Now here’s a situation that might make a very good period drama on the telly: the only daughter of an eminent Victorian banker and Liberal politician inherits much of her father’s wealth without having any of the obvious calls on her income (no children o…

Tour de Moon is a unique, immersive and free (FREE!) festival, which is touring three UK cities. Newcastle is one of them. Not many festivals celebrate the relationship between the earth and the moon through a series of thought-provoking, exciting and ori…

You’ll find plenty of budding Hepworths and Hockenys at the Newcastle University Fine Art Graduate Class of 2020 showcase. 2020? Of course! This is the first time Newcastle University BA Fine Art graduates have had to display their final degree work (some…

We love Ryan Gander’s ‘Ghost Shop’, a betting shop in Sunderland city centre made entirely of glass. And it’s just one of four major glasswork commissions that are now open to the public at sites across the north-east. Ryan Gander’s ‘Ghost Shop’ is as nea…

They’re happy because Country Durham has been shortlisted for UK City of Culture status. And then there was four. From a longlist of 20, there are now just four locations competing to secure UK City of Culture status in 2025. Bradford, Southampton and Wre…

You can see Bethan Maddocks’ work in four different venues in Northumberland over the coming months. If you’re in the mood for a real ‘Northumberland Menagerie’ then you’ll go a bundle for this series of exhibitions, which use animals to tell stories of c…

An exhibition of vintage railway posters is currently on show at Ushaw in Durham. Is there anything more evocative of the golden age of travel than a beautifully designed poster? (Answer: no.) This superb exhibition has 40 of them – all sourced from priva…

Newcastle-based artist Simon Terry casts his arty gaze over a wide-range of subjects in a new show in Gateshead. It’s a mystery to me why some artists only concentrate on one type of subject matter. I’ve no such qualms with Simon Terry, however, as his wo…

The Laing Art Gallery are celebrating the rich quality and sheer diversity of watercolour. Watercolour paintings are often associated with twee landscapes, the kind of which are churned out by weekend dabblers, but, as this exhibition ably demonstrates, t…

Grayson Perry’s tapestries – chronicling the life story of a fictional Sunderland man – are back in the city. Grayson Perry remains one of the most well-known, and best-loved, artists in the UK and his hugely popular series of six tapestries, The Vanity o…

What is ‘Earth Requiem’ and what does it have to do with The Sunderland Indie? Read on for the facts that matter. ‘Earth Requiem’ is an ambitious exhibition and series events – organised by The Sunderland Indie – which aims to showcase creative responses …

Mounira Al Solh’s work draws from the artist’s personal conversations and encounters with those who have been affected by conflict. It’s strange how people can often find a grim humour in the face of war. Mounira Al Solh sometimes does, and that is eviden…

We adore the paintings of Ruth Murray, and a collection of her work is coming to The Old School Gallery in Alnmouth. We love Ruth Murray’s paintings because of two things: her content and style. Her content consists of mainly female subjects depicted in c…

‘Permanent Marker’ is a solo exhibition by Manchester-based artist Nina Chua, which you can see at Workplace Foundation. I love the feeling you get when you pop the top off a brand new marker pen (and no, I not talking about the heady aroma). When you’re …