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

Impressions of Light: Masterpieces from MuMa – Le Havre and The Bowes Museum

A major partnership between The Bowes Museum and the Musée d’Art Moderne André Malraux (MuMa), Le Havre. Bringing to the UK a collection of Impressionist masterpieces never-before-seen here, the exhibition traces the evolution of landscape painting from Pre-Impressionism to Post-Impressionism, featuring works by Monet, Boudin, Courbet, Pissarro and Dufy. This collaboration celebrates artistic innovation, cultural exchange and the enduring emotional power of landscapes, from the luminous French coasts to the beautiful dales of County Durham.

Venue:

The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8NP

Date:

Sep 26th 2026 - Mar 14th 2027

Opening Times:

Daily 10:00 - 17:00

Price:

£19.50/under 18s Free

The Space Between The Notes: John Lyons

Award-winning Durham photographer John Lyons brings his acclaimed exhibition to the Durham Jazz Festival Gallery. Specialising in live music and portrait photography, John has captured performances at iconic venues including Birdland and Blue Note in New York. His style focuses on the emotion, intimacy and energy behind the music rather than simply documenting a performance.

Venue:

Durham Jazz Festival Gallery, 25 High Street, Prince Bishops Centre, Durham

Date:

May 22nd 2026 - Oct 25th 2026

Opening Times:

22nd May - 25th Oct 2026 TBC

Price:

Free

Jewish Industrialists on the Team Valley

Jewish Industrialists on the Team Valley: the formative years of a trading estate 1936-1945 tells the little-known story of the contribution and impact that Jewish light industries had on the development of the Team Valley Trading Estate in Gateshead – the first government-financed trading estate in the country and opened in 1936.

Venue:

Discovery Museum, (Closed on all Bank Holidays) Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4JA

Date:

Feb 7th 2026 - Jan 31st 2027

Opening Times:

Sat-Sun 11:00 - 16:00 , Mon-Fri 10:00 - 16:00

Price:

Free

Archaeology ‘Open Lab’

Archaeologists uncovering the hidden history of Auckland Palace are inviting the public behind the scenes as historic finds from eight years of excavations are analysed in a new ‘open laboratory’ in Bishop Auckland town centre. After the trowels are put down, the archaeological work continues in the post-excavation’ phase. This work involves looking in detail at all the objects dug up. Experts weigh, count, catalogue and describe everything they have found so that we can understand even more about how the Bishops’ Palace was used. Normally this work happens in laboratories behind closed doors, but now this workis being done in public view here in the ‘open lab’.

Venue:

The Hearth, (formerly Mrs M's), 1 Market Place, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, DL14 7NJ

Date:

Jan 16th 2026 - Dec 31st 2026

Opening Times:

16th Jan - 31st Dec 2026 TBC

Price:

Free

Picture This: Someone Like Me

An artwork exhibition that creatively showcases postgraduate research happening at Newcastle University. The exhibition features illustrated artworks and personal reflections that explore the many different pathways into research and challenge common ideas about who researchers are and where they come from. Alongside the artworks, the exhibition will come alive through interactive events, family-friendly activities, and opportunities to meet the researchers themselves. Visitors are invited to explore research through creativity and conversation, discover the people behind the work, and reflect on how diverse experiences and perspectives shape the way knowledge is created.

Venue:

Great North Museum: Hancock, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4PT

Date:

Mar 13th 2026 - Jan 17th 2027

Opening Times:

Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00 , Sun 11:00 - 16:00 , Sat 10:00 - 16:00

Price:

Free

The Discovery of Dinosaurs

An exhibition of 19th century prints depicting prehistoric landscapes and some of the earliest dinosaur fossils ever discovered, reproduced from rare volumes in Ushaw’s Library collection.

Venue:

Ushaw: Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, Woodland Road, Durham, DH7 9RH

Date:

Jun 20th 2026 - Nov 8th 2026

Opening Times:

Mon-Sat 11:00 - 16:00

Price:

£14/under 18s £8/under 5s Free

Snapshot

An exhibition exploring the early years of photography told through images and objects from Ushaw’s collections.

Venue:

Ushaw: Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, Woodland Road, Durham, DH7 9RH

Date:

Jun 27th 2026 - Nov 1st 2026

Opening Times:

Mon-Sat 11:00 - 16:00

Price:

£14/under 18s £8/under 5s Free

The Friday Collective

The Friday Collective is a group of local artists who attend a weekly art class at the Witham on Friday afternoons with tutor Jo Pickering. They have studied a wide range of media from watercolour, acrylics, pastels and oils. Several of the students have attended the class for almost 5 years now and their artistic progress is inspirational.

Venue:

The Witham, 3 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8YL

Date:

Oct 6th 2026 - Oct 31st 2026

Opening Times:

Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:00

Price:

Free

Swing Bridge 150

A display celebrating the iconic Swing Bridge that connects Newcastle and Gateshead, for its 150th anniversary using images of archival material. Unveiled in 1876, Lord Armstrong’s hydraulic Swing Bridge across the River Tyne was the largest of its kind — a bold symbol of Victorian ingenuity that still stands proudly today. A brilliant example of engineering brilliance and Tyneside heritage, now a Grade II listed structure.

Venue:

Discovery Museum, (Closed on all Bank Holidays) Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4JA

Date:

Jun 13th 2026 - Dec 20th 2026

Opening Times:

Mon-Fri 10:00 - 16:00 , Sat-Sun 11:00 - 16:00

Price:

Free

Strike!

The General Strike of May 1926 rocked the country with King George V declaring a state of emergency. Around 1.5 to 2 million workers went on strike in support of ‘locked-out’ miners. This display marks 100 years since the General Strike.

Venue:

Discovery Museum, (Closed on all Bank Holidays) Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4JA

Date:

May 17th 2026 - Jan 17th 2027

Opening Times:

Sat-Sun 11:00 - 16:00 , Mon-Fri 10:00 - 16:00

Price:

Free

Norman Cornish: A Life in Sketchbooks

Step inside the working imagination of Norman Cornish in this intimate exhibition, bringing together finished drawings, paintings and watercolours alongside the preparatory sketches that shaped them. Across a lifetime, Cornish filled 269 sketchbooks, capturing the streets, people, and communities of the Durham coalfield with remarkable insight and warmth. His belief that sketchbooks should “have a life of their own… to teach people to look at things” comes alive in this display, which also features a major new acquisition made possible with the legacy funds of the Friends of the Bowes Museum, strengthening the museum’s collection of one of the North’s celebrated twentieth-century artists.

Venue:

The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8NP

Date:

Jun 26th 2026 - Jan 3rd 2027

Opening Times:

Daily 10:00 - 17:00

Price:

£19.50/under 18s Free

Studio 70 Artists

New paintings by Alison Minney, Denise Smithson and Graham Parker, Ushaw-based studio artists.

Venue:

Ushaw: Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, Woodland Road, Durham, DH7 9RH

Date:

Aug 29th 2026 - Oct 25th 2026

Opening Times:

Mon-Sat 11:00 - 16:00

Price:

£14/under 18s £8/under 5s Free

Nevill Wilson and Peter Drew

Venue:

rePUBlic Gallery, Access Through The King's Head Cafe, 85 Bridge Street, Blyth, NE24 3AE

Date:

Sep 26th 2026 - Oct 24th 2026

Opening Times:

Tue-Sat 09:00 - 15:00

Price:

Free

Kev Howard – From the Transitory

A solo exhibition of photography and film to coincide with the Turner Prize arriving in Middlesbrough. Kev Howard will be familiar to many living in the North East as a photographer and musician who has been part of the cultural life of our area for over 40 years. This exhibition marks his first major solo show incorporating new work and key moments from his archive of images dating back to the 1980s. Many of these images have never been shown before.

Venue:

The Redcar Palace, Palace 28, 28-29 Esplanade, Redcar, TS10 3AE

Date:

Sep 18th 2026 - Dec 24th 2026

Opening Times:

Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:00

Price:

Free

Eclecticus: New Drawings and Sculptures by Nick Banks

This latest body of work by Nick Banks, comprising drawing and sculpture, captures an eclectic breadth of subject matter, across moments, objects, and memories. As a collection, ECLECTICUS deviates from theme, developing ideas and imagery that have flowed to Nick ‘like figures emerging from the mist.’

Venue:

Newcastle Arts Centre, 67 Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1SG

Date:

Sep 19th 2026 - Oct 31st 2026

Opening Times:

Mon-Sat 09:30 - 17:00

Price:

Free

Losing Track, Holding Traces in Hexham

The latest exhibition in an ongoing project by three artists who connect with the landscape and each other through walking, drawing and making. Jane Gower works with foraged plant materials, exploring cordage, weaving and dyeing processes to create sculptural textiles in response to the natural environment; Omi Pharncote works in felt, incorporating seeds, grasses and inks which come from her walks; Jenny Purrett uses handmade inks, pigments and charcoal to create drawings which capture the vitality and transience of nature.

Venue:

Queen's Hall Arts Centre, Beaumont Street, Hexham, NE46 3LS

Date:

Oct 2nd 2026 - Nov 28th 2026

Opening Times:

Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00

Price:

Free

Things That Go

Discovery Museum’s brand-new gallery space will launch with a playful transport exhibition for families with younger children. From boats and bicycles to tractors, trains and planes, explore the exciting world of transport through hands-on play and a myriad of museum objects. Whether it rolls, flies, or floats, there’s something to spark every little explorer’s imagination. Learn and play together in this colourful destination for curious kids and their grown-ups.

Venue:

Discovery Museum, (Closed on all Bank Holidays) Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4JA

Date:

Aug 1st 2026 - Feb 28th 2027

Opening Times:

Sat-Sun 11:00 - 16:00 , Mon-Fri 10:00 - 16:00

Price:

Free

Durham Art Group 2026

Annual exhibition of drawings and paintings by members of this well-established art group. Many of the works are for sale.

Venue:

Ushaw: Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, Woodland Road, Durham, DH7 9RH

Date:

Sep 19th 2026 - Nov 15th 2026

Opening Times:

Mon-Sat 11:00 - 16:00

Price:

£14/under 18s £8/under 5s Free

Victory Over the Sun: Encounters with Light

This major exhibition brings together groundbreaking works by a diverse group of international artists who explore light in innovative and unexpected ways. The exhibition takes its title from a 1913 Russian Futurist opera in which characters attempt to capture the sun and abolish time - a metaphor for the radical transformations brought about by new forms of artificial light in the 19th century. Featured artists: Maarten Baas, Yto Barrada, Tine Bech, Chila Burman, James Clar, Shezad Dawood, Olafur Eliasson, Tracey Emin, Cerith Wyn Evans, Spencer Finch, Dan Flavin, Ceal Floyer, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Katrin Hanusch, Stuart Haygarth, Jenny Holzer, Hilary Jack, Glenn Ligon, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Erin McDougle, Steve McQueen, Tatsuo Miyajima, Ivan Navarro, Katie Paterson, David Shrigley, Liz West.

Venue:

The Light, Aykley Heads, Durham, DH1 5TU

Date:

Aug 22nd 2026 - Jan 17th 2027

Opening Times:

Sun 10:00 - 16:00 , Thu 10:00 - 20:00 , Mon-Wed and Fri-Sat 10:00 - 17:00

Price:

£10adv/£12.50otd/under 18s £2.50

No Yesterdays, No Tomorrows, Only Today – A Celebration of Creative Age

This moving and uplifting exhibition celebrates the extraordinary Creative Age group at Arts Centre Washington – a long‑running programme created for people living with dementia, carers, individuals with long-term health conditions, and those experiencing social isolation.

Venue:

Arts Centre Washington, Biddick Lane, Fatfield, Washington, NE38 8AB

Date:

Sep 25th 2026 - Oct 31st 2026

Opening Times:

Fri-Sat 09:00 - 16:00 , Wed 09:00 - 17:00 , Thu 09:00 - 21:00 , Tue 13:00 - 21:00

Price:

Free

Source Material - Shirley Vauvelle

Shirley Vauvelle is an established mixed-media artist and a selected member of the Craft Potters Association. Her exhibition, Source Material, brings together ceramics and paintings that share a language of process and place, a deep connection to nature and an appreciation for surface design. Incorporating botanical elements into her work Shirley uses materials found, grown and collected from her garden, creating layered, textured semi-abstract paintings and hand-built stoneware sculptural forms.

Venue:

The Biscuit Factory, 16 Stoddard Street, Newcastle, NE2 1AN

Date:

Sep 11th 2026 - Nov 22nd 2026

Opening Times:

Daily 10:00 - 17:00

Price:

Free

Lino North

Lino North brings together sixteen printmakers specialising in linocut, working across the North of England, Wales and Scotland highlighting the continuing strength and diversity of contemporary printmaking, with a focus on the physical processes of carving, inking and printing.

Venue:

The Biscuit Factory, 16 Stoddard Street, Newcastle, NE2 1AN

Date:

Sep 11th 2026 - Nov 29th 2026

Opening Times:

Daily 10:00 - 17:00

Price:

Free

Moxie: Generation Alpha Curates the Middlesbrough Collection

Moxie presents nine artworks from the Middlesbrough Collection, selected and curated by young people from the MIMA Saturday Club. Alongside each artwork, a QR code links to a new artwork by one of the group, made as a creative response to the pieces they selected from the collection. The nine selected pieces include drawings, oil paintings and prints made by John Armstrong, Kenneth Cozens, Charles Cundall, Magnus Irvin, John Keane, Andrew Lindsay, Julia Matcham, Edward Pien and David Shrigley.

Venue:

Mima, Centre Square, Middlesbrough, TS1 2AZ

Date:

Jul 25th 2026 - Mar 28th 2027

Opening Times:

Sun 12:00 - 16:00 , Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:30

Price:

Free

The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour, Mignard: The Power of Posing

At the heart of this exhibition is The Marquise de Seignelay (1691) by Pierre Mignard, one of seventeenth-century France's most celebrated portrait painters. Created at a time when portraiture was a powerful symbol of wealth, status and influence, the painting demonstrates how the artist carefully crafted every detail, from pose and clothing to setting and expression, to communicate the sitters' story.

Venue:

South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, Ocean Road, South Shields, NE33 2JA

Date:

Aug 29th 2026 - Nov 7th 2026

Opening Times:

Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00 , Sat 11:00 - 16:00

Price:

Free

Streets to Sea - by artist Kev Oldham

"I find inspiration from the things I see around me, from atmospheric seascapes to sunlit buildings, to create a “frozen moment in time”. I look at the normalcy of everyday places, finding beauty and meaning in the mundane and highlighting intricate details and textures often overlooked."

Venue:

Bailiffgate Museum, 14 Bailiffgate, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 1LX

Date:

Sep 1st 2026 - Nov 1st 2026

Opening Times:

Sun and Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:00

Price:

£6/£5/under 16s £1/under 5s Free

Turner Prize 2026

Founded in 1984, The Turner Prize is a presti- gious visual arts award given to a British artist. It is awarded to the ‘most outstanding contribution’ of art made in Britain in the last year. There are four shortlisted artists – Simeon Barclay, Kira Freije, Marguerite Humeau, and Tanoa Sasraku. Their work will be displayed in MIMA for the duration of the exhibition.

Venue:

Mima, Centre Square, Middlesbrough, TS1 2AZ

Date:

Sep 26th 2026 - Mar 29th 2027

Opening Times:

Sun 12:00 - 16:00 , Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:30

Price:

Free

Northern Quilts

For three days only, a rare opportunity to see 16 incredible quilts from the Tullie collection which have not been on public display for over 20 years. Highlights include: A medallion patchwork quilt stitched by Betty Ballas of Appleby as her wedding quilt, in 1790. A Georgian wholecloth quilted bedcover made by the famous Northumbrian stitcher Joseph Hedley, known as “Joe the Quilter”. A quilt made from Suffolk puffs, stitched by the pupils of the Robert Ferguson Senior School as a gift for their headmaster in the 1930s/1940s, using local textiles from Fergusons Fabrics and the Bucks shirt factory.

Venue:

Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle Street, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 8TP

Date:

Oct 20th 2026 - Oct 22nd 2026

Opening Times:

Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00

Price:

Adult admission (valid for 12 months) £15/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 2026 - Dec 31st 2026

Opening Times:

Tue-Sat 10:00 - 15:00

Price:

£5

The Potter’s Canvas: Ceramics and Painting in the 20th Century

This exhibition looks at how 20th-century British ceramicists used drawing, painting and mark-making to transform the surface of clay. The exhibition features over 70 works, highlighting the exceptional quality and range of the Shipley’s collections with ceramics by Bernard Leach, Michael Cardew, Lucie Rie, Hans Coper, James Tower, Gordon Baldwin, Carol McNicoll, Alison Britton, Stephen Dixon and Philip Eglin, alongside paintings and prints from the Hatton’s collection by Patrick Heron, William Scott, Adrian Heath and Victor Pasmore. The exhibition will include key works on loan from the Laing Art Gallery such as a vase by Elizabeth Fritsch and a still life by Winifred Nicholson.

Venue:

Hatton Gallery, The Quadrangle, University of Newcastle, 6 Kensington Terrace, Newcastle, NE1 7RU

Date:

Sep 19th 2026 - Jan 16th 2027

Opening Times:

Mon-Sat 10:00 - 17:00

Price:

Free

Are You Alright? Alchemy of Minds

"Are you alright?" is more a passing hello than a real question in the North East, and rarely gets an honest reply. Alchemy of Minds, a collective of Black artists from the region and beyond, treat it as one worth answering, in work about wellbeing and healing. Presented for Black History Month, part of the Turner on Tees programme.

Venue:

Darlington Library's Art Gallery, Crown Street, Darlington, DL1 1ND

Date:

Oct 3rd 2026 - Nov 25th 2026

Opening Times:

Mon-Fri 09:00 - 17:00 , Sun 09:00 - 15:00

Price:

Free

‘If I Told You’ Transformation Angels Linoprint Exhibition

Returning to the Cathedral to coincide with Safeguarding Sunday on 15 November, this series of ten angel linoprints, created by artist Sarah Troughton, represents the phases of transformation experienced following church-related abuse. This is a message of hope.

Venue:

Newcastle Cathedral, St. Nicholas Sq, Newcastle, NE1 1DF

Date:

Oct 5th 2026 - Nov 16th 2026

Opening Times:

Sat-Sun 08:00 - 17:00 , Mon-Fri 08:00 - 18:00

Price:

Free

Weaving for Wellbeing

Dingy Butterflies CIC worked in collaboration with artists Savannah Rios-Wills and Saya Naruse and community organisation The Comfrey Project to develop a year long project called Weaving for Wellbeing. The project explored connections between creativity and nature over one year and culminates in an exhibition at the Shipley Art Gallery including quilt, flatweave, cyanotypes, willow baskets, cordage and other artwork.

Venue:

Shipley Art Gallery, Prince Consort Road, Gateshead, NE8 4JB

Date:

Oct 10th 2026 - Oct 24th 2026

Opening Times:

Tue-Fri 10:00 - 16:00 , Sat 10:00 - 17:00

Price:

Free

Audrey Amiss: Kitchen Sink Realism

A major solo show of Sunderland born artist Audrey Amiss (1933–2013) presenting previously unseen paintings, drawings and archival material. Kitchen Sink Realism charts Amiss’ artistic journey from her formative years in Sunderland through to her final years in Clapham, South London. The exhibition’s title Kitchen Sink Realism is taken from a quote by Amiss where she stated, “I was once in the tradition of social realism, also called the kitchen sink school of painting, but I am now avant garde and misunderstood.” The exhibition realises Amiss’ long held desire to be recognised as an artist in her own right.

Venue:

Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Culture House, Keel Square, High St W, Sunderland, SR1 3ES

Date:

Sep 20th 2026 - Jan 17th 2027

Opening Times:

Daily 10:00 - 18:00

Price:

Free

Bayeux-on-Tyne: Drawing the Bayeux Tapestry

Over time, several reproductions of the Bayeux Tapestry have been made. However, only rarely have copies been complete and to scale. One of the rarer, full-scale copies was created here in Newcastle. Commissioned in the early 1850s by John Collingwood Bruce, this facsimile was created by pupils at Bruce’s school, Percy Street Academy, Newcastle. In 1884, it was donated to the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle (SANT) where it lay hidden until the early 1990s when it was re-discovered. Bruce's copy is a larger scale than the original and is 5m longer. The drawing is largely complete, with only two sections missing. The copy is currently in 35 separate rolls. On display in this exhibition are four of these sections, showing key parts of the story.

Venue:

Great North Museum: Hancock, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4PT

Date:

Oct 10th 2026 - Jan 17th 2027

Opening Times:

Sat 10:00 - 16:00 , Sun 11:00 - 16:00 , Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00

Price:

Free

Pre-Raphaelites: Art and Poetry

The first large-scale exhibition to explore the connections between Pre-Raphaelite art and poetry. Pre-Raphaelites: Art and Poetry features over 100 masterpiece paintings, drawings, and objects, some of which have never been displayed in Newcastle before. The artists on display include Hunt, Millais, and Rossetti, as well as Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. The exhibition will be further enhanced by an emphasis on women artists including Elizabeth Siddall, Kate Bunce, and Julia Margaret Cameron. The exhibition reveals how the artists were inspired by poets including Dante Aligheri, Geoffrey Chaucer, John Keats, and Alfred Tennyson, and by writers from the Pre-Raphaelites’ own circle, such as Christina Rossetti. There are also examples of their art inspiring new poetry.

Venue:

Laing Art Gallery, New Bridge Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8AG

Date:

Oct 17th 2026 - Feb 13th 2027

Opening Times:

Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:30

Price:

Admission charges apply

The Secret Sequin Society

The Secret Sequin Society is an artist-led collective exploring the creative potential of what they describe as ‘pinning bits of stuff to things’. Using traditional techniques of beading, sequin and embroidery work, their work challenges conventional ideas of value by elevating discarded, mass-produced components and broken jewellery fragments into intricate, maximalist artworks that invite close attention.

Venue:

Arc, Dovecot Street, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LL

Date:

Oct 13th 2026 - Jan 9th 2027

Opening Times:

Mon 12:00 - 16:00 , Wed-Sat 10:00 - 20:00 , Tue 10:00 - 16:00

Price:

Free

Tom McGuinness: Out of the Darkness

Tom McGuinness found a rich seam of artistic inspiration in the coal mines of County Durham, painting the industry and its people from his own experiences. The studious Tom saw more in the scene than most people would and, with an artist’s eye, a comprehensive knowledge and a clarity of thought, interpreted this for us all to comprehend. His visceral depictions of life underground serve as a powerful, emotive reminder of the lives lived by many in the mining communities of the North East.

Venue:

Mining Art Gallery, Bishop Auckland, County Durham

Date:

Feb 18th 2026 - Dec 24th 2026

Opening Times:

Sun and Wed-Sat 10:30 - 16:00

Price:

Included with Bishop's Key which gives 12 months admission to the Auckland Project for £30/£13.50 child/family from £45

Newcastle Quayside at 40

2026 marks forty years since the inception of the plan to regenerate Newcastle’s Quayside which had fallen into decay and disrepair. This exhibition explores the ideas and aspirations that shaped the regeneration plan, the individuals and organisations who drove them forward, and the circumstances that made the project such a success.

Venue:

Farrell Centre, The Sir Terry Farrell Building, Eldon Place, Newcastle, NE1 7RD

Date:

Feb 26th 2026 - Dec 18th 2026

Opening Times:

Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 17:00

Price:

Free

Housing Standardisation

What does a typical home in England look like? How does it compare to housing in other countries? How are these homes designed? And what is it like to live in them? This exhibition explores these questions through in-depth international and local case-studies of a range of homes. Through photographs, models and plans, it considers how housing design is shaped by policy regulations, local cultures and expectations and lived experiences of residents.

Venue:

Farrell Centre, The Sir Terry Farrell Building, Eldon Place, Newcastle, NE1 7RD

Date:

Feb 26th 2026 - Dec 18th 2026

Opening Times:

Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 17:00

Price:

Free

Tish Murtha & Kuba Ryniewicz

This landmark exhibition marks the first time four major series by celebrated documentary photographer Tish Murtha will be shown together in the North East, alongside a newly commissioned body of work by Newcastle–based artist Kuba Ryniewicz. Developed in close collaboration with her daughter, Ella Murtha, the exhibition honours Tish’s vision and the continued stewardship of her archive. Her images remain a vital record of working-class experience and a powerful call to acknowledge the inequalities that persist today. Baltic will present, for the first time together, works from the series Elswick Kids, Elswick Revisited, Save Scotswood Works and Youth Unemployment. Ryniewicz, recognised for his distinctive and unconventional approach to portraiture, brings a contemporary perspective to the exhibition. His practice blends fashion photography, regional histories and personal storytelling, often foregrounding humour, intimacy and a vivid sense of character.

Venue:

BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA

Date:

Jul 4th 2026 - Apr 4th 2027

Opening Times:

Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00

Price:

Free

Le Cliché: Records, Tapes and the Sound of Consumption

A shop window display of record covers, cassette tapes and music objects exploring the relationship between sound, format and consumer culture. The Farrell Centre’s shop window presents a selection of record covers, cassette tapes and related material from Le Cliché, an artist-led electronic music project by Professor Gerard Ryan of Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Catalonia, Spain.

Venue:

Farrell Centre, The Sir Terry Farrell Building, Eldon Place, Newcastle, NE1 7RD

Date:

Apr 27th 2026 - Dec 18th 2026

Opening Times:

Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 17:00

Price:

Free

Roger Wagner: The Seeds of Eternity Exhibition

The Bishop Trevor Rooms at Auckland Palace will host an exhibition of the works of artist and poet Roger Wagner. Weaving together Biblical narratives and contemporary landscapes, Wagner’s visionary paintings explore the mysteries of human existence.At the heart of the exhibition are two of the artist’s most compelling paintings: Menorah and The Harvest is the End of the World and the Reapers are Angels. Visitors will have the rare chance to see both works exhibited together for the first time since 1994, and for the first time ever in northern England.

Venue:

Auckland Palace and Gardens, Market Place, Bishop Auckland, DL14 7NR

Date:

Feb 18th 2026 - Dec 31st 2026

Opening Times:

Sun and Wed-Sat 10:30 - 16:00

Price:

Auckland Palace admission £20/£5 child

Chitra Ganesh: Journey to the Great Below

Ganesh’s practice is rooted in drawing and painting and has a distinctive multidisciplinary approach. Over the past twenty-five years, she has developed an expansive body of work that encompasses wall drawings, collage, animation, installation, and sculpture. Informed by her studies in literature, semiotics, and contemporary social theory, her visual vocabulary also draws from histories of surrealism, science fiction, anime, and South Asian visual culture including ancient statuary, popular Indian comics and graphic design.

Venue:

BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA

Date:

Jul 4th 2026 - Jan 17th 2027

Opening Times:

Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00

Price:

Free

Light and Fire: 500 Years of Tyndale’s New Testament

This special exhibition marks the 500-year anniversary of William Tyndale publishing his English translation of the New Testament. Banned by the authorities, this dangerous book was smuggled into England, where it helped to shape the English Reformation and transformed the very language we speak today. This is a unique opportunity to see an edition of Tyndale’s New Testament produced just months before his cruel execution as a heretic, displayed alongside other significant books, including a series of rare sixteenth-century Bibles.

Venue:

Faith Museum, Auckland Palace, Market Place, Bishop Auckland, DL14 7NR

Date:

Jul 15th 2026 - Dec 31st 2026

Opening Times:

Sun and Wed-Sat 10:30 - 16:00

Price:

Free with Auckland Palace Admission £18/child £5

Baltic Open Submission 2026

People in the North East were invited to submit artwork earlier in 2026 for a major open-call project. The resulting exhibition, Baltic Open Submission 2026, will showcase painting, sculpture, photography, video and more by artists, makers, self-taught creatives and hobbyists based in the North East of England.

Venue:

BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA

Date:

Sep 19th 2026 - Apr 4th 2027

Opening Times:

Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00

Price:

Free

Form & Display

A collaborative exhibition created by NewBridge members and neighbours who have built a display structure to exhibit their artwork in, on and around. Preview Friday 16th October: 5pm-8pm.

Venue:

The NewBridge Project, Shieldfield Centre 4 - 8, Clarence Walk, off Stoddart St, Newcastle, NE2 1AL

Date:

Oct 17th 2026 - Dec 18th 2026

Opening Times:

Thu-Sat 12:00 - 17:00 , Wed 13:00 - 17:00

Price:

Free

Keiken: Seeds, Stones, and Future Bones

The first major exhibition in a UK public gallery by the artist collective Keiken (経験). Moving fluidly between games, films, installations, and performance, they craft deeply interconnected experiences that invite audiences to feel, connect and transform. The exhibition presents Morphogenic Angels: Chapter 1, a science-fiction, single-player, action-adventure game, alongside sculptural and newly-commissioned sound work. Set within in a site-specific installation environment conceived for Baltic, Keiken’s works explore questions of consciousness, transformation and the boundaries of human experience.

Venue:

BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA

Date:

Sep 19th 2026 - Jan 17th 2027

Opening Times:

Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00

Price:

Free

Sea, Air, Earth and Hearth

This exhibition brings together the work of Carole Ann Hall and Bob Malpiedi in a conversation between painting and ceramics, observation and imagination, the natural world and the spaces we make around ourselves. The title says it all, really. Sea, air, earth and hearth — the elemental and the domestic, the wild and the made. This is a show about the natural world, yes, but also about the way we bring nature inside, surround ourselves with it, find comfort and meaning in it. Part wilderness, part home — and entirely worth your time.

Venue:

Bottleworks, 8 Riverside Walk, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE6 1LX

Date:

Oct 22nd 2026 - Oct 27th 2026

Opening Times:

Thu 10:00 - 18:00 , Sun-Mon and Fri-Sat 10:00 - 19:00

Price:

Free

Design for Living, Carlisle's Arts and Crafts House

Discover the beauty and style of Barn Close, a standout Arts and Crafts home built in 1902. Designed by Norman Evill alongside Edwin Scott-Nicholson, it was created for Edwin and Maud Scott-Nicholson, passionate champions of the Arts and Crafts movement. The house became a showcase of the era’s finest makers, featuring everything from William De Morgan’s iconic tiled fireplaces to rich William Morris textiles and carpets, all chosen to celebrate artistry, craftsmanship, and character. This exhibition will celebrate the extraordinary collection the couple assembled: furniture, textiles, metalwork and ceramics, all commissioned to reflect their vision of a “total work of art”.

Venue:

Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle Street, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 8TP

Date:

Oct 24th 2026 - Jan 24th 2027

Opening Times:

Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00

Price:

Adult admission (valid for 12 months) £15/Under 18s Free

Hartlepool Art Club 79th Annual Exhibition

Celebrating the 79th annual exhibition of work by Hartlepool Art Club. A real 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.

Venue:

Hartlepool Art Gallery, The Tourist Information Centre, Church Square, Hartlepool, TS24 7EQ

Date:

Oct 24th 2026 - Dec 23rd 2026

Opening Times:

Tue-Sat 10:00 - 17:00

Price:

Free

Greggs Ta-Pastry

The eight-metre-long embroidery chronicles the conquest of the British high street by Greggs' most treasured (and tasty) artefacts, inviting you to look closer at the legacy that lives behind your everyday favourites. To bring the epic piece to life, Greggs partnered with master atelier Hawthorne & Heaney — Royal embroiderers renowned for high-precision military and ceremonial needlework.

Venue:

Great North Museum: Hancock, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4PT

Date:

Oct 24th 2026 - Jan 17th 2027

Opening Times:

Sat 10:00 - 16:00 , Sun 11:00 - 16:00 , Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00

Price:

Free

PITMAN: The Exhibition

To mark the 10th anniversary of PITMAN, an acclaimed dance work by Eliot Smith Dance inspired by the story and paintings of the Ashington Group, PITMAN: The Exhibition brings together ten new photographic interpretations of the production. Inspired by ten paintings created by the Ashington Group – the collective of Ashington coal miners who became internationally acclaimed artists and are also known as the Pitmen Painters – PITMAN brings their creativity, resilience and community spirit to life through choreography, theatrical design and music.

Venue:

Woodhorn Museum , Queen Elizabeth 2nd Country Park, Ashington, Northumberland, NE63 9YF

Date:

Oct 26th 2026 - Nov 13th 2026

Opening Times:

Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 16:00

Price:

£10/£9/under 18s Free

Box of Delights

Solo exhibition by Newcastle artist Tracy Bidwell. Come along to this free exhibition, where you will find paintings, drawings, screen prints and gifts. Tracy's work includes landscapes, charcoal and pastel studies, and colourful abstract pieces.

Venue:

Bottleworks, 8 Riverside Walk, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE6 1LX

Date:

Oct 30th 2026 - Nov 2nd 2026

Opening Times:

30th Oct - 2nd Nov 2026 TBC

Price:

Free