Art
North of England Art Club: Recent Work
North of England Art Club members, who are professional and amateur artists based in Newcastle Arts Centre, display their latest work. Members from all over the region present work in a range of two-dimensional materials and styles, abstract and figurative. Subject matters include life drawing, portraiture, still life, seascapes, and much more.
- Venue:
- The People's Theatre Gallery, Open only on performance nights, People's Theatre, Stephenson Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 5QF
- Date:
-
Sep 30th 2025 - Dec 5th 2025
- Opening Times:
-
Mon-Sat 18:30 - 21:00
- Price:
- Free
The Northern Festival of Illustration
This celebration of visual storytelling returns in 2025 with the powerful theme ‘Stories of Home’. Rooted in the belief that illustration is a universal language, the 2025 festival highlights the illustration’s unique power to capture emotion, communicate identity, and preserve culture. Whether through picture books, comics, animation, or digital media, this year’s programme explores how we use illustration to tell the stories that matter most—those that define where we come from, and what we call home. At the heart of the festival is the flagship ‘Stories of Home’ exhibition at Hartlepool Art Gallery, a curated showcase of works from international illustrators working across a variety of mediums. Running for the full duration of the festival, the exhibition will be accompanied by a dynamic series of family-friendly workshops, author/illustrator events, and community activities.
- Venue:
- Various Venues in Hartlepool,
- Date:
-
Sep 12th 2025 - Nov 1st 2025
- Opening Times:
-
12th Sep - 1st Nov 2025 TBC
- Price:
- Free
The Storytellers by Luxmuralis
Escape into a world of light and sound projections that bring storytelling to life. Gaze up at literary illuminations on Durham Cathedral’s centuries-old architecture at The Storytellers by Luxmuralis. Luxmuralis returns to Durham for the fourth year – showcasing another spectacular light installation that brings stories out of the pages of their books and into reality. See words on pages come to light, as you walk through ancient texts and become immersed in the realms of famous author’s imaginations. Explore the worlds of romance, fantasy, poetry and legends, and step back in time to see iconic children’s classics step into the spotlight. The cathedral will also be filled with a captivating soundscape, celebrating the timeless tradition of sharing stories.
- Venue:
- Durham Cathedral, Chapter Office, Palace Green, Durham, DH1 3EH
- Date:
-
Oct 8th 2025 - Oct 12th 2025
- Opening Times:
-
8th - 12th Oct 2025 18:45 - 21:15
- Price:
- Adult £11/child 3-17 £4.50/under 3s 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
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
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. This exhibition offers a chance to rediscover Horton’s legacy and celebrate the passion and perseverance of George Horton.
- Venue:
- South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, Ocean Road, South Shields, NE33 2JA
- Date:
-
Aug 16th 2025 - Nov 1st 2025
- Opening Times:
-
Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00 , Sat 11:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- Free
Make & Mend
Visit a pop up studio in the library at Belsay Hall, with creatives from the Northumbria University Schools of Design and Architecture. See the development of creative projects across a range of media including textiles, furniture, photography and architectural studies. All works draw inspiration from the Hall, exploring making traditions linked to the site, while showcasing contemporary techniques and approaches.
- Venue:
- Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens, Belsay, Nr Morpeth, Northumberland, NE20 0DX
- Date:
-
Sep 15th 2025 - Nov 2nd 2025
- Opening Times:
-
Daily 10:00 - 17:00 , Sat-Sun 10:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- From £13
Reflections 2, Light in the Darkness
Byker artist Karen Ruffles, aka Drawing in Dark's collection features local landmarks including the Tyne Bridge and Marden quarry nature reserve, as well as scenes from her time in Cornwall. The smaller works each showcase a single luminous droplet against moody, shadowy backgrounds, while larger pieces shine with a whole constellation of droplets, each reflecting the subject in a subtly different way. Each drawing captures a luminous mini landscape that existed for just a split second before the droplet fell.
- Venue:
- Newcastle City Library, Charles Avison Building, 33 New Bridge Street West, Newcastle, NE1 8AX
- Date:
-
Oct 10th 2025 - Oct 15th 2025
- Opening Times:
-
Mon, Wed and Fri 10:00 - 17:00 , Tue and Thu 10:00 - 19:00 , Sat 10:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- Free
The North East Emerging Artist Award
This prestigious award is always one of the cultural highlights of the year and this year’s picks are particularly strong. Joanna Manousis explores mirror making in cast glass and her work ‘Dust & Diamonds’ will be on display in the Basement Beer Cellar of Seaton Delaval Hall. It’s a piece that draws inspiration from the Delavals’ industrial income streams, with a cast glass saltshaker. The other winners include David Kenney who was inspired by Seaton Delaval’s rich theatrical heritage. His installation ‘The Vanbrugh Perspective’ uses forced perspective and trompe-l’oeil to create the illusion of an endlessly extending arcade. Finally we have Wilfred Spears whose ‘The Seaton Stones’ is an interactive stone carving installation inspired by the Delaval family and the hall’s history.
- Venue:
- Seaton Delaval Hall, The Avenue, Seaton Sluice, Northumberland, NE26 4QR
- Date:
-
Sep 6th 2025 - Oct 19th 2025
- Opening Times:
-
Sun-Wed and Sat 10:00 - 17:00
- Price:
- £15.40/child 5-17 £7.70/under 5s Free
Printing with Light
The exhibition presents prints made using photographic processes including cyanotype, solarplate, gum bichromate duotone, photoetching and others; with work from: Chris Madge, Ian Gale, Cindy Robinson-Begg, Valentina Usai-Zucca, Donald Wilkinson and Birgit Skiöld.
- Venue:
- Northern Print, Stepney Bank, Newcastle, NE1 2NP
- Date:
-
Sep 13th 2025 - Oct 30th 2025
- Opening Times:
-
Wed-Sat 12:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- Free
On Fragments Of Yearning, I Linger
This contemporary art exhibition invites visitors to explore museum collections through a renewed Queer lens. Artist collaborators Bex Harvey and Sarah Li (Unlearn & Publish) have worked with members of the Durham community to creatively respond to objects from the Museum of Archaeology, Durham Castle, Natural Science Collection and the Oriental Museum. Through poetry, textiles, printmaking, and personal storytelling, the exhibition reimagines archival fragments and asks: Where can we find queerness within our history?
- Venue:
- Palace Green Library, Palace Green, Durham, DH1 3RN
- Date:
-
Sep 9th 2025 - Oct 16th 2025
- Opening Times:
-
Sun, Sun, Sun, Tue-Fri 10:00 - 17:00 , Sat-Sun 11:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- Free
What the Others Built
This exhibition resurrects the Exquisite Corpse. The reimagining of this surrealist game of chance brings together the diverse practices of Peter Hanmer, Paul Raymond and Stuart Mel Wilson. All three artists have developed a shared composition; an environment mirroring the way in which humanity’s disconnected, often short-sighted actions construct increasingly unpredictable and precarious forms of existence. Fragmented figures, unexpected juxtapositions, and shared absurdities reflect not only the spirit of chance, but the deeper tensions and harmonies that arise when artists relinquish ego and embrace the unknown together.
- Venue:
- Vane, 65 High St, Gateshead, NE8 2AP
- Date:
-
Oct 9th 2025 - Nov 1st 2025
- Opening Times:
-
Wed-Sat 12:00 - 17:00
- Price:
- Free
Corridors
A breath-taking new installation by internationally acclaimed artist Rebecca Louise Law. Suspended delicately from the ceiling, thousands of preserved flowers, many of which have been grown in the museum's own Walled Garden, come together in an immersive display. The installation takes inspiration from the fact that the original Stockton and Darlington Railway line ran through Preston Park.
- Venue:
- Preston Park Museum, Yarm Road, Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 3RH
- Date:
-
Sep 13th 2025 - Jan 4th 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Sun and Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- Adult £12/child £8/under 3s 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
Mac Collins: Miscue
Slugtown is pleased to present Miscue, an ambitious solo exhibition by British visual artist Mac Collins. In Miscue, Collins will transform the gallery into an immersive abstraction of a traditional pub. Initially informed by The Limekiln pub in Nottingham, Collins is interested in the point where cultures collide and merge, and both the camaraderie and conflict that can occur in civic spaces. An amalgamation of pub and social club references will influence the installation with a colossal and distorted pool table confronting viewers as they enter the space. Contrasting the sleek table, upholstered panels adorn the surrounding walls, enveloping the space in ubiquitous textures synonymous with public house environs.
- Venue:
- Slugtown, 44 Wretham Place, Shieldfield, Newcastle, NE2 1XU
- Date:
-
Sep 13th 2025 - Oct 11th 2025
- Opening Times:
-
Thu-Sat 11:00 - 17:00
- Price:
- Free
Borrowed Light by Claire E F Harrison
Claire Harrison is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work captures the fleeting moments where the physical and spiritual converge. Her images are quiet meditations – reflections born from a deeply personal journey through recent years. Each frame becomes a pause in time, where stillness rises above turmoil and peace gently eclipses chaos.
- Venue:
- Arc, Dovecot Street, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LL
- Date:
-
Sep 9th 2025 - Oct 11th 2025
- Opening Times:
-
Mon 12:00 - 16:00 , Wed-Sat 10:00 - 20:00 , Tue 10:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- Free
suburban nightmare
The first solo exhibition by Lilith St. Cyr. A series of monochromatic works of interior and exterior scenes in the North East, works that inhabit the dissociative fugue of modern subsistence.
- Venue:
- High Bridge Works, 39 High Bridge, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE1 1EW
- Date:
-
Oct 15th 2025 - Oct 23rd 2025
- Opening Times:
-
15th - 23rd Oct 2025 TBC
- Price:
- Free
Hen Benillion // Old Verses
This exhibition by Angharad Jones explores cultural identity and collective memory through the examination of anonymous old Welsh folk poetry.
- Venue:
- Industrial Coast, Unit 1, Unit 1, 7 Dundas Street, Middlesbrough, Teeside, TS1 1JA
- Date:
-
Oct 18th 2025 - Nov 1st 2025
- Opening Times:
-
18th Oct - 1st Nov 2025 TBC
- Price:
- Free
Arty Joe Winter Exhibition
An Exhibition of Joe Mulroy’s latest Artworks. Amongst his new original artworks and prints on show, you’ll find a series of Northumberland coast inspired artworks - expect windswept dunes, turbulent seas and golden sandy beaches.
- Venue:
- Arty Joe Gallery, 26 Station Road, Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, NE26 2RD
- Date:
-
Oct 24th 2025 - Oct 25th 2025
- Opening Times:
-
24th - 25th Oct 2025 11:00 - 15:00
- Price:
- Free
Art From the Lens Gallery - Photography Salon and Exhibition
A celebration of visual storytellers from 1840's onwards including modern and future photographers. Included will be prints by two members of The Linked Ring that changed the art of photography, local man Lyd Sawyer and Frank Sutcliffe, a Hills and Adamson print from 1840's, portrait by Rosalind Maingot from the 1940's of the Medical photography section in the Royal Society of Photographers, George Hurrell's stunning limited edition prints of Sharon Stone for the "Legends of Light" documentary and book as well as images from across the globe, plus a running magic lantern display each evening.
- Venue:
- Bottleworks, 8 Riverside Walk, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE6 1LX
- Date:
-
Oct 30th 2025 - Nov 4th 2025
- Opening Times:
-
Thu 10:00 - 18:00 , Sun-Mon and Fri-Sat 10:00 - 19:00
- Price:
- Free
Lintukoto
NewBridge presents a new solo exhibition by artist Henna Asikainen. Taking its name from Finnish
mythology, Lintukoto is a warm, haven at the far edges of the world, where the sky meets earth, and birds were thought to migrate to for winter. The exhibition centres on an installation – a new sound work and a forest of birds’ nests. A chorus of voices both human and non-human speak to migration, climate change, and the possibilities of
creating sanctuary in an age marked by crisis.
- Venue:
- The NewBridge Project, Shieldfield Centre 4 - 8, Clarence Walk, off Stoddart St, Newcastle, NE2 1AL
- Date:
-
Nov 1st 2025 - Nov 29th 2025
- Opening Times:
-
Daily 12:00 - 17:00
- Price:
- Free
Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing
When a Palestinian filmmaker based in Scotland unearths a rarely-seen Scottish film archive of Palestinian wildflowers, he decides to reclaim the footage. This tender film essay questions the role of image-making as a tool for both testimony and violence when connected to the entanglements between people and the land.
- Venue:
- The NewBridge Project, Shieldfield Centre 4 - 8, Clarence Walk, off Stoddart St, Newcastle, NE2 1AL
- Date:
-
Nov 1st 2025 - Nov 29th 2025
- Opening Times:
-
Daily 12:00 - 17:00
- Price:
- Free
Transformations
An exhibition of ceramic and wood carved constructions that explores organic and industrial processes of growth and disintegration. In various stages of fragmentation and assembly, emerging and then submerging within more scattered or amorphous states, the sculptures appear both familiar and alien evoking a range of moods and inviting contemplation of possible functions and meanings.
- Venue:
- Ex Libris Gallery, Edward VI Fine Art Building, Newcastle University
- Date:
-
Nov 4th 2025 - Nov 14th 2025
- Opening Times:
-
4th - 14th Nov 2025 TBC
- Price:
- Free
Affordable Art
Back by popular demand, the second Affordable Art Exhibition brings together original works under £100 - many under £50. With no judging, this open call celebrates creativity an accessibility. It's the perfect chance to discover unique art and support local talent. Whether for yourself or as a gift, treat someone special this Christmas with a piece of original art.
- Venue:
- Redcar Contemporary Art Gallery, 13 West Terrace, Redcar, TS10 1DS
- Date:
-
Nov 8th 2025 - Nov 30th 2025
- Opening Times:
-
Wed-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
- 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
Spotlight: Washington Open Exhibition 2025
Washington Open Exhibition shines a spotlight on the talented artists living and working in the region. An open call invited applicants to creatively respond to the theme of ‘Our Freedom: Then + Now’. Taking inspiration from Arts Centre Washington’s involvement in ‘Our Freedom: Then & Now’ a national project reflecting what freedom means to local people and their communities, following the 80th anniversary of VE/VJ Day.
- Venue:
- Arts Centre Washington, Biddick Lane, Fatfield, Washington, NE38 8AB
- Date:
-
Nov 12th 2025 - Dec 20th 2025
- 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
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
Nightfall ’25
Families and friends, come together this winter to experience the extraordinary power of light. Nightfall returns with a spectacular trail of interactive light artworks, live music, storytelling, performance, and magical moments – designed to transform, connect and inspire. This year, prepare to be amazed as this family friendly event takes over Stewart Park for three evenings; discover tiny rabbits dancing across the ground, towering flowers blooming above your head, and glowing installations that bring the park to life after dark. Wander through a luminous world where shadows stretch, lights soar, and wonder grows larger with every step!
- Venue:
- Stewart Park, Ladgate Lane, Marton, Middlesbrough, TS7 8AT
- Date:
-
Nov 28th 2025 - Nov 30th 2025
- Opening Times:
-
28th - 30th Nov 2025 16:00 - 23:00
- Price:
- £17.50/children £12.50/under 2s Free
Clay Lyrical - Fired in Dreams, Sculpting the Soul of Our Town
Supported by Borderland, local potters, Claude Frere-Smith, Louis Frere-Smith and Mia Williamson, led pottery workshops for the local community. This short exhibition offers a wonderful glimpse into both their and our inner creativity, with emotions brought to life through clay.
- Venue:
- Redcar Contemporary Art Gallery, 13 West Terrace, Redcar, TS10 1DS
- Date:
-
Dec 8th 2025 - Dec 14th 2025
- Opening Times:
-
Wed-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- Free
