Art
Celebration by David Hughes
As he prepares to celebrate his milestone 100th birthday, local artist and writer David Hughes, MBE is showing a selection of his paintings to support his local NHS Charity.
David, from Houghton-Le-Spring, discovered a passion for art aged 60. Following the loss of his beloved wife May, he converted a room in his home into a studio and taught himself to paint. Despite having a stroke in 2024 David continued to produce amazing artworks. He began painting with watercolours, eventually adapting his style when he developed age-related macular degeneration – an eye condition that affects central vision.
- Venue:
- Arts Centre Washington, Biddick Lane, Fatfield, Washington, NE38 8AB
- Date:
-
Nov 20th 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
Desire Lines: Art, Place & Possibilities
How might artists shape the future of a place, and what do we desire for that future? The Tees Valley grew, took shape and influenced the world through centuries of movement. It has become home to generations of people and to communities of artists. MIMA’s new exhibition Desire Lines: Art, Place & Possibilities outlines a vividly creative past and calls out to hopes for the centuries ahead.
- Venue:
- Mima, Centre Square, Middlesbrough, TS1 2AZ
- Date:
-
Nov 28th 2025 - Apr 12th 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Sun 12:00 - 16:00 , Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:30
- Price:
- Free
Abbey Anson - Final Affliction
The fifth in a series of short film presentations submitted by students from Fine Art at University of Sunderland. Final affliction provides a visual commentary on the impact humans have on the animals around us. The greed for profit within the illegal pet trade and global market for animal parts has caused many species to become endangered or even extinct. Depicted in the video are reflections within an eye which has captured the final moments of suffering for caged birds.
- Venue:
- Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, c/o National Glass Centre, Liberty Way, Sunderland, SR6 0GL
- Date:
-
Nov 17th 2025 - Jan 10th 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Daily 10:00 - 17:00
- Price:
- Free
Fabled
A collection of new works by our studio artists, each inspired by a timeless fable. From Aesop’s classics to other tales of wisdom and wonder from across the globe, these artworks bring fresh life to stories that continue to speak across centuries.
- Venue:
- Northern Print, Stepney Bank, Newcastle, NE1 2NP
- Date:
-
Nov 19th 2025 - Dec 20th 2025
- Opening Times:
-
Wed-Sat 12:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- Free
Echoes of Friendship: the Squire Family in Meiji Era Japan
In 1902, two young British girls, Dorothy and Marjorie moved to Japan. The girls and their mother, Lydia, were travelling to join their father, George Squire, who had been working for the Senju Paper Company in Japan since 1898. For the next two years the family lived, worked and made friends within the Japanese community in Kokura, a town on Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s main islands. After the family left Japan, they settled in Sunderland. This exhibition tells their story using the objects which they donated to the Oriental Museum more than 70 years after they left Japan. It also tells the story of the Moriyama family, pioneering Japanese photographers. Photographs taken at the Moriyama Studio offer glimpses into the lives of both families and friendships that endured across continents.
- Venue:
- Oriental Museum, Elvet Hill, (off South Road), Durham, DH1 3TH
- Date:
-
Nov 25th 2025 - Mar 22nd 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Sat-Sun 12:00 - 16:00 , Tue and Thu-Fri 11:00 - 16:00 , Wed 10:00 - 17:00
- Price:
- Free
Courts and Coroners: The Law in Medieval Durham
Take a deep dive into the history of courts, laws, and coroners. The exhibition explores the position of the Bishop of Durham which was unique in England for holding both spiritual and secular power within their diocese. Alongside this, deep dive into recorded cases, prison cells and courts within the cathedral walls.
- Venue:
- Durham Cathedral, Chapter Office, Palace Green, Durham, DH1 3EH
- Date:
-
Nov 10th 2025 - Mar 1st 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Sun 12:00 - 16:00 , Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- £7.50/under 18s Free
Gateshead Art Society Annual Exhibition
A selling exhibition of work by local artists.
- Venue:
- Shipley Art Gallery, Prince Consort Road, Gateshead, NE8 4JB
- Date:
-
Nov 18th 2025 - Dec 20th 2025
- Opening Times:
-
Tue-Fri 10:00 - 16:00 , Sat 10:00 - 17:00
- Price:
- Free
Mike Hankin
Mike Hankin is an academic, cultural commentator and artist who regularly speaks on topics of Englishness, folk history/traditions and cultural identity. He teaches design, culture and critical practice as a Senior Lecturer at the University of the Arts London, drawing on a background in Applied Imagination at Central Saint Martins. He also explores the same themes through painting and printmaking, with work shown at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, the New English Art Club and the Royal Watercolour Society.
- Venue:
- The Old School Gallery, Foxton Road, Alnmouth, Northumberland, NE66 3NH
- Date:
-
Nov 22nd 2025 - Jan 26th 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Daily 10:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- Free
Carlisle 1978-1979 by Tony Tuxill
Where were you in the late 1970s? If you were in Carlisle, there’s a chance you could have been snapped by photographer Tony Tuxill. The Garden Galley celebrates the work of this photographer, who recently gave his Carlisle series of over 2000 images for Tullie collection. The selection shown includes 10 of his most arresting images of people in familiar places around the city.
- Venue:
- Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle Street, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 8TP
- Date:
-
Nov 19th 2025 - Feb 1st 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- Adult admission (valid for 12 months) £15/Under 18s Free
All Aboard!
Step inside and explore Preston Park Museum's new, interactive exhibition which has been specially created for children. Little designers, engineers and drivers will be able to get hands-on with wheels to turn, coal to shovel and pistons to pump in the giant replica train and themed play zones. Families will be able to take part in a journey of discovery through play to understand the important story of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
- Venue:
- Preston Park Museum, Yarm Road, Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 3RH
- Date:
-
Sep 13th 2025 - Sep 13th 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Sun and Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- £12/£8/under 3s Free
Padua to Edinburgh
Throughout history, anatomical illustration has reflected how people understood the human body and who those drawings were meant for. Artists and doctors alike have shaped – and been shaped by – the audiences of their time. This exhibition traces that story from the Renaissance works of Andreas Vesalius to the 19th-century Bell brothers. Along the way, it explores how art, medicine, and belief have continually redefined our vision of anatomy.
- Venue:
- Philip Robinson Library, Jesmond Road West, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE2 4HQ
- Date:
-
Dec 13th 2025 - Apr 19th 2026
- Opening Times:
-
13th Dec 2025 - 19th Apr 2026 TBC
- Price:
- Free
By The Lido Wall
Kitty McKay is a contemporary artist celebrated for her playful, innovative use of Plasticine. Her work explores nostalgia, community and storytelling, often reflecting themes of heritage and place. By The Lido Wall is Kitty’s most ambitious project to date, paying tribute to William Harbutt, the North Shields-born inventor of Plasticine. The installation transforms Globe Gallery into a reimagined Plasticine replica of the long-lost Hawkeys Lane pool — once a much-loved community hub.
- Venue:
- The Globe Gallery, 97 Howard Street, North Shields, NE30 1NA
- Date:
-
Oct 24th 2025 - Dec 19th 2025
- Opening Times:
-
Thu-Sat 11:00 - 17:00 , Sun 12:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- Free
Sublime Landscapes
This exhibition features landscape watercolours and prints from the Laing Art Gallery’s collection responding to the potential for landscape art to be awe-inspiring. Visitors will encounter dramatic waterfalls, epic ruins, stormy seas, and subterranean worlds through the eyes of artists working between the eighteenth century – when the concept of the ‘sublime’ first gained prominence within landscape art - and the present day. The artists on display include John Robert Cozens, Mary Elizabeth Bennett, Francis Towne, David Cox, John Martin, Charles Napier Hemy, Edna Clarke Hall, Graham Sutherland, and Dennis Creffield.
- Venue:
- Laing Art Gallery, New Bridge Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8AG
- Date:
-
Dec 20th 2025 - Dec 5th 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:30
- Price:
- Free
On Track: Embroidery exhibition
Come and explore a unique exhibition of embroidery and textiles celebrating the bicentenary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway. The display has been created by Darlington Stitch & Create, a group of more than 40 embroiderers and textile artists who meet monthly. Their aim was to use textile art to celebrate the new possibilities the world gained from the first passenger railway journey 200 years ago.
- Venue:
- Locomotion, Dale Road Industrial Estate, Dale Road, Shildon, County Durham, DL4 2RE
- Date:
-
Jan 10th 2026 - Feb 15th 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
- Price:
- Free
Intimately Connected - Claire Ward
"My connection with landscape and nature began in childhood when I roamed woods and pasture close to my home in Kent. Solitary walks and observing nature have been at the centre of my life ever since and continue here in Northumberland, my home of some 25 years. It is this connection that drives my practice which generally begins with a found object, natural or manmade, that fascinates me in some way. Working with my hands and using simple tools allow me to closely explore these objects and to go on an imaginative journey to find the form that they reveal."
- Venue:
- Bailiffgate Museum, 14 Bailiffgate, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 1LX
- Date:
-
Jan 13th 2026 - Feb 28th 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Sun and Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- £6/£5/under 16s £1/under 5s Free
Perfume
Internationally renowned, contemporary visual artist Yann Nguema is planning an exciting installation at Preston Park Museum. Known for his innovative approach of blending light, sound and technology, Nguema's work pushes the boundaries of this new art form and creates a sensory experience. Look out for more details about this major commission, which will take an immersive look at scent and is inspired by the seed distribution and pollination when trains travel through the countryside.
- Venue:
- Preston Park Museum, Yarm Road, Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 3RH
- Date:
-
Jan 17th 2026 - May 10th 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Sun and Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- £12/£8/under 3s Free
The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour. Monet: In the Presence of Nature
In January 2026, the museum will exhibit Monet’s masterpiece, The Petit Bras of the Seine at Argenteuil (1872), which has only left the National Gallery once in the past 20 years. The painting will be displayed in the museum's art gallery space, complemented by works from the South Shields, Laing and Shipley art collections, and artworks co-created by EBSA young people, teachers, and local organisations.
The exhibition will focus on the power of art and nature, exploring themes of calm, retreat, and resilience.
- Venue:
- South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, Ocean Road, South Shields, NE33 2JA
- Date:
-
Jan 17th 2026 - Mar 25th 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Mon-Fri 10:00 - 17:00 , Sat 11:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- Free
Between Work and Play
A forthcoming exhibition that explores the tension between seemingly opposing states. Bringing together Graham Patterson, Helen Pailing and Helen Maurer in a lively exchange of light, shadow and transformed everyday materials, speak to creatures, the coastline and childhood memories.
- Venue:
- The Globe Gallery, 97 Howard Street, North Shields, NE30 1NA
- Date:
-
Jan 17th 2026 - Feb 14th 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Thu-Sat 11:00 - 17:00 , Sun 12:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- Free
Dean Raymond Gooch: Bottoms
Bottoms is the first UK solo exhibition by Sunderland born and based artist-photographer, printmaker and researcher Dean Raymond Gooch (b. 1998). It showcases a new series of large photographic works, screenprints and risograph prints exploring gay identity, communities and fetish through striking imagery drawing on legacies of pop art, advertising and fashion photography. The photographs and prints are both detailed and abstracted, taking personal cues to highlight and challenge binaries and stereotypical gay imagery such as BDSM, tight worn jeans, colour coded hankies and black work boots.
- Venue:
- Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, c/o National Glass Centre, Liberty Way, Sunderland, SR6 0GL
- Date:
-
Jan 31st 2026 - May 26th 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Daily 10:00 - 17:00
- Price:
- Free
Lines of Legitimacy
From mermen to ancient traditions of drag on the high seas, join drag king and sculptor Lady Kitt as they respond to LGBTQIA+ histories of Hartlepool in this new artwork and exhibition.
- Venue:
- Hartlepool Art Gallery, The Tourist Information Centre, Church Square, Hartlepool, TS24 7EQ
- Date:
-
Jan 31st 2026 - Apr 18th 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Tue-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
- Price:
- Free
Smoke and Mirrors: Landscapes from the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art Collection
Smoke and Mirrors draws on artworks from Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art’s collection in a group show exploring contemporary landscapes through photography, painting, sculpture, film, digitally generated artwork and drawing. The exhibition features artwork by 15 contemporary artists and photographers who challenge our understanding of landscape through digitally rendered and manipulated imagery, artificial immersive environments and imaginative fictional worlds.
- Venue:
- Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, c/o National Glass Centre, Liberty Way, Sunderland, SR6 0GL
- Date:
-
Jan 31st 2026 - May 26th 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Daily 10:00 - 17:00
- Price:
- Free
Emily Carter – Feeling into the unknown
In her new exhibition, local artist Emily Carter (ECCarter Art) combines her life-long obsession with colour and her innate love of the natural world. She explores a range of subjects in her abstract paintings – experimenting with bold, colourful gestures in a breathtaking showcase of artworks.
- Venue:
- Hartlepool Art Gallery, The Tourist Information Centre, Church Square, Hartlepool, TS24 7EQ
- Date:
-
Jan 31st 2026 - Apr 18th 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Tue-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
- Price:
- Free
Between Dialogues
n exhibition that aims to demonstrate how eclectic art voices can speak to each other through common cultural, theoretical and practical references. Presented as part of The Northern Arts Gala, the four artists are currently studying together at The Northern School of Art, Hartlepool, for their MA Arts Practice. They represent a small, tight-knit collective whose work environment lends itself well to the ongoing conversations that permeate through artistic processes. Though each has their own unique style, spanning different mediums, their interests, research and thought processes often naturally link-up, creating lines of significance between them. Exhibiting artists: Naomi Fahy, Blanka Olejniczak, Carl Truscott, Niki Widynska.
- Venue:
- Vane, 65 High St, Gateshead, NE8 2AP
- Date:
-
Feb 5th 2026 - Feb 7th 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Wed-Sat 12:00 - 17:00
- Price:
- Free
A British Museum Partnership Exhibition: Gladiators of Britain
Think of gladiators and your mind probably wanders to central Rome and the Colosseum (or Russell Crowe). But did you know there were gladiators in Britain? Carlisle was home to the largest fort on Hadrian’s Wall at the very northern edge of the empire – did gladiators walk where the museum stands today? This exhibition explores the violence, pageantry and graphic reality of the arena in Roman Britain through extraordinary objects from across the country.
- Venue:
- Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle Street, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 8TP
- Date:
-
Feb 7th 2026 - May 31st 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- Adult admission (valid for 12 months) £15/Under 18s Free
Uncovering Roman Carlisle: Where Worlds Met
Discover the latest chapter in the ongoing exploration of Roman Carlisle. This new exhibition is the third in the series showcasing the remarkable discoveries from the Uncovering Roman Carlisle archaeological dig at Carlisle Cricket Club in Stanwix – one of the most exciting archaeological projects in the region. Where Worlds Met explores themes of migration and settlement, revealing that movement and cultural exchange were central to life in Roman Carlisle.
- Venue:
- Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle Street, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 8TP
- Date:
-
Feb 7th 2026 - May 31st 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- Adult admission (valid for 12 months) £15/Under 18s Free
May The Toys Be With You
From a galaxy far, far away comes an absolute must see for fans of Star Wars and the silver screen. One of the UK's finest collections of vintage Star Wars toys and original cinema posters is going on display in a stunning exhibition.
- Venue:
- Bailiffgate Museum, 14 Bailiffgate, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 1LX
- Date:
-
Mar 5th 2026 - May 30th 2026
- Opening Times:
-
Sun and Tue-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
- Price:
- £6/£5/under 16s £1/under 5s Free
