Art - What’s On | The Crack Magazine

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

Josephine: A Woman of Taste and Fashion

Discover the timeless elegance, craftsmanship and innovation of Joséphine Bowes’ textile collection in this captivating display. From opulent historical textiles to the cutting-edge creations of French haute couture, highlights include iconic designs from Yves Saint Laurent, Jeanne Paquin and Elsa Schiaparelli, as well as intricate embroideries and breathtaking lacework. Examples of Joséphine’s style influences from the mid-18th century will also be on show, alongside rare surviving pieces from her personal wardrobe and material from the archives.

Venue:: The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8NP
Date:: Mar 22nd 2025 - Mar 1st 2026
Opening Times:: Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: £19.50/under 18s Free

Pippa Hale: Pet Project

Showcasing a solo commission by acclaimed artist, Pippa Hale, Pet Project sees the museum’s renowned ceramic collection re-imagined into a vibrant and interactive experience for all ages. With larger-than-life, soft recreations of animal figurines that can be played with, art and animal lovers can explore a display of the original ceramics that inspired them and share their own cherished items with the community. Be inspired as you learn about the traditional decorating and manufacturing techniques, as well as the cultural stories behind the collection, and create your own charming figurines to take home.

Venue:: The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8NP
Date:: Jul 26th 2025 - Mar 1st 2026
Opening Times:: Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: £19.50/under 18s Free

All Change! The Social Impact of the Stockton & Darlington Railway in the 200 years after 1825

A colourful new exhibition focusing on the impact of passenger railways on North-East life. Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the first locomotive passenger train – a local invention that transformed the world – the importance and magnitude of the birth of the Stockton and Darlington Railway on transport systems around the globe cannot be measured.

Venue:: The Story, Mount Oswald, South Road, Durham, DH1 3TQ
Date:: May 26th 2025 - Jan 30th 2026
Opening Times:: Sat-Sun 10:00 - 17:00 , Thu 00:00 - 19:00 , Mon-Fri 00:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Journey of a Century: From the Forbidden City to the Palace Museum

2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Palace Museum in Beijing. Using archival and recent photographs, this exhibition presents the transformative 100 years of the Palace Museum from an imperial palace complex to a public institution that serves as a museum, research centre, cultural tourist attraction, historic palace complex, and World Heritage Site.

Venue:: Oriental Museum, Elvet Hill, (off South Road), Durham, DH1 3TH
Date:: Sep 26th 2025 - May 31st 2026
Opening Times:: Sat-Sun 12:00 - 16:00 , Tue and Thu-Fri 11:00 - 16:00 , Wed 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Dressed for Departure: Fashion in the age of rail

Commemorating the Stockton and Darlington Railway’s bicentenary, this special exhibition brings together historic fashion, toys and artworks that reflect on how the engineering marvel reshaped lives and culture. See the world’s first toy train set up close, gifted by Edward Pease, the ‘Father of the Railway’, to his son, garments from key moments in the region’s railway history and artworks that capture its journey through the picturesque landscapes of Teesdale.

Venue:: The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8NP
Date:: Sep 27th 2025 - Feb 1st 2026
Opening Times:: Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: £19.50/under 18s Free

Streets Above: Photographs of the roads and buildings that covered Roman Wallsend 

Housing built for ship-workers in the late 19th 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:: Apr 1st 2025 - Feb 28th 2026
Opening Times:: Daily 10:00 - 17:00 , Mon-Sat 10:00 - 15:00
Price:: Adults: £3.98 | £2.98 Concessions ( includes £1 voluntary donation), NE28 residents Free

Collecting the Past 

The aim of many of the local museums set up in the 19th 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:: Apr 1st 2025 - Feb 28th 2026
Opening Times:: Daily 10:00 - 17:00 , Mon-Sat 10:00 - 15:00
Price:: Adults: £3.98 | £2.98 Concessions ( includes £1 voluntary donation), NE28 residents Free

'In Motion – Middlesbrough Collection'

Artists are inventive and curious. They ask big questions and spark bold ideas – whether by exploring new ways to create, experimenting with materials or imagining possible futures. In Motion is a display of artwork from the Middlesbrough Collection held at MIMA. The Collection holds 2,350 works of art and craft made by artists based in the Tees Valley and internationally from the mid-1800s to today.

Venue:: Mima, Centre Square, Middlesbrough, TS1 2AZ
Date:: Apr 11th 2025 - Mar 22nd 2026
Opening Times:: Sun 12:00 - 16:00 , Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:30
Price:: Free

Colour: A Season of Shades, Tints & Tones

What is colour? Why does it mean different things in different cultures and times? And how has colour been linked to power, value, and even prejudice? From the deep blues of religious art to the fiery reds of political movements, colour is more than just something we see – it’s something we feel, use, and sometimes even smell. Colour: A season of shades, tints & tones dives into this fascinating world, revealing how colour influences our beliefs, our identity, and our reality. Expect works from Wassily Kandinsky, Andy Warhol and Hokusai, alongside the beguiling plumage of the ruby-topaz hummingbird and more everyday uses of colour from cosmetics to Cadbury’s purple.

Venue:: Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle Street, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 8TP
Date:: Sep 27th 2025 - Jan 25th 2026
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: Adult admission (valid for 12 months) £15/Under 18s Free

Tom Hume: Retrospective

The first comprehensive exhibition of the work of Tom Hume, a Durham-based artist and art teacher. The display will include oils, preparatory drawings, sketchbooks and poems.

Venue:: Ushaw: Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, Woodland Road, Durham, DH7 9RH
Date:: Nov 8th 2025 - Jan 18th 2026
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:: £14/under 18s £8/under 5s Free

Nathan Coley: You Create What You Will & Tate Modern on Fire

For the first time together, The Bowes Museum hosts Nathan Coley’s works, You Create What You Will (2014) and Tate Modern on Fire (2017.) Known for his thought-provoking public works, Coley explores how belief systems shape our cities, institutions and identities. Gaze up to the 5 and half metre illuminated text installation and wander around a mini burning version Tate Modern. Learn about the references behind the artworks, think about the roles of museums in society and reflect on your relationship with art.

Venue:: The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8NP
Date:: Jun 13th 2025 - Mar 1st 2026
Opening Times:: Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: £19.50/under 18s Free

Claire A Baker: In Progress and Process

North East award winning artist, maker and researcher, Claire A Baker has been commissioned to create a trio of flags titled In Progress and Process, in response to The Bowes Museum’s collection. Weaving together the past and present and exploring unfinished narratives these flags highlight the dynamic relationship between historic crafted artworks and contemporary practice. The series of flags, Process I, Process II, and Process III, show a visual journey of making and remaking, whilst a stitched tapestry design In Progress, inverts the traditional two-dimensional format of flags, transforming it into an interactive, tactile experience.

Venue:: The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8NP
Date:: May 31st 2025 - Jan 18th 2026
Opening Times:: Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: £19.50/under 18s Free

North Shields - 800 Years in the Making

This exhibition takes visitors on a journey from the town’s humble beginnings with a small settlement of shiels – fishermen’s huts – at the mouth of the Pow Burn where the fish quay is today, through wars and conflict, innovation and prosperity, through to growth and development. Although its main focus is eight centuries of the town’s history, it starts with an explanation of how archaeological evidence suggests a prehistoric settlement near Northumberland Park dating back almost 6,000 years and how the earliest legends speak of battles between gods and giants.

Venue:: The Old Low Light, Clifford's Fort, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE30 1JA
Date:: Jul 22nd 2025 - Jan 31st 2026
Opening Times:: Tue-Sat 10:00 - 15:00
Price:: £5

Fusion Textile Artists

An exhibition of new work by this flourishing Durham-based creative textile group. Many of the pieces are for sale.

Venue:: Ushaw: Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, Woodland Road, Durham, DH7 9RH
Date:: Nov 15th 2025 - Jan 25th 2026
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:: £14/under 18s £8/under 5s Free

Norma Goff – Solo Exhibition

A selling exhibition of new work by Norma Goff, a textile artist from the north east.

Venue:: Ushaw: Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, Woodland Road, Durham, DH7 9RH
Date:: Nov 22nd 2025 - Jan 18th 2026
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:: £14/under 18s £8/under 5s Free

Echoes of Victory: Memories from Ushaw

To mark the 80th anniversaries of Victory in Europe (8 May) and Victory over Japan (15 August), Ushaw are proud to present an exhibition of local Second World War stories drawn from our archives and collections.

Venue:: Ushaw: Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, Woodland Road, Durham, DH7 9RH
Date:: Nov 12th 2025 - Mar 1st 2026
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:: £14/under 18s £8/under 5s Free

Some Kind of Love: Actions and Reactions to Living on a Damaged Planet

A solo exhibition by award winning artist Uta Kögelsberger. Through a series of interconnected works spanning video, sound and installation, the exhibition continues Kogelsberger’s sustained investigation of the complex relationships between human and ecological systems in a time of environmental change. It brings together, for the first time, four major bodies of new and existing works that navigate the tensions between destruction and nurture, fragility and resilience, loss and regeneration.

Venue:: Hatton Gallery, The Quadrangle, University of Newcastle, 6 Kensington Terrace, Newcastle, NE1 7RU
Date:: Sep 20th 2025 - Jan 24th 2026
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

A selection of photographs from ‘Harvest from the Deep’ by Pete Robinson

Pete Robinson is a North Shields-based award-winning wedding photographer but for the past 10 years has been on a mission to record the working and home lives of local fishermen engaged in one of the UK’s most dangerous industries.

Venue:: The Old Low Light, Clifford's Fort, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE30 1JA
Date:: Nov 1st 2025 - Mar 31st 2026
Opening Times:: Tue-Sat 10:00 - 15:00
Price:: Free

Hartlepool Art Clubs 78th Annual Exhibition

A showcase of the imagination and skills that have established Hartlepool Art Club’s reputation as one of the leading art societies in the North of England. Selected paintings are available to purchase.

Venue:: Hartlepool Art Gallery, The Tourist Information Centre, Church Square, Hartlepool, TS24 7EQ
Date:: Nov 15th 2025 - Jan 17th 2026
Opening Times:: Tue-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Heartwood

This exhibition captures the essence of the Sycamore Gap tree and the impression it left on those who connected with it. Individually themed, named and coloured, the giant tree prints, created by printmaker Shona Branigan, show every tree ring groove and detail from the cross-section of the almost heart shaped trunk of the 200-year-old tree.

Venue:: Great North Museum: Hancock, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4PT
Date:: Sep 27th 2025 - Jan 18th 2026
Opening Times:: Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00 , Sun 11:00 - 16:00 , Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Monumental

Featuring artworks from the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art collection selected by – 2nd and now 3rd Year – Fine Art students from University of Sunderland exhibited alongside their own artwork. Each student selected an artwork from the collection which encapsulated the monumental. Together the seven artworks examine monumental structures, be it public sculptural monuments, giant vapor trails, melting Icelandic glaciers, crystallised desert landscapes, state systems, or the miner’s cage near Easington Colliery.

Venue:: National Glass Centre, Liberty Way, Sunderland, SR6 0GL
Date:: Oct 25th 2025 - Feb 14th 2026
Opening Times:: Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Michael Disley: Quarry

Stonemason, draftsman, sculptor, public artist and painter Michael Disley culminates over 40 years experience for this his first formal exhibition of sculptures and paintings. With a foundation in heritage masonry skills, Michael’s career has embraced new ways of working with ancient stones. From his childlike whimsical figures to classically formal trees, his clean graphic paintings to his intricate carvings, Michael's physical and philosophical connection to his work speaks to a practice of enduring observation and craftsmanship and a limitless pursuit for the truth in the human experience.

Venue:: The Biscuit Factory, 16 Stoddard Street, Newcastle, NE2 1AN
Date:: Nov 14th 2025 - Feb 28th 2026
Opening Times:: Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Beatrice Forshall

Beatrice Forshall is a printmaker whose dry-point engravings draw upon the natural world, and particularly conservation. Having worked with a host of frontline conservation organisations over her career, Beatrice's passion for ecology is reflected in her process and materials. A long creative process featuring engraving, printing and finishing by hand, results in refined pieces that capture the beauty and the fragility of wildlife she advocates for.

Venue:: The Biscuit Factory, 16 Stoddard Street, Newcastle, NE2 1AN
Date:: Nov 29th 2025 - Feb 28th 2026
Opening Times:: Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Miniature Worlds: Little Landscapes from Thomas Bewick to Beatrix Potter

This exhibition explores the intricate beauty of small-scale landscapes across three centuries of British art. The exhibition has a particular focus on vignette format illustrations and the changing relationship between text, illustration, and publishing. Highlights include seven highly detailed watercolours by JMW Turner, whose 250th birthday is being celebrated this year, a dramatic and diminutive drawing by John Martin, and nine intricate watercolours by Beatrix Potter. The exhibition includes over 130 objects, 90 of which are loans from other UK collections.

Venue:: Laing Art Gallery, New Bridge Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8AG
Date:: Oct 28th 2025 - Feb 28th 2026
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:30
Price:: £11/£10

Desire Lines: Art, Place & Possibilities

How might artists shape the future of a place, and what do we desire for that future? The Tees Valley grew, took shape and influenced the world through centuries of movement. It has become home to generations of people and to communities of artists. MIMA’s new exhibition Desire Lines: Art, Place & Possibilities outlines a vividly creative past and calls out to hopes for the centuries ahead.

Venue:: Mima, Centre Square, Middlesbrough, TS1 2AZ
Date:: Nov 28th 2025 - Apr 12th 2026
Opening Times:: Sun 12:00 - 16:00 , Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:30
Price:: Free

Echoes of Friendship: the Squire Family in Meiji Era Japan

In 1902, two young British girls, Dorothy and Marjorie moved to Japan. The girls and their mother, Lydia, were travelling to join their father, George Squire, who had been working for the Senju Paper Company in Japan since 1898. For the next two years the family lived, worked and made friends within the Japanese community in Kokura, a town on Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s main islands. After the family left Japan, they settled in Sunderland. This exhibition tells their story using the objects which they donated to the Oriental Museum more than 70 years after they left Japan. It also tells the story of the Moriyama family, pioneering Japanese photographers. Photographs taken at the Moriyama Studio offer glimpses into the lives of both families and friendships that endured across continents.

Venue:: Oriental Museum, Elvet Hill, (off South Road), Durham, DH1 3TH
Date:: Nov 25th 2025 - Mar 22nd 2026
Opening Times:: Sat-Sun 12:00 - 16:00 , Tue and Thu-Fri 11:00 - 16:00 , Wed 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Courts and Coroners: The Law in Medieval Durham

Take a deep dive into the history of courts, laws, and coroners. The exhibition explores the position of the Bishop of Durham which was unique in England for holding both spiritual and secular power within their diocese. Alongside this, deep dive into recorded cases, prison cells and courts within the cathedral walls.

Venue:: Durham Cathedral, Chapter Office, Palace Green, Durham, DH1 3EH
Date:: Nov 10th 2025 - Mar 1st 2026
Opening Times:: Sun 12:00 - 16:00 , Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: £7.50/under 18s Free

Intimately Connected - Claire Ward

"My connection with landscape and nature began in childhood when I roamed woods and pasture close to my home in Kent. Solitary walks and observing nature have been at the centre of my life ever since and continue here in Northumberland, my home of some 25 years. It is this connection that drives my practice which generally begins with a found object, natural or manmade, that fascinates me in some way. Working with my hands and using simple tools allow me to closely explore these objects and to go on an imaginative journey to find the form that they reveal."

Venue:: Bailiffgate Museum, 14 Bailiffgate, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 1LX
Date:: Jan 13th 2026 - Feb 28th 2026
Opening Times:: Sun and Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: £6/£5/under 16s £1/under 5s Free

Mike Hankin

Mike Hankin is an academic, cultural commentator and artist who regularly speaks on topics of Englishness, folk history/traditions and cultural identity. He teaches design, culture and critical practice as a Senior Lecturer at the University of the Arts London, drawing on a background in Applied Imagination at Central Saint Martins. He also explores the same themes through painting and printmaking, with work shown at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, the New English Art Club and the Royal Watercolour Society.

Venue:: The Old School Gallery, Foxton Road, Alnmouth, Northumberland, NE66 3NH
Date:: Nov 22nd 2025 - Jan 26th 2026
Opening Times:: Daily 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Carlisle 1978-1979 by Tony Tuxill

Where were you in the late 1970s? If you were in Carlisle, there’s a chance you could have been snapped by photographer Tony Tuxill. The Garden Galley celebrates the work of this photographer, who recently gave his Carlisle series of over 2000 images for Tullie collection. The selection shown includes 10 of his most arresting images of people in familiar places around the city.

Venue:: Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle Street, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 8TP
Date:: Nov 19th 2025 - Feb 1st 2026
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: Adult admission (valid for 12 months) £15/Under 18s Free

All Aboard!

Step inside and explore Preston Park Museum's new, interactive exhibition which has been specially created for children. Little designers, engineers and drivers will be able to get hands-on with wheels to turn, coal to shovel and pistons to pump in the giant replica train and themed play zones. Families will be able to take part in a journey of discovery through play to understand the important story of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

Venue:: Preston Park Museum, Yarm Road, Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 3RH
Date:: Sep 13th 2025 - Sep 13th 2026
Opening Times:: Sun and Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: £12/£8/under 3s Free

Sublime Landscapes

This exhibition features landscape watercolours and prints from the Laing Art Gallery’s collection responding to the potential for landscape art to be awe-inspiring. Visitors will encounter dramatic waterfalls, epic ruins, stormy seas, and subterranean worlds through the eyes of artists working between the eighteenth century – when the concept of the ‘sublime’ first gained prominence within landscape art - and the present day. The artists on display include John Robert Cozens, Mary Elizabeth Bennett, Francis Towne, David Cox, John Martin, Charles Napier Hemy, Edna Clarke Hall, Graham Sutherland, and Dennis Creffield.

Venue:: Laing Art Gallery, New Bridge Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8AG
Date:: Dec 20th 2025 - Dec 5th 2026
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:30
Price:: Free

Padua to Edinburgh

Throughout history, anatomical illustration has reflected how people understood the human body and who those drawings were meant for. Artists and doctors alike have shaped – and been shaped by – the audiences of their time. This exhibition traces that story from the Renaissance works of Andreas Vesalius to the 19th-century Bell brothers. Along the way, it explores how art, medicine, and belief have continually redefined our vision of anatomy.

Venue:: Philip Robinson Library, Jesmond Road West, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE2 4HQ
Date:: Dec 13th 2025 - Apr 19th 2026
Opening Times:: 13th Dec 2025 - 19th Apr 2026 TBC
Price:: Free

Traces of a Journey – Brian Eyler

A stunning exhibition of Brian Eyler’s landscape photography in the Inside Out Gallery at Land of Oak & Iron Heritage Centre. Brian’s work blends the realism of photography with the emotive qualities of fine art, often using panoramic formats to convey immersive, expansive scenes.

Venue:: Land of Oak & Iron Heritage Centre, Spa Well Road, Winlaton Mill, Blaydon, NE21 6RU
Date:: Jan 7th 2026 - Mar 1st 2026
Opening Times:: 7th Jan - 1st Mar 2026 TBC
Price:: Free

Saelia Aparicio: A Joyful Parasite

A major new commission and solo exhibition by London-based Spanish artist Saelia Aparicio. For her presentation at Baltic, Aparicio will develop an ecosystem of characters and situations through a speculative universe dwelling on ideas of the organic by establishing analogies between corporeal and social mechanisms. Inspiration will come from classical mythology and the transformative forms found in Ancient Egypt and pre-Columbian Mesoamerica – blended between animals and humans such as the sphinx, Anubis or the Mayan Camazotz. Her installation will shape a fictional world, presenting hybrid bodies, built upon semantically loaded material where what is human or not blurs. These forms will be imagined through their gender fluidity, drawing from the ‘two-spirited’ idea that comes from indigenous North American culture.

Venue:: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Date:: Jul 5th 2025 - Feb 1st 2026
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00
Price:: Free

The Light of Days Past: Photography in Berwick 1840-1980

This major exhibition features over 100 images of Berwick and is a journey of exploration into how the town and its people have been captured by the changing photographer’s lens over the past 150 years

Venue:: Granary Gallery, Dewar’s Lane, Berwick-upon-Tweed, TD15 1HJ
Date:: Oct 25th 2025 - Feb 22nd 2026
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Lotte Dijkstra: Urban Forest Stories

An exhibition showing how storytelling can foster a sense of belonging in the urban forest, with stories and research from along the Tyne Derwent Way. The exhibition displays Dijkstra’s graduation work, co-created with schoolchildren and other local people, project partners from the Tyne Derwent Way, international researchers and students, and other-than-human beings in and around Gateshead Riverside Park.

Venue:: Farrell Centre, The Sir Terry Farrell Building, Eldon Place, Newcastle, NE1 7RD
Date:: Oct 15th 2025 - Jan 30th 2026
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Harold Offeh: The Mothership Collective 2.0

A platform for play, gathering, curiosity, imaginative making and thinking, The Mothership Collective 2.0 is a sci-fi playscape for collaborative encounters. You are invited to play and interact with activities and materials inspired by sci-fi, possible futures, and imagined utopian places. Different zones explore different sensory experiences. Experiment with weight and mass in the habitat zone, identity and performance on the yellow stage, make patterns with sound, and prophecies and predictions for the future with text.

Venue:: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Date:: Jul 5th 2025 - Feb 1st 2026
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00
Price:: Free

On Track: Embroidery exhibition

Come and explore a unique exhibition of embroidery and textiles celebrating the bicentenary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway. The display has been created by Darlington Stitch & Create, a group of more than 40 embroiderers and textile artists who meet monthly. Their aim was to use textile art to celebrate the new possibilities the world gained from the first passenger railway journey 200 years ago.

Venue:: Locomotion, Dale Road Industrial Estate, Dale Road, Shildon, County Durham, DL4 2RE
Date:: Jan 10th 2026 - Feb 15th 2026
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

For All At Last Return

This new group exhibition initiated by Baltic will explore marine ecosystems, the deep sea, coral reefs, ocean currents, intertidal and hypoxic zones, and how human activities affect marine life. Inspired in part by Baltic’s close proximity to the sea, situated on a tidal river eight miles from the mouth of the Tyne, and by the writings of marine biologist Rachel Carson, the exhibition will reflect on life below water and consider our relationship with the community of organisms and aquatic life that inhabit ocean environments.

Venue:: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Date:: Nov 8th 2025 - May 3rd 2026
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00
Price:: Free

Saodat Ismailova

Saodat Ismailova is a filmmaker and artist who came of age in the post-Soviet era Uzbekistan. Working between Paris and Tashkent she interweaves rituals, myths and dreams within the tapestry of everyday life. Her films investigate the historically complex and layered culture of Central Asia. Frequently based around oral stories in which women are the lead protagonists, and exploring systems of knowledge suppressed by globalised modernity, these consciousness expanding works hover between visible and invisible worlds.

Venue:: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Date:: Nov 8th 2025 - May 3rd 2026
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00
Price:: Free

Qi Fang Colbert Pop-up Shop

Explore Qi Fang Colbert’s curated collection of specially crafted pieces: hand-built and thrown ceramics, limited edition linocut prints, and original collage paintings. Drawing inspiration from Phenomenology, Taoism, Early Renaissance art, and Surrealism, the artist weaves original narratives across both her three-dimensional and two-dimensional works. These pieces spring from her imagination and lived experiences, exploring humanity's delicate coexistence with the natural world - how we share environments, depend on the same resources, and navigate feminist themes within these relationships.

Venue:: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Date:: Oct 25th 2025 - Mar 29th 2026
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00
Price:: Free

Perfume

Internationally renowned, contemporary visual artist Yann Nguema is planning an exciting installation at Preston Park Museum. Known for his innovative approach of blending light, sound and technology, Nguema's work pushes the boundaries of this new art form and creates a sensory experience. Look out for more details about this major commission, which will take an immersive look at scent and is inspired by the seed distribution and pollination when trains travel through the countryside.

Venue:: Preston Park Museum, Yarm Road, Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 3RH
Date:: Jan 17th 2026 - May 10th 2026
Opening Times:: Sun and Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: £12/£8/under 3s Free

The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour. Monet: In the Presence of Nature

In January 2026, the museum will exhibit Monet’s masterpiece, The Petit Bras of the Seine at Argenteuil (1872), which has only left the National Gallery once in the past 20 years. The painting will be displayed in the museum's art gallery space, complemented by works from the South Shields, Laing and Shipley art collections, and artworks co-created by EBSA young people, teachers, and local organisations. The exhibition will focus on the power of art and nature, exploring themes of calm, retreat, and resilience.

Venue:: South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, Ocean Road, South Shields, NE33 2JA
Date:: Jan 17th 2026 - Mar 25th 2026
Opening Times:: Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00 , Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Between Work and Play

A forthcoming exhibition that explores the tension between seemingly opposing states. Bringing together Graham Patterson, Helen Pailing and Helen Maurer in a lively exchange of light, shadow and transformed everyday materials, speak to creatures, the coastline and childhood memories.

Venue:: The Globe Gallery, 97 Howard Street, North Shields, NE30 1NA
Date:: Jan 17th 2026 - Feb 14th 2026
Opening Times:: Thu-Sat 11:00 - 17:00 , Sun 12:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Lines of Legitimacy

From mermen to ancient traditions of drag on the high seas, join drag king and sculptor Lady Kitt as they respond to LGBTQIA+ histories of Hartlepool in this new artwork and exhibition.

Venue:: Hartlepool Art Gallery, The Tourist Information Centre, Church Square, Hartlepool, TS24 7EQ
Date:: Jan 31st 2026 - Apr 18th 2026
Opening Times:: Tue-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Dean Raymond Gooch: Bottoms

Bottoms is the first UK solo exhibition by Sunderland born and based artist-photographer, printmaker and researcher Dean Raymond Gooch (b. 1998). It showcases a new series of large photographic works, screenprints and risograph prints exploring gay identity, communities and fetish through striking imagery drawing on legacies of pop art, advertising and fashion photography. The photographs and prints are both detailed and abstracted, taking personal cues to highlight and challenge binaries and stereotypical gay imagery such as BDSM, tight worn jeans, colour coded hankies and black work boots.

Venue:: Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, c/o National Glass Centre, Liberty Way, Sunderland, SR6 0GL
Date:: Jan 31st 2026 - May 26th 2026
Opening Times:: Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Smoke and Mirrors: Landscapes from the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art Collection

Smoke and Mirrors draws on artworks from Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art’s collection in a group show exploring contemporary landscapes through photography, painting, sculpture, film, digitally generated artwork and drawing. The exhibition features artwork by 15 contemporary artists and photographers who challenge our understanding of landscape through digitally rendered and manipulated imagery, artificial immersive environments and imaginative fictional worlds.

Venue:: Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, c/o National Glass Centre, Liberty Way, Sunderland, SR6 0GL
Date:: Jan 31st 2026 - May 26th 2026
Opening Times:: Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Emily Carter – Feeling into the unknown

In her new exhibition, local artist Emily Carter (ECCarter Art) combines her life-long obsession with colour and her innate love of the natural world. She explores a range of subjects in her abstract paintings – experimenting with bold, colourful gestures in a breathtaking showcase of artworks.

Venue:: Hartlepool Art Gallery, The Tourist Information Centre, Church Square, Hartlepool, TS24 7EQ
Date:: Jan 31st 2026 - Apr 18th 2026
Opening Times:: Tue-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Between Dialogues

n exhibition that aims to demonstrate how eclectic art voices can speak to each other through common cultural, theoretical and practical references. Presented as part of The Northern Arts Gala, the four artists are currently studying together at The Northern School of Art, Hartlepool, for their MA Arts Practice. They represent a small, tight-knit collective whose work environment lends itself well to the ongoing conversations that permeate through artistic processes. Though each has their own unique style, spanning different mediums, their interests, research and thought processes often naturally link-up, creating lines of significance between them. Exhibiting artists: Naomi Fahy, Blanka Olejniczak, Carl Truscott, Niki Widynska.

Venue:: Vane, 65 High St, Gateshead, NE8 2AP
Date:: Feb 5th 2026 - Feb 7th 2026
Opening Times:: Wed-Sat 12:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Teenage Angst Has Paid Off Well by Graham Dolphin

Graham Dolphin’s practice spans drawing, object-making, film, sound, text and curation. The figure of the fan recurs throughout his work as a symbol of new forms of spirituality emerging within a secular age. Connecting past and present, the exhibition pairs Dolphin’s new photographs with selected earlier works and collaborative pieces made with Durham Sixth Form Centre students.

Venue:: Dead Dog Gallery, Durham Sixth Form Centre, The Sands, Durham City, DH1 1SG
Date:: Feb 5th 2026 - Mar 20th 2026
Opening Times:: 5th Feb - 20th Mar 2026 TBC
Price:: Free

A British Museum Partnership Exhibition: Gladiators of Britain

Think of gladiators and your mind probably wanders to central Rome and the Colosseum (or Russell Crowe). But did you know there were gladiators in Britain? Carlisle was home to the largest fort on Hadrian’s Wall at the very northern edge of the empire – did gladiators walk where the museum stands today? This exhibition explores the violence, pageantry and graphic reality of the arena in Roman Britain through extraordinary objects from across the country.

Venue:: Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle Street, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 8TP
Date:: Feb 7th 2026 - May 31st 2026
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: Adult admission (valid for 12 months) £15/Under 18s Free

Uncovering Roman Carlisle: Where Worlds Met

Discover the latest chapter in the ongoing exploration of Roman Carlisle. This new exhibition is the third in the series showcasing the remarkable discoveries from the Uncovering Roman Carlisle archaeological dig at Carlisle Cricket Club in Stanwix – one of the most exciting archaeological projects in the region. Where Worlds Met explores themes of migration and settlement, revealing that movement and cultural exchange were central to life in Roman Carlisle.

Venue:: Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle Street, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 8TP
Date:: Feb 7th 2026 - May 31st 2026
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: Adult admission (valid for 12 months) £15/Under 18s Free