left Korea in 1974, the exhibition focuses on the influences of Korea on their lives, and the wide-ranging legacies of the couple.

Venue:: Oriental Museum, Elvet Hill, (off South Road), Durham, DH1 3TH
Date:: Sep 28th 2024 - May 4th 2025
Opening Times:: Sat-Sun 12:00 - 17:00 , Tue-Wed and Fri 10:00 - 17:00 , Thu 10:00 - 19:00
Price:: Free

Mike McCormack

The Museum’s latest commission has been created by contemporary North East artist Michael James McCormack (b. 1996) who was inspired by objects from The Bowes’ collection and historical records that he explored during his research at the Museum. The three original artworks are titled ‘Black Forest Waterfall’, ‘The Swan’ and ‘Château du Barry, Louveciennes’ (2024) and offer visitors a unique perspective of themes of lineage, storytelling, historical value and the interaction between humans and nature within the context of the Museum. Two paintings by Museum founder Joséphine Bowes have been playfully reimagined by McCormack and the central flag design plays tribute to the Museum’s iconic Silver Swan, one of the finest examples of 18th century automata in the world. McCormack’s designs will be displayed on three flagpoles located on the terrace in front of the building until Sunday 9th February. The artwork’s bold colours and abstract marks create a unique juxtaposition against the Museum’s stonework, something not to be missed.

Venue:: The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8NP
Date:: Jul 26th 2024 - Feb 9th 2025
Opening Times:: Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: £17.50/under 18s Free

A Sleave Unravelled: Work by Textile Artist Sue Bowhay Pringle

The exhibition takes its title from one of Shakespeare's many references to sleep as restorative rest, peace, innocence or death. Drawing inspiration from the landscapes and natural forms of Northumberland and Umbria, Italy, as well as architectural and literary references, the work explores the themes of change, memory, adjustment, scarring and repair.

Venue:: Bailiffgate Museum, 14 Bailiffgate, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 1LX
Date:: Oct 29th 2024 - Feb 2nd 2025
Opening Times:: Sun and Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: Adults £6/conc £5/children £1

Feathers and the Feminine

An exhibition by Interface Arts Durham inspired by artefact in the Oriental Museum that represent the feminine artefacts of Eastern culture. Showcasing the ceramic catalogue of Carolyn Corfield, and recognising her love of peacocks as a tribute.

Venue:: Oriental Museum, Elvet Hill, (off South Road), Durham, DH1 3TH
Date:: Sep 23rd 2024 - Feb 24th 2025
Opening Times:: Sat-Sun 12:00 - 17:00 , Tue-Wed and Fri 10:00 - 17:00 , Thu 10:00 - 19:00
Price:: Free

Portraits with Purpose: Continuing Bonds

In collaboration with St Oswald’s Hospice, artist Leanne Pearce created 12 poignant portraits, working with bereaved and pre-bereaved families who have accessed the hospice’s bereavement support and/or other care services. The collection celebrates the lives of loved ones, provides a positive, creative focus for grieving or pre-bereaved families, and supports them in their ‘continuing bonds’ process. The exhibition opens conversations about death, dying and grief while challenging some perceptions around ‘hospice care’.

Venue:: Newcastle Cathedral, Newcastle, NE1 1DF
Date:: Oct 26th 2024 - Nov 26th 2024
Opening Times:: Mon-Fri 08:00 - 18:00 , Sat-Sun 08:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Leap then Look | Play, Interact, Explore

The exhibition explores play, collaboration and materials. Featuring large, tactile sculptural objects and colourful assemblages, everything in the space is interactive. Lively, exciting and curiosity-filled, Play Interact Explore is designed to support and encourage taking part in different ways to create sculptures, take photographs, move things around, rock, roll, stack and play.

Venue:: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Date:: Oct 12th 2024 - Apr 27th 2025
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00
Price:: Free

Baltic Neighbourly Showcase | We all come from somewhere

A showcase of artwork and objects made in collaboration with the communities we know, we welcome, we work and create with. The presentation spotlights the idea of ‘welcome’ at Baltic and the people, objects, food, and stories that make it possible. We all came here from somewhere is an evolution of the relationships and ways of working which form part of our ongoing community activities known as Neighbourly, driven by the question: 'How can we be a good neighbour and support people seeking sanctuary to feel welcome and at home in the north east?'

Venue:: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Date:: Nov 8th 2024 - Feb 9th 2025
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00
Price:: Free

Happy Mart

Baltic’s latest pop-up Happy Mart is a collaboration between textile artist Bianco Perry and ceramicist Alex Sickling. Located on Ground Floor opposite Baltic Shop, Happy Mart brings together a playful mix of gifts and handmade decorative pieces to buy and make your home a little happier. Their work, all of it available to purchase, is inspired by finding humour in the everyday, being out in nature, hugging the dog and eating a Greggs together. 

Venue:: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Date:: Oct 12th 2024 - Mar 2nd 2025
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00
Price:: Free

Festival of Light

A stunning light projection and sparkling lighting installations are set to brighten the dark nights in Sunderland this autumn as the annual Festival of Light returns! A dazzling laser garden, a giant glitter ball and stunning new light projections are among the sparkling lighting displays to look forward to.

Venue:: Mowbray Park, Burdon Road, Sunderland, SR2 7DN
Date:: Oct 25th 2024 - Nov 24th 2024
Opening Times:: 25th Oct - 24th Nov 2024 TBC
Price:: £5.75adv

Yoko Ono: IMAGINE PEACE

During a time of significant and destabilising conflict across the world affecting communities near and far, Baltic will re-stage Yoko Ono’s IMAGINE PEACE  artwork on its building exterior with the artist’s blessing. Ono’s iconic IMAGINE PEACE billboard artwork has been seen across the globe as part of multiple street campaigns and gallery exhibitions. It was originally seen on Baltic’s exterior wall in 2008 as part of Baltic’s Yoko Ono exhibition Between the Sky and My Head. This 2024 installation of the banner coincides with International Day of Peace on Saturday 21 September, and encourages everyone -as Ono expresses- to “think peace, spread peace and act peace”.

Venue:: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Date:: Sep 19th 2024 - Dec 29th 2024
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00
Price:: Free

Revisualising Women’s work

Explore the changing nature of women’s work in Sunderland from World War II to the 1960s through historic images from the archives of Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens and the Antiquarian Society. This co-curated exhibition shows work generated in an ongoing collaborative project with University of Sunderland PHD student Sophie Piper and women artists living and working in Sunderland today.

Venue:: Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Mowbray Gardens, Burdon Road, Sunderland, SR1 1PP
Date:: Oct 12th 2024 - Jan 4th 2025
Opening Times:: Sat 10:00 - 16:00 , Mon-Fri 09:30 - 17:00
Price:: Free

I Wonder

Where does my story begin...? A word on a wall, a brushstroke on canvas, a performance on a stage. Unlock your inner wordsmith, artist or performer and discover a blank canvas for your imagination to run wild. Welcome to I Wonder; an interactive space designed to inspire creative freedom and offer the opportunity to delve into the many forms of storytelling.

Venue:: Seven Stories, The National Centre for Children’s Books, 30 Lime Street, Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ
Date:: Aug 15th 2024 - Jan 5th 2025
Opening Times:: Sun-Tue and Thu-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Sensory Journeys: Journey to the Cornfield

A unique inclusive sensory experience combining storytelling, sound effects, and play. The installation encourages you to use all your senses – sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing. It is especially suited for those with special or profound multiple learning difficulties. In June 2023, The National Gallery partnered with South Shields Museum and Art Gallery to bring John Constable, The Cornfield (1826) to South Tyneside’s Viking shopping centre in Jarrow. Sensory Journeys: Journey to the Cornfield provides a sensory exploration of the painting. The accompanying poem Journey to the Cornfield and associated sensory resources were created by Sensory Practitioner Julia Collar.

Venue:: The Word, The National Centre for the Written Word, 45 Market Place, South Shields, NE33 1JF
Date:: Aug 15th 2024 - Jan 5th 2025
Opening Times:: Mon-Thu 09:00 - 19:00 , Fri 09:00 - 17:00 , Sat-Sun 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Winter Selling Exhibition

An opportunity to view and buy work from a collection of regional artists and makers in this winter selling exhibition. Artwork will include framed prints, original paintings, textiles, jewellery and craft pieces alongside items for sale from the library shop. Artists include Corinne Lewis Ward, Melanie Kyles, Yvette Ja Hawkins, Bethan Laker, Louise Bradley, Bianco Perry, Ali Wilkes, Kath Rodger, Chun-Chao Chui, Kate Slaughter, Alex Sickling, Josie Brookes, Trish Turnbull and many more!

Venue:: Gateshead Central Library, Prince Consort Road, Gateshead, NE8 4LN
Date:: Oct 12th 2024 - Jan 11th 2025
Opening Times:: Mon and Thu 09:00 - 19:00 , Tue-Wed and Fri 09:00 - 17:00 , Sat 09:00 - 13:00
Price:: Free

Romance to Realities: The Northern Landscape and Shifting Identities

A new exhibition at the Laing Art Gallery explores over 200 years of landscape painting in the North of England and Scotland, focusing on the diverse and dramatic landscapes of the regions and how artists have depicted not only the world around us, but also our place within it. For centuries, the landscapes of the North have fascinated artists and this exhibition will focus on how these landscapes —urban, rural, land, sea, and sky— have changed. From the Romanticised visions of early artists to the more complex and sometimes harsh realities captured in later works, the paintings reveal not just the physical changes in the land, but also shifts in societal values and human experience.

Venue:: Laing Art Gallery, New Bridge Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8AG
Date:: Oct 5th 2024 - Apr 26th 2025
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:30
Price:: £7/£6

Routes and Roots: British Bangladeshi Stories of South Tyneside

This exhibition celebrates the year-long Shared Stories of South Tyneside project created in collaboration with representatives of the local British Bangladeshi community. Supported by South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, members of the local British Bangladesh community have shared their rich history through personal objects and photographs in this fascinating exhibition. The Shared Stories group engaged with the local community, inviting them to lend their beloved objects and nostalgic photographs for the exhibition.

Venue:: South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, Ocean Road, South Shields, NE33 2JA
Date:: Sep 1st 2024 - Dec 20th 2024
Opening Times:: Sat 11:00 - 16:00 , Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Exploring School Experiences through art

Emotion-Based School Non-Attendance (EBSNA) or Emotion Based School Avoidance (EBSA) are terms used for children and young people who find the school environment a difficult place. This Art Project uses art as a way for children and young people to express what makes school a challenging place for them, what it is like to ‘step into their shoes’ and help others better understand how they might be able to help. View the artworks on display in the corridor outside of the museum learning room.

Venue:: South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, Ocean Road, South Shields, NE33 2JA
Date:: Sep 1st 2024 - Dec 6th 2024
Opening Times:: Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00 , Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Shields, On the River Tyne

This exhibition spotlights a mezzotint print of J.M.W. Turner’s iconic watercolour, Shields, on the River Tyne, giving visitors an insight into the South Shields riverside area in the early nineteenth century through the eyes of one of Britain’s most celebrated artists. Turner closely supervised the engravers to ensure they faithfully captured the technical detail and spirit of his watercolour originals. It could take an engraver months, or even a year, to produce just one small print.

Venue:: South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, Ocean Road, South Shields, NE33 2JA
Date:: Sep 1st 2024 - Jan 23rd 2025
Opening Times:: Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00 , Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Brasília of the North

An exhibition exploring the ideas, personalities and broader social, cultural and political climate that underpinned the aspirations to transform Newcastle into a modernist city. During the 1960s, policymakers, planners and architects had the highest aspirations for Newcastle and the North East, imagining it being transformed into the ‘Brasília of the North’ – a shining north European equivalent to the futuristic new Brazilian capital city then emerging from the Cerrado savanna. This exhibition, which forms part of the Concrete Dreams project, explores the ideas, personalities and broader social, cultural and political climate that shaped these aspirations. It brings together a range of models, drawings, photographs, films, archival materials and other artefacts, relating to Tyneside’s 1960s and 1970s transformations.

Venue:: Farrell Centre, The Sir Terry Farrell Building, Eldon Place, Newcastle, NE1 7RD
Date:: Sep 19th 2024 - Jun 1st 2025
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

In League with Devils

With a keen eye for historic techniques and materials, the London-based American artist Michael Petry, casts mysterious objects and ritual appurtenance from silver, gold and bronze. For his installation At the Foot of the Gods, Petry cast dozens of bronze toes, each from someone in the arts or an athlete. The installation mimics the real-world problem of sculptures losing a nose, toe, or thumb, the most common accidental changes to the appearance of Classical works.

Venue:: Vane, 65 High St, Gateshead, NE8 2AP
Date:: Nov 14th 2024 - Dec 7th 2024
Opening Times:: Wed-Sat 12:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Winifred Nicholson: Cumbrian Rag Rugs

MIMA presents an exhibition dedicated to artist Winifred Nicholson’s relationship with the tradition of rag rug making. Best known for her luminous flower paintings, Nicholson (1893-1981) was an influential figure in British 20th century art. Presenting 28 rag rugs, many of which have never been shown in public, this exhibition shines a light on an unknown aspect of her work.

Venue:: Mima, Centre Square, Middlesbrough, TS1 2AZ
Date:: Oct 25th 2024 - Mar 23rd 2025
Opening Times:: Sun 12:00 - 16:00 , Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:30
Price:: Free

People's Art

Objects referred to as ‘popular art’ or ‘folk art’ were often beautiful, functional and part of daily life. They reflect our economic and social history and were often remarkably well made, evidenced by their survival for decades or more through constant use. Despite the historic and aesthetic importance of these objects we rarely ask ‘who was the artist?’, or consider their importance within the history of art and design. People’s Art will aim to elevate the profile of popular art by commissioning five contemporary artists to respond to selected objects loaned from Compton Verney’s Folk Art collection and from a private collection. The newly commissioned works will be shown alongside the loans, encouraging the visitor to think about the principles we apply when considering the value of art.

Venue:: National Glass Centre, Liberty Way, Sunderland, SR6 0GL
Date:: Oct 21st 2024 - Dec 1st 2024
Opening Times:: Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Framing Fashion: Art and Inspiration from a Private Collection of Vivienne Westwood

Fashion and art collide in a golden decade of design later this year, in this exciting new exhibition featuring some of Vivienne Westwood’s most recognisable creations from the mid 80s to the mid 90s. Framing Fashion: Art and Inspiration from a Private Collection of Vivienne Westwood will feature a new selection of the late iconic designer’s ensembles from the private collection of Peter Smithson, who has spent nearly 30 years adding to his compilation of her work. This captivating show will explore the inspiration Westwood took from paintings, sitters in portraits and the materials and techniques used by artists.

Venue:: The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8NP
Date:: Oct 19th 2024 - Mar 2nd 2025
Opening Times:: Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: £17.50/under 18s Free

Our County: The Children of Yesterday and Tomorrow

This exhibition explores the experiences of County Durham children at different points in history. From young people who left behind fascinating family records during the 1800s, to the glimpses we can see of children in Roman and Medieval periods, this show is a real eye-opener and shines a spotlight on a section of society who often don’t get to have their voices recorded in historic records. And not only will the show examine the different experiences of children at different times in history, it will also consider what issues and opportunities exist for young people in the County today.

Venue:: The Story, Mount Oswald, South Road, Durham, DH1 3TQ
Date:: Nov 2nd 2024 - May 5th 2025
Opening Times:: Sat-Sun 10:00 - 17:00 , Thu 00:00 - 19:00 , Mon-Fri 00:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Pete Wilkinson Exhibition

Pete Wilkinson is a photographer and filmmaker from Hexham. Although often shooting portraiture, architecture and design, the main focus of Pete’s photographic work is the landscape. By returning to and exploring the local area and the Tyne Valley of his youth, Pete looks to examine the role of landscape as a visual language and shared vocabulary, and how it can be used to communicate, resonate, and stimulate.

Venue:: Queen's Hall Arts Centre, Beaumont Street, Hexham, NE46 3LS
Date:: Nov 11th 2024 - May 12th 2025
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free