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The Crack Magazine

Art

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

Shields, On the River Tyne

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

Venue:
South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, Ocean Road, South Shields, NE33 2JA
Date:
Sep 1st 2024 - Jun 28th 2025
Opening Times:
Sat 11:00 - 16:00 , Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Hetain Patel: Come As You Really Are

From makers and modifiers to crafters and collectors, Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, alongside award-winning artist and Spider-Man enthusiast Hetain Patel and Artangel present Come As You Really Are. Beginning as a nationwide call-out inviting members of the public to share the creative activity they dedicate their spare time to, Come As You Really Are will feature hundreds of unique hand-crafted objects and collections submitted from across the North East of England standing shoulder to shoulder with existing artworks and a new film commission by Patel.

Venue:
Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, c/o National Glass Centre, Liberty Way, Sunderland, SR6 0GL
Date:
Mar 22nd 2025 - Jul 6th 2025
Opening Times:
Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Nerys Johnson: Disability and Practice

The exhibition explores Johnson’s lived experience of rheumatoid arthritis and the subsequent impact of disability on her artistic practice. The works on display have been chosen from a large body of Johnson's work, which was donated to the Laing by the Estate of Nerys Johnson in November 2022. The archive is comprised of thousands of works on paper, including sketchbooks, prints, and watercolours, dating from throughout her artistic career. Johnson is most well-known for the vibrant and often intense colours in her work combined with dramatic and abstract forms of flowers, often set against dark backdrops. Her work, however, is varied—she uses different media and includes a variety of subjects beyond flowers, notably including self-portraits, abstract nudes, and architectural motifs.

Venue:
Laing Art Gallery, New Bridge Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8AG
Date:
Dec 21st 2024 - Dec 6th 2025
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:30
Price:
Free

The Discovery of Birds

Drawing on Ushaw Library’s rich and varied natural history holdings, The Discovery of Birds illuminates the development of bird art and ornithology from the Renaissance to the nineteenth century. The exhibition takes in the Enlightenment, exploration and discovery and includes the work of many of the leading naturalists and bird artists of the period.

Venue:
Ushaw: Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, Woodland Road, Durham, DH7 9RH
Date:
Mar 22nd 2025 - Jun 22nd 2025
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:
£10/under 18s £6/under 5s Free

Ali Cherri: How I Am Monument

Ali Cherri works across film, sculpture, installation, drawing and performance. His practice is inspired both by archaeological artefacts and the natural world, exploring the temporal shifts between ancient civilisations and contemporary societies. Using artefacts as a starting point, he considers the links between archaeology, historical narrative and heritage, reflecting on the processes of excavation and the relocation and preservation of cultural objects in museums. His work addresses colonial histories, cultural loss, nationhood and different geographies of violence in his native Lebanon but also in the broader region, interrogating the ways in which political violence is witnessed, and disseminates into people’s bodies, and how it scars the physical and cultural landscape.

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

Laura and Rachel Lancaster

A survey painting exhibition of works by Laura Lancaster and Rachel Lancaster. Identical twins and prolific painters, the Lancasters have carved out distinct painting styles and have exhibited nationally and internationally. This exhibition at Baltic will be the first institutional exhibition showing the sisters’ paintings side by side, and the exhibition location, in North East of England, where they were born and still live and work in their shared studio in Ouseburn, Newcastle.

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

'The Secret Lives of Bottle of Notes: Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen'

Discover the story behind Bottle of Notes (1993), Middlesbrough’s iconic public sculpture and the only UK work by celebrated artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Over its 30-year life this nine-metre-tall steel bottle has been adopted as a symbol for the Tees Valley. The Secret Lives of Bottle of Notes, delves into how public art shapes identity and place. Through historical and contemporary artworks, archival materials, and creative contributions from Tees Valley communities, the exhibition traces the making of this significant sculpture, its meaning to the region, and its lasting impact on Middlesbrough’s cultural landscape.

Venue:
Mima, Centre Square, Middlesbrough, TS1 2AZ
Date:
Mar 14th 2025 - Oct 5th 2025
Opening Times:
Sun 12:00 - 16:00 , Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:30
Price:
Free

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Railway Firsts

An exhibition highlighting trains, objects and innovations, both famous and unexpected, that have shaped the railways. The exhibition will spotlight the pivotal innovations and unexpected ‘firsts’ that shaped the railways and our history, presented through a series of eye-catching pop-up displays, as visitors journey through the museum.

Venue:
Locomotion, Dale Road Industrial Estate, Dale Road, Shildon, County Durham, DL4 2RE
Date:
Feb 15th 2025 - Dec 31st 2025
Opening Times:
Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Contemporary Print: Ade Adesina and Hugh Hamshaw Thomas

In the summer of 2024, Ade Adesina and Hugh Hamshaw Thomas took up a residency at Ushaw. The exhibition includes new work inspired by Ushaw and its collections. In collaboration with Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair.

Venue:
Ushaw: Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, Woodland Road, Durham, DH7 9RH
Date:
Apr 11th 2025 - Jun 22nd 2025
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:
£10/under 18s £6/under 5s Free

SHOAL

An exhibition featuring 12 photographs by artist Mandy Barker. The series reveals evidence of marine plastic debris collected during the Japanese Tsunami Debris Expedition in June 2012. The work focuses on plastics collected and photographed from trawls and net samples at various points between Japan and Hawaii, and also from the tsunami affected shoreline in Fukushima Prefecture. Each image includes a different trawl sample, in some cases represented as tiny plankton, and captioned with the grid reference of where each sample was collected.

Venue:
Great North Museum: Hancock, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4PT
Date:
Feb 21st 2025 - Nov 2nd 2025
Opening Times:
Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00 , Sun 11:00 - 16:00 , Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:
Free

From Josephine Bowes: Trendsetters and Trailblazers

A landmark exhibition honouring the pioneering spirit and 200th anniversary of museum co-founder, Joséphine Bowes. This visually stunning exhibition showcases three centuries of eclectic art and creativity including a curated selection of works from The Bowes Museum’s collection and major loans from across the UK, Europe and United States. Expect to see an extraordinary mix of paintings, sculptures, textiles and ceramics from world-renowned artists including Pablo Picasso and Sir Grayson Perry CBE, rising contemporaries such as Joy Labinjo and Lucy Waters, and a special commission by Phoebe Cummings. The exhibition offers a glimpse into how Joséphine’s remarkable understanding of artistic trends and cross-genre approach to collecting might have shaped the collection today.

Venue:
The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8NP
Date:
Feb 8th 2025 - Jun 29th 2025
Opening Times:
Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
£19.50/under 18s Free

Amber: Documenting Place

A display of photographs and films from the Amber Film & Photography Collective. Founded in 1968, the Amber Film & Photography Collective is renowned for their work documenting the full spectrum of experience in the North East’s working class and industrial communities. With images from the AmberSide Collection, and select films from Amber, Documenting Place looks at how locations can be captured through a focus on the people and communities who live there.

Venue:
Farrell Centre, The Sir Terry Farrell Building, Eldon Place, Newcastle, NE1 7RD
Date:
Feb 20th 2025 - Sep 14th 2025
Opening Times:
Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Resounding Diasporic Sonic Worlds

An exhibition and events programme exploring music and resistance among various communities and their diasporas. Resounding Diasporic Sonic Worlds brings together film and video, photography, and sound alongside archival projects that centre radical approaches to the past, present and future; where archives are treated as living sites and archiving as a practice that challenges histories of colonial and racial violence.

Venue:
The NewBridge Project, Shieldfield Centre 4 - 8, Clarence Walk, off Stoddart St, Newcastle, NE2 1AL
Date:
May 10th 2025 - Jul 19th 2025
Opening Times:
Daily 12:00 - 17:00
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

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Cedric Morris: Artist, Plantsman & Traveller

Cedric Morris (1889 – 1982) was one of the most talented painters of the natural world in twentieth-century British art. Morris met his partner the artist Arthur Lett-Haines on Armistice Day in 1919 and in 1939 they established the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing at Benton End, a rambling Tudor cottage in the Sussex countryside. Notable students at the school included Lucien Freud and Maggi Hambling and it was in the cottage’s gardens that Morris developed his lifelong interest in horticulture, subsequently becoming famous for breeding exotic varieties of Irises. This new exhibition explores Morris’ relationship with Lett-Haines and Benton End, his travels across Europe to find and paint new plant species and his lifelong affinity with the natural world.

Venue:
Granary Gallery, Dewar’s Lane, Berwick-upon-Tweed, TD15 1HJ
Date:
Jun 7th 2025 - Oct 12th 2025
Opening Times:
Sun and Wed-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:
Free

NHS Darkroom with Johannah Churchill: Come As You Really Are

Newcastle Hospitals Charity and Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art have teamed up with renowned photographer Johannah Churchill for 2025’s edition of Newcastle Hospitals Charity’s NHS Darkroom. NHS Darkroom was launched in 2023 as part of Newcastle Hospitals Charity’s Arts Programme which aims to enhance the wellbeing and recovery of patients and staff across Newcastle Hospitals. For this iteration, inspired by the exhibition Come As You Really Are in Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art Main Gallery, Newcastle Hospitals staff have been invited to share their own hobbies, crafts or collections which bring them joy, keep them well and provide a creative outlet.

Venue:
Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, c/o National Glass Centre, Liberty Way, Sunderland, SR6 0GL
Date:
May 17th 2025 - Jul 5th 2025
Opening Times:
Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Pool

The word 'Pool' has a range of what appear to be very different meanings although they are all related through some notion of 'coming together and sharing'. We can think of anything from pools of water, through pooled gambling 'The Pools', shared resources among a specific group (a clothing pool?)

Venue:
EDAN Gallery, The Art Block, 74 Church Street, Seaham, County Durham, SR7 7HF
Date:
Jun 3rd 2025 - Jul 12th 2025
Opening Times:
Tue-Fri 11:00 - 15:00 , Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:
Free

Young Railway Photographer of the Year

Launching the summer programme, this exhibition will include the winning and commended photographs in the nationwide competition organised by the National Railway Museum & the Railway Photographic Society.

Venue:
Locomotion, Dale Road Industrial Estate, Dale Road, Shildon, County Durham, DL4 2RE
Date:
Jun 1st 2025 - Dec 31st 2025
Opening Times:
Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Shakespeare Recovered: Durham's First Folio

In December 1998, the Durham First Folio, a copy of William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies, was stolen along with six other items while on display in Cosin’s Library. For a decade, there was no news of the missing books and Durham University had to accept that the First Folio was lost. But the story didn’t end there. In 2008, a badly damaged book was brought to the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. The book was presented to experts as a newly discovered copy of the First Folio that needed authentication for sale. Staff at the Folger quickly recognised the possibility that this book was in fact Durham’s missing copy and after verification it was returned to its rightful home on Palace Green. This exhibition tells the story of what happened next, exploring the work of our conservation team to make the First Folio accessible again. Visit to see a rare and important cultural artefact and experience a book as you’ve never seen one before.

Venue:
Palace Green Library, Palace Green, Durham, DH1 3RN
Date:
Apr 4th 2025 - Nov 2nd 2025
Opening Times:
Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Brick Flicks

From Wayne’s World to West Side Story, The Matrix to Mary Poppins, and Laurel & Hardy to Life of Pi, see classic movies in LEGO bricks in this exhibition of some of the most iconic and memorable film moments of all time recreated by Warren Elsmore, the well-known artist in LEGO bricks. Each familiar scene has been carefully photographed to mimic the staging and lighting of the original movie, but with the scenery, actors and actresses recreated with everyone’s favourite building blocks.

Venue:
Bishop Auckland Town Hall, Market Place, Bishop Auckland, DL14 7NP
Date:
Jun 2nd 2025 - Aug 30th 2025
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:
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

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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 - Nov 1st 2025
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 10:00 - 15:00 , Daily 10:00 - 17:00
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 - Nov 1st 2025
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 10:00 - 15:00 , Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Adults: £3.98 | £2.98 Concessions ( includes £1 voluntary donation), NE28 residents Free

Andy Welland Artist Pop-Up Shop

This forthcoming pop-up shop brings artist Andy Welland’s signature bold celebration of colour, shape and form to Baltic with a range of exclusive products. Centred around the idea of creation through play - where play itself becomes a form of luxury and artistic language, these works invite viewers to explore this universal language as an entry point into Welland’s work. Through giant Plasticine reliefs, lipstick-thick oil finger-paintings, and energetic prints, his vibrant compositions reflect a joyful spontaneity that embraces both individuality and togetherness.

Venue:
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Date:
Apr 12th 2025 - Sep 28th 2025
Opening Times:
Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00
Price:
Free

Sheila Fell: Cumberland on Canvas

The first major retrospective of Fell’s work in over thirty years. The exhibition brings together 100 works from private and public collections across the country from the likes of Tate, National Portrait Gallery, Royal Academy and Abbot Hall. The exhibition will explore Cumberland as Fell’s source of artistic inspiration, her childhood in Aspatria, her artistic development at Carlisle School of Art followed by St. Martin’s School of Art, Fell’s recognition as an important female artist, her relationships and her legacy.

Venue:
Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Mowbray Gardens, Burdon Road, Sunderland, SR1 1PP
Date:
Apr 10th 2025 - Jun 28th 2025
Opening Times:
Sat 10:00 - 16:00 , Mon-Fri 09:30 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Sanctuary!

In medieval times, Durham Cathedral was known as a place of sanctuary, where criminals could find temporary refuge from the law. Discover the stories of people who fled to Durham Cathedral and find out about the famous Sanctuary Ring on the North door - how it became one of the key symbols of the Cathedral, and how it inspires artists today. See prints from 18th century, letters from royalty, commemorative items, registers of sanctuary seekers, manuscripts and the moulds used to create the replica Sanctuary Ring.

Venue:
Durham Cathedral, Chapter Office, Palace Green, Durham, DH1 3EH
Date:
Apr 24th 2025 - Jun 29th 2025
Opening Times:
Sun 12:00 - 16:00 , Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:
Adult £7.50/under 18s Free

Railway Pioneers

In celebration of start of the S&DR200 bicentennial anniversary festival, three iconic locomotives will be on show in the historic Grade II listed Carriage Works right here at Hopetown Darlington. The locomotives are showcasing the advancements of rail technology in the early 19th century as well as the engineering innovation which led to the opening of the S&DR. These early locomotives were critical to future rail success, and Railway Pioneers is a unique opportunity to see them all in one place. The original preserved Locomotion No.1 will be returning to Darlington as one of these engines. This iconic engine, designed and driven by George Stephenson on the historical first journey in 1825, is an integral part of Darlington’s history, included both on the town’s coat of arms and the football team's crest. Joining Locomotion No.1 are two other classic locomotives - the Pen-y-Darren, designed by Richard Trevithick in 1804, and Steam Elephant, designed by John Buddle and William Chapman in 1815.

Venue:
Hopetown, McNay Street, Darlington, DL3 6SW
Date:
Apr 4th 2025 - Jun 22nd 2025
Opening Times:
Sun and Tue-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
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

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Peter Hayes: The Landscapes We Live In

Having spent three decades as a politics lecturer, Peter gained an MA in Fine Art from Sunderland University in 2023. Now a full-time artist, his main works are landscapes, which convey some of his intense and immersive experiences in Britain's countryside, and 'peoplescapes', narrative paintings realised in oils which explore the ways humans interact with nature.

Venue:
The People's Theatre Gallery, Open only on performance nights, People's Theatre, Stephenson Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 5QF
Date:
May 5th 2025 - Jul 25th 2025
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 18:30 - 21:00
Price:
Free

Jim Moir: Knot Twister Prologue

Jim Moir (AKA Vic Reeves) returns to The Biscuit Factory this Summer with a brand new collection of original paintings. Those following Jim's career as an artist will be familiar with his breadth of work. From charming watercolours to expressive & bold oil paintings; his passion for nature is obvious in every composition, as are the unique characters of his subjects.

Venue:
The Biscuit Factory, 16 Stoddard Street, Newcastle, NE2 1AN
Date:
May 16th 2025 - Jul 20th 2025
Opening Times:
Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Concretopias and Beyond

A display of work by school children exploring how developments of the 1960s and 1970s have influenced their relationship with where they live. Working with geographer Mike Jeffries, who over the past decade has helped a range of groups to create personal experience maps of their local areas, the children started by tearing up tourist maps of Tyneside, replacing the civic grandeur and cultural icons with the real world do family, home and pets, often mixing physical streets with virtual spaces and computer games. In these maps, we see the city depicted by those whose voices are rarely heard.

Venue:
Farrell Centre, The Sir Terry Farrell Building, Eldon Place, Newcastle, NE1 7RD
Date:
Apr 10th 2025 - Aug 31st 2025
Opening Times:
Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

Spirit of the North East: The art of Richard Hobson, a retrospective

In this exhibition, discover how Richard Hobson (1945–2004) captured the changing landscapes, industry and communities of the North East. From bustling shipyards to rugged moorlands and beyond, explore how Richard captured an industrial landscape and a way of life which was on the cusp of change.

Venue:
South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, Ocean Road, South Shields, NE33 2JA
Date:
Apr 12th 2025 - Nov 2nd 2025
Opening Times:
Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00 , Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:
Free

The Painted Coast: Tyneside

Showcasing the oil paintings of landscape artist Stuart Jones. Working outdoors on location with his easel is what drives Stuart’s work. In his 'plein air' paintings, his aim is to convey a sense of the light, mood and atmosphere at the coast as well as the activity taking place in his 'busy beach scenes'.

Venue:
Spanish City, Whitley Bay, Tyne & Wear, NE26 1BG
Date:
Apr 8th 2025 - Sep 28th 2025
Opening Times:
8th Apr - 28th Sep 2025 TBC
Price:
Free

Kirsten Luckins: Declaration

Writings and recycled paper artworks mapping the journey towards becoming a signatory with Culture Declares Emergency. Using collage and experimental techniques in handmade paper and piped papier mache, Kirsten Luckins presents poems and visual provocations on themes of biodiversity loss and personal engagement with the climate crisis.

Venue:
Arc, Dovecot Street, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LL
Date:
Jun 5th 2025 - Jul 14th 2025
Opening Times:
Mon 12:00 - 16:00 , Wed-Sat 10:00 - 20:00 , Tue 10:00 - 16:00
Price:
Free

With These Hands

This exhibition explores the representation of craft in paintings, drawings, and prints. The process of making and mending by hand whether a domestic pastime, rural and semi-industrial labour, or essential war effort, is a persistent theme to which artists return. Yet these artworks are rarely straightforward observations of everyday activity. Instead, the act of making is used to symbolise personal and communal identity, leisure and work, tradition and progress.

Venue:
Laing Art Gallery, New Bridge Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8AG
Date:
May 17th 2025 - Sep 27th 2025
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:30
Price:
£8/£7

In a Strange Place by Mia & Eric

Presented in partnership with GIFT - Gateshead International Festival of Theatre, In a Strange Place is a meditative 9-channel video installation and social engagement project that delves into the future of our forests and those who care for them. Born out of a multi-year, international research and engagement process with communities in England, Germany, and Norway, In a Strange Place features 150 foresters, ecologists, activists, conservationists and land keepers performing abstract, slow-motion 'dances' in the woods. These improvised choreographies are reflections of the participant's care work, their connection to their local forest, and their role in an uncertain multi-species future.

Venue:
Gateshead Central Library, Prince Consort Road, Gateshead, NE8 4LN
Date:
Apr 26th 2025 - Jun 28th 2025
Opening Times:
Sat 09:00 - 13:00 , Tue-Wed and Fri 09:00 - 17:00 , Mon and Thu 09:00 - 19:00
Price:
Free

Henna Asikainen & Roua Horanieh: To Own Both Nothing and the Whole World

This exhibition is part of celebrations marking 80 years since the publication of the first Moomin story by Tove Jansson, which had a focus on displacement. The title of the exhibition is a quote from Snufkin, one of the characters in the Moomin stories. The project explores ideas of home and belonging, reflecting on the impact of displacement on both human and more-than-human worlds. Recognising that nature is our first habitat without which no home can be built. The materials used in the work are foraged from the surrounding landscape, each carrying its own enchanting story—bringing communities together in unexpected and meaningful ways.

Venue:
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Date:
Jun 11th 2025 - Jul 6th 2025
Opening Times:
Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00
Price:
Free

Guiding Entities: Zoë Zo, Zoë Tumika & Zoë Guthrie

Guiding Entities is a solo exhibition by Glasgow-based artist Zoë Tumika, who works under the names Zoë Zo, Zoë Tumika & Zoë Guthrie. Spanning ceramics, film and sound, Tumika’s work draws on Black radical traditions of resistance and creativity. The exhibition takes the River Tees and River Clyde as starting points to reflect on extraction, resistance and the possibility of repair. They describe their practice as “a way of processing collision and untethering” — grappling with being and belonging across temporal, material, and spiritual dimensions. Their work negotiates the charged terrain of museums as sites of cultural construction and colonial legacy.

Venue:
Mima, Centre Square, Middlesbrough, TS1 2AZ
Date:
May 17th 2025 - Nov 23rd 2025
Opening Times:
Sun 12:00 - 16:00 , Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:30
Price:
Free

Nature’s Tangled Web

An exhibition of work by Mike Collier, accompanied by Tom Jordan and Jane Young. Nature’s Tangled Web features work by Mike Collier dating back to the 2010s that is previously unseen in the North East. Tom Jordan is contributing new, intricately woven patterns that reflect our knotted relationship to culture and natural heritage. Jane Young is showing new work based on closely observed natural occurrences noted on walks in the Derwent Valley, seen and heard on her year-long residency at Lockhaugh Farm in Gateshead.

Venue:
National Glass Centre, Liberty Way, Sunderland, SR6 0GL
Date:
May 14th 2025 - Sep 13th 2025
Opening Times:
Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

On Dreaming

This exhibition presents works made by three young artists - Maura Hawkes, Yuliia Syrenkova and Grace Sharp - who have recently completed a bursary at Northern Print. The bursaries, funded by Idlewild Trust, allowed the artists to spend time in the studio over the last 12 months experimenting with printmaking, learning new processes as well as developing and sharing ideas about print. Each artist is presenting finished works made during and following on from the bursary programme.

Venue:
Northern Print, Stepney Bank, Newcastle, NE1 2NP
Date:
May 10th 2025 - Jul 5th 2025
Opening Times:
Wed-Sat 12:00 - 16:00
Price:
Free

Beasts and Legends: Adventures Through North East Folklore

Beasts and Legends explores the development of storytelling throughout Historic County Durham. This family friendly exhibition features a selection of artefacts from across the Durham University collections to help tell the stories of local folktales. For those both familiar or new to the stories of the beasts and legends on display, the exhibition poses the opportunity for visitors, especially younger people, to connect with folktales through the displays. The exhibition also features objects on loan from Durham Cathedral, in addition to artworks created by collaborative work with local artist Ruth Flowers.

Venue:
Palace Green Library, Palace Green, Durham, DH1 3RN
Date:
Jun 14th 2025 - Nov 2nd 2025
Opening Times:
Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

A Striking Sight: The pioneering 1875 excavations of South Shields Roman Fort

2025 marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the excavations in 1875 at the 'Roman camp' now, Arbeia, South Shields Roman Fort. This exhibition will look at the progress of the first few years of excavations from 1875 – 1881 when the Roman Remains Park was then established. The displays will include what was found, the people involved in the work as well as photographs taken at the time.

Venue:
Arbeia Roman Fort and Museum, Baring Street, South Shields, NE33 2BB
Date:
May 11th 2025 - Sep 28th 2025
Opening Times:
Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00 , Sun 13:00 - 16:00 , Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:
Free

VE Day 80: The Final Push

This display tells the story of both antecedent regiments of the Light Dragoons and the part they played in North West Germany during the final six weeks of the Second World War, which in turn led to Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945. The Final Push features the role played by the 15th/19th Hussars who, as part of the 11th Armoured Division, came across and liberated the internment camp at Bergen – Belsen on 15 April 1945.

Venue:
Discovery Museum, (Closed on all Bank Holidays) Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4JA
Date:
May 11th 2025 - Nov 2nd 2025
Opening Times:
Sat-Sun 11:00 - 16:00 , Mon-Fri 10:00 - 16:00
Price:
Free

George Horton: Artworks from the Collection

George Horton, a self-taught artist from South Shields, became one of the most renowned painters of the North East in the early 1900s, celebrated for his watercolours of coastal scenes. Despite a challenging upbringing and no formal training, his talent earned him spots in prestigious exhibitions, including the Royal Academy and the Paris Salon.

Venue:
South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, Ocean Road, South Shields, NE33 2JA
Date:
May 11th 2025 - Aug 2nd 2025
Opening Times:
Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00 , Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:
Free

Dust of the Unwritten

This exhibition brings together selected works of Hassnain Awais, a Lahore-based printmaker whose practice explores themes of silence, memory, and the fragmented self through experimental printmaking and mixed-media approaches. His works, rich with symbolic references to architectural forms, anatomical structures, and archival textures, invite viewers into a deeply personal yet universal reflection on time, identity, and unspoken narratives.

Venue:
The Zoo Middlesbrough CIC, Hill Street Shopping Centre, Middlesbrough, Cleveland, TS1 1SU
Date:
Jun 5th 2025 - Jun 26th 2025
Opening Times:
5th - 26th Jun 2025 TBC
Price:
Free

Voices of Pride

Marking global Pride Month in June, the exhibition brings together a vibrant and diverse selection of work by LGBTQ+ artists working in the North East of England. It is part of the Clifford Chance Arcus Pride Art 2025 exhibition, the theme of which this year is ‘Voices Of Pride’, one of the largest corporate supported exhibitions of artworks by LGBTQ+ and supporter artists taking place across the law firm’s global network each year. Exhibiting artists: Chris Fleming, Will Hughes, Meg McWilliam, Davey Powell, Bethany Stead.

Venue:
Vane, 65 High St, Gateshead, NE8 2AP
Date:
Jun 11th 2025 - Jul 5th 2025
Opening Times:
Wed-Sat 12:00 - 17:00
Price:
Free

People, Places & Paddling: An Exhibition by Anita Jazmin

Anita’s creations are all inspired by the incredible beauty found in nature. This exhibition explores a variety of concepts; from portraits that capture the essence of character through expressive lines, to her playful approach with mixed media in sea and landscapes. Delicious colours of paint, dance and sparkle across the canvas intertwined with people’s handwriting, tea leaves, ash, coins, gold leak and various found objects. Working on canvas, cloth or driftwood to express her emotions and experience of the world around her.

Venue:
Arts Centre Washington, Biddick Lane, Fatfield, Washington, NE38 8AB
Date:
May 16th 2025 - Jul 5th 2025
Opening Times:
Wed 09:00 - 17:00 , Fri-Sat 09:00 - 16:00 , Thu 09:00 - 21:00 , Tue 13:00 - 21:00
Price:
Free

World cultures, traditions and friendships

Step into a world of vibrant culture, shared heritage and international celebration with World Cultures, Traditions and Friendships, a new exhibition created by the team behind the renowned Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance (BIFF). This captivating display features a dazzling collection of global treasures including traditional masks, dolls, carriages, a Samurai helmet, a Mexican drum, and other striking heritage artefacts. The exhibition also showcases artwork, drawings, scrapbooks, slide shows, and a specially commissioned archive documentary, marking the 60th anniversary of the Folklore Festival.

Venue:
Preston Park Museum, Yarm Road, Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 3RH
Date:
May 16th 2025 - Sep 1st 2025
Opening Times:
Sun and Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:
£5/£3

Brian Eyler Exhibition

Brian Eyler is a professional landscape photographer originally from San Diego, now living in Newcastle. After moving in 2019 to join his wife, Brian shifted gears when the COVID-19 pandemic paused his video production business. Instead of stepping back, he returned to photography - his passion for over a decade. During this time, he drew inspiration from classical oil painters like Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Kinkade, whose romantic use of light and atmosphere influenced his evolving style. 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:
Queen's Hall Arts Centre, Beaumont Street, Hexham, NE46 3LS
Date:
May 23rd 2025 - Jan 5th 2027
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:
Free

Vivid Memories

A dynamic and eclectic exhibition of visual arts spanning the two main galleries of the Queen’s Hall curated by staff and students from Queen Elizabeth High School. The artists are showing their work made for their A-level studies last year and this. The exhibition title is derived from two 2024 subject titles set by the exam board, together they refer to the extraordinary formative and creative experiences that have inspired the students’ work on show.

Venue:
Queen's Hall Arts Centre, Beaumont Street, Hexham, NE46 3LS
Date:
Jun 14th 2025 - Jul 5th 2025
Opening Times:
Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:
Free

We Depend on Our Words – Pride Exhibition

Newcastle Cathedral celebrates the significance of the Pride movement and its lasting impact on our shared cultural and social fabric. This returning exhibition explores the deep connection between language and identity.

Venue:
Newcastle Cathedral, St. Nicholas Sq, Newcastle, NE1 1DF
Date:
Jun 2nd 2025 - Jul 28th 2025
Opening Times:
Sat-Sun 08:00 - 17:00 , Mon-Fri 08:00 - 18:00
Price:
Free

Telling Tales: Making Stories Come to Life

Visitors of all ages are invited to explore the many ways in which stories can be told. A diverse and exciting collection of storytelling artefacts, including shadow puppets, theatre costumes, folk instruments, anime cels, movie posters, and more from various cultures and time periods showcase the universality of telling tales. As you learn the different methods there are to tell stories, experience the exhibition in your own way, through written guides, audio recordings, digital screen or museum-wide trail designed specifically for young learners.

Venue:
Oriental Museum, Elvet Hill, (off South Road), Durham, DH1 3TH
Date:
Jun 13th 2025 - Nov 9th 2025
Opening Times:
Sat-Sun 12:00 - 17:00 , Tue-Wed and Fri 10:00 - 17:00 , Thu 10:00 - 19:00
Price:
Free

Imitating Life

An exhibition featuring models from 19th Century glassmakers Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka. Imitating Life is an exhibition featuring the museum’s collection of glass marine invertebrate models from the renowned Blaschka family. The exhibition also includes invertebrate spirit specimens, fungi models, and an excerpt from the short film Fragile Legacy, directed by David O. Brown.

Venue:
Great North Museum: Hancock, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4PT
Date:
Jun 1st 2025 - Sep 28th 2025
Opening Times:
Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00 , Sun 11:00 - 16:00 , Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:
Free