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The Crack Magazine

Art

Michael Rakowitz: The Waiting Gardens of the North

Baltic has invited Michael Rakowitz to develop a major new commission in response to the idea of conflict to be presented in the Level 4 gallery. The artist has proposed to create a sprawling, immersive interior forest of trees, hedges, herbs, and medicinal plants that will be conceived and tended to in collaboration with local organisations. The project is imagined as a “Hanging Garden”, referencing the one in Babylon that is considered among the Seven Wonders of the World. The garden will be inhabited by Rakowitz’s cardboard sculptures that attempt to reappear the archaeological cultural heritage that has been looted or destroyed in Iraq and Syria since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Venue:
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Date:
Jul 15th 2023 - May 26th 2024
Opening Times:
Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00
Price:
Free, donations welcome

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

Cosmovisions on Land and Entangled Futures

A group exhibition that is being developed through a collaborative research project that seeks to investigate land rights and the social and political agency of nature from non-extractivist perspectives. The project has an interdisciplinary approach that focuses on practices that reveal worldviews at the intersections between land rights and climate justice, questioning and opposing Euro-capital-centric and dominant narratives. Based on experimentation and collaboration, the project explores formats that challenge the hierarchical structures of production and presentation of knowledge, incorporating the voices of artists, and collaboration and exchange in the development process.

Venue:
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Date:
Nov 18th 2023 - May 26th 2024
Opening Times:
Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00
Price:
Free

Len Tabner: Elements of Darkness

This new exhibition brings together a selection of Len Tabner’s drawings and paintings of Boulby Potash Mine on the North Yorkshire coast – the deepest mine in Britain. Len explored the unfamiliar underground world of the miner in the early 1980s, drawing and painting in situ in the mine.

Venue:
Mining Art Gallery, Bishop Auckland, County Durham
Date:
Nov 1st 2023 - Oct 27th 2024
Opening Times:
Sun and Wed-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:
£6/£3 child

Swords into Ploughshares, Knives into Jewels

A touring exhibition curated by Norman Cherry and Dauvit Alexander from Birmingham School of Jewellery. They have worked with 34 of the leading jewellery artists from around the world to re-use and repurpose knives into jewellery, in so doing removing them from circulation on the streets.

Venue:
The Redcar Palace, Palace 28, 28-29 Esplanade, Redcar, TS10 3AE
Date:
Feb 3rd 2024 - Apr 27th 2024
Opening Times:
Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:
Free

A Century of Wedding Gowns

A Century of Wedding Gowns, a display of around 70 wedding dresses, will be shown throughout the Ushaw Chapel Complex. Showcasing the exquisite craftsmanship and evolving trends that have defined one of the most memorable days in countless lives, experience a celebration of bridal fashion that spans several centuries.

Venue:
Ushaw: Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, Woodland Road, Durham, DH7 9RH
Date:
Mar 23rd 2024 - May 6th 2024
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:
Adult £10/child £6/under 5s Free

Dressing Room No.1

Born and raised in Bishop Auckland, photographer Sophie Teasdale has been delving behind the scenes into a world that we rarely get to see…backstage in theatres. For over a decade Sophie has photographed actors and musicians in the safe haven of their dressing rooms, from local North East venues to London’s West End, with the aim to capture that golden moment somewhere between real life and the bright lights of the stage.

Venue:
Bishop Auckland Town Hall, Market Place, Bishop Auckland, DL14 7NP
Date:
Mar 2nd 2024 - Jun 1st 2024
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
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

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Ushaw Editions

In collaboration with Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, a display of new work in response to residencies at Ushaw by contemporary artists Maite Cascón, Natasha Michaels and Lindsey Moran.

Venue:
Ushaw: Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, Woodland Road, Durham, DH7 9RH
Date:
Mar 23rd 2024 - Jun 23rd 2024
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:
Adult £10/child £6/under 5s Free

Keith Bell: An Eye For Nature

A selling exhibition of paintings by north east artist Keith Bell. Subjects include County Durham scenes and landscapes in the Lake District.

Venue:
Ushaw: Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, Woodland Road, Durham, DH7 9RH
Date:
Mar 5th 2024 - Apr 28th 2024
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:
Adult £10/child £6/under 5s Free

Matilda Bevan: Vein

Matilda Bevan creates paintings, drawings, monoprints and collages, that respond to a place and its history. She takes inspiration from photographs of rural environments and the work of English landscape painters of the past. For Vein, Bevan responds to the work of artist and writer Thomas Hennell (1903-1945) who documented the British countryside and its traditions and whose work is also included in the exhibition.

Venue:
Granary Gallery, Dewar’s Lane, Berwick-upon-Tweed, TD15 1HJ
Date:
Feb 10th 2024 - May 5th 2024
Opening Times:
Sun and Wed-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:
Free

BUILDING: An exhibition under construction

The Farrell Centre presents BUILDING: An exhibition under construction which will transform the exhibition galleries into live making spaces in an exploration of the process of building. Rather than open fully-formed, the public will witness the exhibition taking shape over four months via two live build projects, installations created by students and apprentices, audience participation, and a programme of workshops and events for all audiences.

Venue:
Farrell Centre, The Sir Terry Farrell Building, Eldon Place, Newcastle, NE1 7RD
Date:
Apr 3rd 2024 - Aug 18th 2024
Opening Times:
Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

John Bulmer: Northern Light

See Hartlepool during the 1960s as captured by legendary photographer John Bulmer before he shot to fame with his iconic images of the north for the Sunday Times magazine. Never shown in the town before, the photographs Bulmer took sixty years ago provide a fascinating record of the town during one moment in time.

Venue:
Hartlepool Art Gallery, The Tourist Information Centre, Church Square, Hartlepool, TS24 7EQ
Date:
Jan 27th 2024 - May 4th 2024
Opening Times:
Tue-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Murmuration

Immerse yourself in the world of birds, exploring avian symbolism in art and trace its significance across time and cultures. Murmuration presents a wide selection of work from artists and makers from various generations, backgrounds and contexts whose work ranges across drawing, sculpture, film and installation. Delve into the pivotal role birds play as indicators to the health of the environment, reflecting the urgent climate crisis and, through the work of artists and makers, ponder the metaphor of birds as messengers of home and belonging. Examine the complexity and nuance around the collecting of taxidermy, from its role as a teaching resource to its connections to scientific racism and colonial exploitation, and consider the ethical and cultural implications of preserving animals for study and display. Through this show, discover the profound relationships we share with birds; transcending species barriers and fostering kinship. Murmuration is a reminder of the common spaces we inhabit and the interconnectedness that binds us.

Venue:
The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8NP
Date:
Jan 27th 2024 - Jun 23rd 2024
Opening Times:
Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
£17.50/under 18s Free

Glass World

In recent years National Glass Centre has developed a permanent collection of international Studio Glass that includes work by artists from or based in thirty different countries, from Sweden to New Zealand and the United States to Japan. This exhibition presents a wide selection of the works held in our collection and creates an opportunity to celebrate the international reach of artists working in glass.

Venue:
National Glass Centre, Liberty Way, Sunderland, SR6 0GL
Date:
Oct 14th 2023 - May 30th 2024
Opening Times:
Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

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Nature and the Ideal: Pioneers of the British Landscape

This exhibition explores the origins and development of the landscape tradition, offering a selection of works by some of the most influential artists of the eighteenth century. Featuring masterpieces by Richard Wilson, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough and George Barret.

Venue:
Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, DL14 7NR
Date:
Mar 13th 2024 - Jun 23rd 2024
Opening Times:
Sun and Wed-Sat 11:00 - 15:00
Price:
£18/child £9

Wey Aye Lego Man 2024

A ground breaking collection of Lego man themed photography by talented neurodiverse artists from Newcastle and the surrounding region. This exhibition stands as a testament to creativity and diversity, showcasing a mesmerising blend of art and imagination.

Venue:
John Marley Centre, Muscott Grove, Newcastle, NE15 6TT
Date:
Apr 26th 2024 - May 3rd 2024
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 09:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Voices: contemporary art and craft from the Middle East and North Africa

An exhibition celebrating the work of emerging contemporary artists and designers from the Middle East and North Africa recently acquired by the Oriental Museum. The artists featured in the exhibition come from Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Yemen, Jordan and Palestine. Some still live in their home countries, while others have been forced to flee due to conflict or oppression. Working in a variety of media including digital collage, photography, mixed media, textile and ceramic their work highlights topics of identity, history and politics, while also drawing on traditional art and craft. Their work reflects the variety of artistic expression seen across the MENA region, there is no single, unifying style but many voices.

Venue:
Oriental Museum, Elvet Hill, (off South Road), Durham, DH1 3TH
Date:
Sep 29th 2023 - May 12th 2024
Opening Times:
Sat-Sun 12:00 - 17:00 , Tue-Wed and Fri 10:00 - 17:00 , Thu 10:00 - 19:00
Price:
Free

Merchant Navy: Tyneside Stories

A volunteer lead exhibition which takes a broad look at the Merchant Navy during the 20th and 21st centuries and the very big part it played and still plays in the lives of people on both sides of the Tyne. The exhibition materials cover everything from local shipping companies and repair yards, the world wars, the support and training offered to visiting seafarers of all nations, a boarding school for children who had lost a parent in the service, the Merchant Navy of today and the future, as well as stories from individuals and families.

Venue:
The Old Low Light, Clifford's Fort, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE30 1JA
Date:
Oct 10th 2023 - Apr 30th 2024
Opening Times:
Tue-Sat 10:00 - 15:00
Price:
£4/free for members

Seb Trend: XTRALIFE

Central to XTRALIFE is a series of ‘melted photographs’ in artist made frames produced specifically for the exhibition. This marks the first time the photographs have been exhibited together as a solo show and builds on Trend’s ongoing investigations into states of ‘in-between’: molten and solid, representation and abstraction, permanence and momentary.

Venue:
Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, c/o National Glass Centre, Liberty Way, Sunderland, SR6 0GL
Date:
Mar 9th 2024 - Jun 9th 2024
Opening Times:
Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Laura Lancaster: My Echo, My Shadow

My Echo, My Shadow is the largest solo show to date of British painter Laura Lancaster. Presenting new paintings and drawings made over the last few years My Echo, My Shadow delves into the current practice of one of the North East’s most celebrated and accomplished painters. The source of Lancaster’s paintings and drawings are found photographs, slides and cine films of strangers, purchased from online auction sites, flea markets and junk shops. She translates the lost and discarded memories into paintings which sit ambiguously between abstraction and figuration. The highly gestural, visceral and expressive application of paint allows the everyday and mundane to become surreal, grotesque and poignantly melancholic.

Venue:
Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, c/o National Glass Centre, Liberty Way, Sunderland, SR6 0GL
Date:
Mar 16th 2024 - Jun 30th 2024
Opening Times:
Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

See the world through a new lens. Explore the planet’s habitats, from sprawling urban metropolises to the deep polar seas, and meet the creatures that rely on these places. Come face to face with species at risk of extinction as well as those we’ve brought back from the brink. See first-hand how human activities, both good and bad, are shaping the natural world we rely on. The stunning photography will leave you truly inspired by the beauty and diversity of nature and hopefully give you a renewed drive to do what you can to protect it.

Venue:
Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Mowbray Gardens, Burdon Road, Sunderland, SR1 1PP
Date:
Feb 5th 2024 - May 7th 2024
Opening Times:
Sat 10:00 - 16:00 , Mon-Fri 09:30 - 17:00
Price:
Free

ARTIST ROOMS: Vija Celmins

Latvian American artist Vija Celmins (b. 1938) produces exquisitely intricate drawings and prints of natural phenomena, notably the ocean, spider webs and the night sky. Her painstakingly slow method of composition is characterised by the extraordinary precision of her approach across a variety of media, and her persistent return to certain subjects. Based upon close observation of photographs, her delicate-seeming work addresses subjects that are both powerful and timeless.

Venue:
Hatton Gallery, The Quadrangle, University of Newcastle, 6 Kensington Terrace, Newcastle, NE1 7RU
Date:
Feb 3rd 2024 - May 4th 2024
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Katie Cuddon: A is for Alma

Katie Cuddon (born 1979, London, UK) is an artist living and working in Newcastle upon Tyne. A is for Alma is Katie’s first solo exhibition in Newcastle for 15 years and presents work created since she gave birth to her daughter in 2018. The works explore the union between mother and child and the emerging dialogue between them. Cuddon’s clay sculptures resonate with the instinctive experiments and gestures of childhood. She sees clay as a material associated with the early experience of shaping matter as a child, perhaps with Play-Doh or plasticine, materials ‘made to mimic clay’.

Venue:
Hatton Gallery, The Quadrangle, University of Newcastle, 6 Kensington Terrace, Newcastle, NE1 7RU
Date:
Feb 3rd 2024 - May 4th 2024
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

New Perspectives: L-INKing Communities

We are all part of a community. Some communities we choose; some are chosen for us. We find community where we live, learn, socialise and practise our beliefs. Our communities include the families we are born into, the families we select, our friends, colleagues, and the society we are all part of. Our communities offer us space and support to share interests, ideas and values. Community means different things to different people. This display, curated by L-INK, brings together artworks that explore the architecture and activity that communities share. To us, community offers comfort, it means home, it means belonging.

Venue:
Laing Art Gallery, New Bridge Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8AG
Date:
Nov 1st 2023 - Jul 1st 2024
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:30
Price:
Free

Vince Rea

This new exhibition charts the life of Vincent Rea, a local artist and gallery-owner who was best-known for transforming a disused Cold War bunker in Springwell Park, Jarrow, into the nationally recognised Bede Gallery. The exhibition showcases a wide variety of Rea’s creative works, including ceramics, abstract artworks, line drawings and photographs.

Venue:
South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, Ocean Road, South Shields, NE33 2JA
Date:
Nov 20th 2023 - May 11th 2024
Opening Times:
Sat 11:00 - 16:00 , Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Baltic Open Submission 2024

An exhibition of 100 artworks showcasing painting, sculpture, photography, video and more by artists, makers, self-taught creatives and hobbyists based in North East England, alongside several works by established artists. Works will be selected by a panel including North East musician and lead singer with Maxïmo Park, Paul Smith; artist Jasmina Cibic; Leo Fenwick, Strategic Partnerships Director, Fenwick; Niomi Fairweather, Baltic Curator; and Rose McMurray, Baltic Curatorial Assistant.

Venue:
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Date:
Mar 16th 2024 - Sep 1st 2024
Opening Times:
Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00
Price:
Free

Jacqueline Poncelet: In the Making

MIMA presents a solo exhibition surveying 50 years of work by acclaimed artist Jacqueline Poncelet. Poncelet’s work is characterised by a restless exploration of materials and making that is evident throughout her practice. As an artist she is fascinated by how tastes and fashions play out in the ways that humans dress, decorate living spaces, shape architecture and build infrastructures. Working across diverse media, Poncelet gathers and transforms patterns found in our cityscapes and rural landscapes.

Venue:
Mima, Centre Square, Middlesbrough, TS1 2AZ
Date:
Feb 1st 2024 - Jun 23rd 2024
Opening Times:
Sun 12:00 - 16:00 , Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:30
Price:
Free

People’s Art

This exhibition will celebrate art created by unnamed artists. 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:
Mar 23rd 2024 - Sep 8th 2024
Opening Times:
Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Northumberland Open 2024: Northumberland Now

Housed in Woodhorn Museum’s stunning Workshop Galleries, the annual Northumberland Open is the largest exhibition of its type in Northumberland. The exhibition attracts submissions from artists from across Northumberland and beyond. The theme for the 2024 Open Exhibition is ‘Northumberland Now’ and is inspired by the work of the Ashington Group of Artists (also known as the Pitmen Painters).

Venue:
Woodhorn Museum , Queen Elizabeth 2nd Country Park, Ashington, Northumberland, NE63 9YF
Date:
Feb 17th 2024 - May 6th 2024
Opening Times:
Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:
£9.50/£8.50/under 18s Free

Flora: Plants in Roman Life

The Romans not only used plants for food, medicine, and dyeing, but also in religious ceremonies and as decoration. They wore wreaths of flowers and leaves during dinner parties, and decorated buildings and military standards during annual Rose Festivals. This exhibition explores the importance and everyday use of plants in Roman life.

Venue:
Arbeia Roman Fort and Museum, Baring Street, South Shields, NE33 2BB
Date:
Mar 25th 2024 - Sep 29th 2024
Opening Times:
Sat 11:00 - 16:00 , Sun 13:00 - 16:00 , Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Space Investigators North East

This immersive exhibition takes you on a multi-sensory journey into the hidden worlds of the Universe. There's so much to learn about how advances in technology are constantly unveiling new areas of the universe for us to investigate. With every advance, we learn more and more about how our beautiful planet sits amongst the endless beauty and wonder of space. Whilst on your 'galactic voyage' through this exhibition you can discover some of the objects of astronomical importance that were designed and made right here in the North East, as well as learning about the cutting-edge astronomy research that still takes place in the region today. This exhibition has been designed and curated in collaboration with a team of Astrophysicists at Newcastle University.

Venue:
Great North Museum: Hancock, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4PT
Date:
Mar 30th 2024 - Sep 1st 2024
Opening Times:
Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00 , Sun 11:00 - 16:00 , Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:
Free

About suffering, they were never wrong

MA Curating Art students present a sequence of three related exhibitions in February, March and April - May. The project partners 12 artists from 12 different countries with 12 historical artworks from the Hatton collection. It reveals how artists across time and space have pictured the pain or suffering of others, by re-examining the history of emotions.

Venue:
Hatton Gallery, The Quadrangle, University of Newcastle, 6 Kensington Terrace, Newcastle, NE1 7RU
Date:
Feb 9th 2024 - May 15th 2024
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Collecting the Past

The aim of many of the local museums set up in the nineteenth century was to have ‘the world under one roof’, so they collected a wide range of objects from around the world, including archaeological pieces. This exhibition looks at some of these objects and explores what we know – or don’t know – about them now.

Venue:
Segedunum Roman Fort, 2 Buddle Street, Wallsend, NE28 6HR
Date:
Mar 23rd 2024 - Nov 2nd 2024
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 10:00 - 15:00 , Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
£6.95/£4.95/u-21s Free

Streets Above

Housing built for ship-workers in the late nineteenth-century once covered the whole site of the Roman fort and the surrounding areas. Most of these streets were demolished in the 1970s and 1980s, and the area was transformed. These photographs are records of those streets, and how this area once looked very different.

Venue:
Segedunum Roman Fort, 2 Buddle Street, Wallsend, NE28 6HR
Date:
Mar 23rd 2024 - Nov 2nd 2024
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 10:00 - 15:00 , Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
£6.95/£4.95/u-21s Free

The Society of Wood Engravers - 86th Annual Exhibition

The Society of Wood Engravers (SWE) represents an international group of artists who produce prints using the relief printing technique known as wood engraving. This popular exhibition showcases the best contemporary work from the United Kingdom and overseas and all works are for sale.

Venue:
Northern Print, Stepney Bank, Newcastle, NE1 2NP
Date:
Mar 9th 2024 - Apr 26th 2024
Opening Times:
Wed-Sat 12:00 - 16:00
Price:
Free

One Day You’ll be Older Too

Artist Andrew Tift has created a series of intricately drawn pencil portraits of residents living in Washington care homes. These sensitive images capture a moment in time and celebrate the lives of some of Sunderland’s older residents. This exhibition was previously shown at Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens to accompany the exhibition Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing and was due to be displayed at Arts Centre Washington this month.

Venue:
Arts Centre Washington, Biddick Lane, Fatfield, Washington, NE38 8AB
Date:
Apr 11th 2024 - May 11th 2024
Opening Times:
Mon 09:30 - 17:00 , Tue-Sat 09:30 - 20:00
Price:
Free

Belonging

An industrial past overpowers Sunderland’s culture. Cultural spaces proudly show our past achievements, but communities in these declined areas of the industry still live on and have been forgotten. To celebrate the importance of belonging five creatives (Bridie Jackson, Catherine Forsyth, Ellie Clewlow, Bethany Stead and Mark Parham) have held creative workshops in different communities around Sunderland, asking people who live in Sunderland what Belonging means to them. The works commemorate the history of Sunderland, referencing glass making, shipbuilding and coal mining but with a contemporary twist of modern stories. The output from these workshops has inspired new works shown in this exhibition.

Venue:
Arts Centre Washington, Biddick Lane, Fatfield, Washington, NE38 8AB
Date:
Apr 25th 2024 - May 4th 2024
Opening Times:
Mon 09:30 - 17:00 , Tue-Sat 09:30 - 20:00
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

Hilke MacIntyre: Layers of Colours

For the first time at The Biscuit Factory they bring together a solo show of ceramics, linocuts and paintings by artist Hilke MacIntrye. Born in Germany, Hilke studied architecture at the College for Art & Design in Kiel, working in different architectural practices until she moved to Scotland in 1995. Since then, Hilke has focused on printmaking, ceramics and painting. Her simplified figurative work, with bold shapes, strong colours and abstract pattern reflects varied influences including ‘primitive’ and folk art styles, early 20th Century European art and contemporary design. Whichever medium Hilke works in, she builds layers of color and pattern searching for unpredictable and unexpected combinations.

Venue:
The Biscuit Factory, 16 Stoddard Street, Newcastle, NE2 1AN
Date:
Mar 23rd 2024 - May 12th 2024
Opening Times:
Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Oliver Kilbourn: My Life as a Pitmen

A special collection of paintings made by Ashington Group artist Oliver Kilbourn. The collection forms a comprehensive record of Kilbourn’s 50 year career underground, offering valuable insight into the working environment of a Northumberland coal miner during the mid-20th Century. This collection will be on special display as part of the Ashington Group 90 programme so don’t miss your chance to view these unique artworks.

Venue:
Woodhorn Museum , Queen Elizabeth 2nd Country Park, Ashington, Northumberland, NE63 9YF
Date:
Mar 29th 2024 - Sep 15th 2024
Opening Times:
Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:
£9.50/£8.50/under 18s Free

On The Map: Treasures from Ushaw’s Library Collection

An exhibition highlighting some of the significant maps and atlases in Ushaw’s Library collection. Following digitisation by Palace Green Library, a number of rare and interesting maps will be reproduced and shown on the Gallery walls. Original maps – including the first ever maritime atlas and an early road map of Britain – will be shown in display cases. A companion exhibition exploring the mapping of the north and north east will be shown in the Outdoor Art Gallery.

Venue:
Ushaw: Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, Woodland Road, Durham, DH7 9RH
Date:
Mar 23rd 2024 - Jun 23rd 2024
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:
Adult £10/child £6/under 5s Free

Spirit of Invention: A world of creativity from Victorian Britain to the present day

This new family friendly exhibition was inspired by some of the thousands of creative designs registered with the Board of Trade from 1839 onwards which are housed at The National Archives. See contemporary technology alongside eye-catching inventions from the Victorian era – including a ventilating top hat and a typewriter for visually impaired people. With hands-on interactive activities, visitors of all ages can try their hand at designing and inventing.

Venue:
Discovery Museum, (Closed on all Bank Holidays) Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4JA
Date:
Mar 16th 2024 - Jun 23rd 2024
Opening Times:
Sat-Sun 11:00 - 16:00 , Mon-Fri 10:00 - 16:00
Price:
Free

Artworks by Peter Mayne

This exhibition displays 34 paintings by Peter Mayne, a South Shields-born artist who seeks inspiration from Scottish colourists and French impressionists. This exhibition showcases Peter's recent work painted in the North East, as well as paintings of Spain and France.

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

She Shall Be Called Woman

A body of work which celebrates women, by women. The images, by photographer Elaine Vizor, span a decade showing contemporary and environmental portraiture of females in different roles and landscapes, and in the accompanying soundscape, by writer and broadcaster Marie Gardiner, you hear the voices of some of those featured in the images and the authentic sounds of the Durham Dales.

Venue:
Bishop Auckland Town Hall, Market Place, Bishop Auckland, DL14 7NP
Date:
Mar 2nd 2024 - Jun 1st 2024
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:
Free

There is Light in the Fissures

There is Light in the Fissures is a new exhibition at Belsay Hall. Created by Turner Prize nominee Ingrid Pollard MBE, the works explore the landscape and natural materials which Belsay is made of and aim to bring the outside in. Discover pieces in the dramatic Pillar Hall and jurassic feeling Quarry Gardens.

Venue:
Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens, Belsay, Nr Morpeth, Northumberland, NE20 0DX
Date:
Feb 10th 2024 - Jul 14th 2024
Opening Times:
10th Feb - 14th Jul 2024 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
From £11.30

The Magic of Dark Skies

This exhibition celebrates a decade of Northumberland's International Dark Sky Park. To celebrate this landmark, the Park collaborated with Unison Colour to create a bespoke set of pastels inspired by the night sky, which were then gifted to six artists to produce their artworks. The exhibition perfectly captures the wonder and awe we feel looking up at the night sky.

Venue:
The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre, Bardon Mill, Hexham, NE47 7AN
Date:
Mar 16th 2024 - May 12th 2024
Opening Times:
Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Shells, shores and beyond: A global collection of a Georgian lady

See an extraordinary 18th century shell collection on display at Chesters Roman Fort. It was believed to be lost, but was returned to English Heritage after being saved from a skip. There are spectacular shells on display, including an extinct species and several shells believed to have been sent back from Captain Cook’s ill-fated third voyage.

Venue:
Chesters Fort and Museum, on B6318 nr. Chollerford, nr. Chollerford, Northumberland, NE46 4EU
Date:
Mar 12th 2024 - Nov 3rd 2024
Opening Times:
12th Mar - 3rd Nov 2024 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
From £8.60

Bobby Chainbridge and Margarita Frančeska Ieva Loze

Bobby Chainbridge (some say the he’s the alter ego of artist Andrew Mitchell, but who really knows?) catalogues the People, Places and Pints of the North East's greatest clubs; both past & present. His work captures the “alone, but together” conviviality that made and makes social clubs a staple of Northern life. Margarita Frančeska Ieva Loze's work is an exploration of the subtle beauty of life’s moments and a celebration of the poetics of the ordinary. Her recent work combines textile production with the use of found objects. Through her experimental narrative approach, Margarita makes a dreamlike ontology, to capture the nuances of spatial, temporal and poetic navigation.

Venue:
OWTSIDE Gallery, No More Nowt, Community House, Yoden Road, Peterlee, SR8 5DP
Date:
Dec 12th 2023 - Oct 31st 2024
Opening Times:
12th Dec 2023 - 31st Oct 2024 TBC
Price:
Free

Lily Senner: Tyneside Dreaming

A new lightbox commission created by Lily Senner who's paintings of otherworldly landscapes are created through memory and imagination. You can find this artwork displayed on the right-hand wall as you enter through our main doors.

Venue:
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Date:
Mar 17th 2024 - Sep 1st 2024
Opening Times:
Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00
Price:
Free

Kirsty Adams Ceramics Showcase

Kirsty Adams is an award-winning ceramicist, making wheel-thrown pieces for the home for over twenty years. She originally trained at Brighton Art College, and then on the potters’ wheel in Japan. This showcase presents limited edition, one-off and upscaled pieces from three of her prestigious collections taking influence from Iceland, Japan and Northumberland.

Venue:
The Biscuit Factory, 16 Stoddard Street, Newcastle, NE2 1AN
Date:
Mar 23rd 2024 - Jun 16th 2024
Opening Times:
Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

No Last Dance

A group exhibition and a one-day symposium exploring how time is intrinsic to the act of making and viewing painting. The exhibition will showcase exciting approaches to painting that will be a stimulus for discussion about how artists sustain a motivated and ambitious practice with or without public recognition. The curation of the exhibition has been informed by the writing and practice of Isabelle Graw and Charlotte von Heyl. Isabelle Graw is an art writer who is interested in painting as a “formation”, something that continues to maintain itself under new historical conditions. As well as offering a way of discursive communication, painting operates at a non verbal level through bumps, marks, material and colour. Artist Charlotte von Heyl suggests that the moment of beholding a painting is the most important for her. That activation of the space between the viewer and the picture externally by its material presence and internally through shifting thoughts as the mind wanders is crucial. This process with a painting is not one the beholder can take away, but one that needs to be replayed and updated again and again whether positive or defensive.

Venue:
Newcastle Contemporary Art, High Bridge Works, 31-39 High Bridge, Newcastle upon-Tyne, NE1 1EW
Date:
Apr 25th 2024 - May 18th 2024
Opening Times:
Thu-Sat 12:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

A Woman’s World

This exhibition was created by two female Middlesbrough artists. Margaret Harrison (aka Maggie) and Margaret Smith became friends after Maggie joined an art group that Margaret used to run in Seamer. Maggie Harrison graduated from Sunderland University with BA (Hons) MA and was awarded the Ray Ramsay Memorial Prize for Best Painter of the Year. Her work can be described as ‘Fantasy Abstract’ and ‘Magic Realism’ and takes inspiration from artists such as Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall and Leonora Carrington. Margaret Smith took up painting when she retired from her post as Head of Textiles at Middlesbrough College. Her contributions to this exhibition uses a wide range of techniques to show aspects of womanhood from childhood to old age. Her embroideries can be seen in many local churches including Middlesbrough Cathedral and York Minster. Maggie’s and Margaret’s styles and techniques are very different, but come together in this diverse and intriguing exhibition.

Venue:
The Heritage Gallery at Cargo Fleet, Cargo Fleet Offices, Middlesbrough Road, Middlesbrough, TS6 6XH
Date:
Mar 28th 2024 - Apr 26th 2024
Opening Times:
Mon-Fri 09:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Dual Aspect

Following the success of their collaborations last year, Jonny Bainbridge, painter,and Pete Flynn, Ceramicist, are teaming up again to host another joint exhibition of their work. Jonny’s current work Examines the relationship between the microcosm and macrocosm and our place within it, while Pete’s exquisite porcelain work brings his new ideas to life in both figurative and conceptual form.

Venue:
36 Lime Street, 36 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 2PQ
Date:
Apr 20th 2024 - Apr 28th 2024
Opening Times:
Sat-Sun 10:30 - 19:30 , Mon-Fri 12:00 - 14:00 , Mon-Fri 17:00 - 20:00
Price:
Free