Art - What’s On | The Crack Magazine

The Graduates

After 28 wonderfully creative years, National Glass Centre takes its final bow on Friday 31 July 2026. Their closing exhibition is The Graduates, which will be a celebration of the incredible achievements and successes of the University of Sunderland’s Glass and Ceramics Department over the past three decades. The Graduates features the work of 51 artists; made up of graduates and staff members of University of Sunderland’s Glass and Ceramics Department, including seven invited artists alongside 44 selected artists.

Venue:: National Glass Centre, Liberty Way, Sunderland, SR6 0GL
Date:: Jan 31st 2026 - Jul 31st 2026
Opening Times:: Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Inception

This is an EDAN Artists Open exhibition marking the start of another year jam packed with creativity expressed in a multiplicity of media.

Venue:: EDAN Gallery, The Art Block, 74 Church Street, Seaham, County Durham, SR7 7HF
Date:: Feb 3rd 2026 - Feb 28th 2026
Opening Times:: Tue-Fri 11:00 - 15:00 , Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Between Dialogues

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

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

Teenage Angst Has Paid Off Well by Graham Dolphin

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

Venue:: Dead Dog Gallery, Durham Sixth Form Centre, The Sands, Durham City, DH1 1SG
Date:: Feb 5th 2026 - Mar 20th 2026
Opening Times:: Thu-Fri 09:30 - 15:30
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

Litany for the Border: Light Up Berwick

A new light and sound commission by artists Gareth Hudson and Toby Thirling, with music by composer Eleanor Cully Boehringer. The project explores the past, present, and future of the people who live along the River Tweed, focusing on their ideas of spirituality and what gives their lives meaning. For two weeks, choreographed beams of light will shine into the sky and a brand-new piece of music created especially for Berwick will resound across the River Tweed in the depths of winter from three iconic sites around the town: the historic Nicholas Hawksmoor Berwick Barracks, Berwick Sports & Leisure Centre, and Berwick Infirmary. The work is also rooted in the many voices of the Tweed Estuary, in oral history, field recordings, contemporary conversation and, most importantly, in expression through song.

Venue:: Various venues in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland
Date:: Feb 7th 2026 - Feb 22nd 2026
Opening Times:: 7th - 22nd Feb 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

The Northumberland Open Exhibition 2026

The exhibition attracts hundreds of submissions from artists from across Northumberland and beyond. Works are selected for exhibition by a professional panel of artists and curators who also select an Overall Winner and Highly Commended artworks to be awarded prizes. During the exhibition run, thousands of visitors vote for the ‘People’s Choice Award’ which is announced at the end of the exhibition.

Venue:: Woodhorn Museum , Queen Elizabeth 2nd Country Park, Ashington, Northumberland, NE63 9YF
Date:: Feb 14th 2026 - May 10th 2026
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: £10/£9/under 18s Free

HAPPY!

An exhibition curated from the Jerwood Collection by the Hatton Gallery’s young people’s group, L-INK. The Jerwood Collection is a preeminent collection of modern British art, offering the group an unparalleled opportunity to work with a range of major artworks by British Artists.

Venue:: Hatton Gallery, The Quadrangle, University of Newcastle, 6 Kensington Terrace, Newcastle, NE1 7RU
Date:: Feb 14th 2026 - May 9th 2026
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: Free

Debbie Todd: The Meaning of Being Different

Debbie Todd is a portrait photographer based in County Durham. Her practise concentrates on telling stories of marginalised people mainly from working class backgrounds in a fine art style. Inspired by old master painters and contemporary photographers, she tries to create images that engage the viewer visually to enable them to understand the story of the subject in their own way.

Venue:: Bishop Auckland Town Hall, Market Place, Bishop Auckland, DL14 7NP
Date:: Feb 16th 2026 - May 16th 2026
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

AI For All

AI for All demonstrates how diverse perspectives, including those from underrepresented communities, are essential to building ethical and equitable AI systems. The exhibition connects visitors with pathways into AI education and careers, showing that AI is for everyone—not just computer scientists. Join us in reimagining who gets to shape our AI-driven future. Created through collaboration between young people, designers, writers, and AI experts, the exhibition challenges us to imagine more inclusive AI futures. Each installation acts as a creative provocation—sparking dialogue about who shapes AI technology and whose voices are heard in its development.

Venue:: Gallery North, Squires Building, University of Northumbria, Sandyford Road, Newcastle, NE1 8ST
Date:: Feb 16th 2026 - Mar 9th 2026
Opening Times:: Sat 10:00 - 14:00 , Mon-Fri 12:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Helen Grierson and Almudena Rocca: Pieces of Woman

Local born glass artist Helen Grierson will be showing her most powerful and personal work alongside the rich and moving ceramic work of her daughter Almudena Rocca in “Pieces of Woman”, an exhibition that will really move all who see it. After watching the decline and death of her mother, Helen was inspired to produce a body of work around ageing and women. Helen says “I wanted, to reflect back to women how beautiful, wise, strong and resilient we are as we age. Western society highlights all the flaws to sell women creams, pills and fitness regimes. What I want to show is how powerful we are and to suggest we can make ageing aspirational”. Almudena has created some exceptional clay work that tells the story of the intergenerational relationship’s women have with one another, themselves and nature.

Venue:: rePUBlic Gallery, Access Through The King's Head Cafe, 85 Bridge Street, Blyth, NE24 3AE
Date:: Feb 16th 2026 - Mar 15th 2026
Opening Times:: Tue-Sat 09:00 - 15:00
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

Rivers of Ink: Codex Amiatinus and the Northumbrian Heritage Installation

In collaboration with Durham University and Projection Studio explore how "the Bible" as we know it today came to be. This sound and light installation takes the viewer on a journey from the earliest papyrus fragments to the Bible as a single book housing an entire library. At the turn of the 8th Century Northumbrian monks transformed the many different scriptural books by gathering them into an all-emcompassing volume, "the Bible" as we know it today. Now known as Codex Amiatinus, this Northumbrian book has been preserved intact in Italy and is the oldest surviving complete Bible in any language. The Rivers of Ink project celebrates this extraordinary achievement and its place within the Northumbrian cultural heritage, come and see the installation in the Galilee Chapel.

Venue:: Durham Cathedral, Chapter Office, Palace Green, Durham, DH1 3EH
Date:: Feb 21st 2026 - Feb 23rd 2026
Opening Times:: Sun 12:00 - 16:00 , Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: 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

Narbi Price: Shadow on the Things You Know

A body of paintings that show anonymous sites loaded with cultural importance and varied histories. Unpeopled locations offer the opportunity to wonder and wander through shifting landscapes, of pilgrimage to some and indifference to others. History and time is encoded into the making of the paintings and the deeper time and resonances they evoke.

Venue:: Queen's Hall Arts Centre, Beaumont Street, Hexham, NE46 3LS
Date:: Mar 6th 2026 - May 30th 2026
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Images of Jazz

Dave Barden is a figurative painter with a particular interest in jazz music. He uses a wide range of references to inform his work such as magazine photographs, posters, vintage record sleeves and packaging, some of which appear as collage in his paintings. Recently he has focused on working directly from live events and performances, visiting regional music venues such as the Globe in Newcastle, Usher College in Durham, the Pele in Corbridge and Queen's Hall in Hexham, where he was artist-in-residence at the Northumberland Jazz Festival.

Venue:: Queen's Hall Arts Centre, Beaumont Street, Hexham, NE46 3LS
Date:: Mar 6th 2026 - May 30th 2026
Opening Times:: Mon-Sat 10:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

John Timberlake: Berwick Sequence

John Timberlake first visited Berwick as a child in the 1970s, and both the town, its coastal location and the River Tweed made a lasting impression upon him. He returned in 2024, shortly after the death of his father and began a series of initial drawings, colour studies and reference photographs to inform the paintings in this exhibition. On two further visits he met and undertook site visits with Northumberland-based geologists and archaeologists. Timberlake was inspired by the momentary shifts of light and weather that are typical of the Tweed estuary and the coastal location of Berwick, alongside the geological shifts of deep time evident in the local topography. The resulting works reflect on landscape as a construction of space and time.

Venue:: Granary Gallery, Dewar’s Lane, Berwick-upon-Tweed, TD15 1HJ
Date:: Mar 7th 2026 - May 24th 2026
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Price:: Free

Front Row Talks: Paul and Lucy Hull

Join Paul and Lucy Hull for an inspiring talk on supporting Northern creatives and how thoughtful design can deepen our connections with the places we call home. As co-founders of For the Love of the North, an independent business championing Northern art, Paul and Lucy reflect on their vision of creating a space showcasing the North East’s character and heritage.

Venue:: The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8NP
Date:: Mar 8th 2026
Opening Times:: 8th Mar 2026 14:30 - 15:30
Price:: £10

A Space to Create

Part of Sunderland’s Creative People & Places programme The Cultural Spring, A Space to Create works with community venues to bring more creative opportunities to local people. The A Space to Create venues have co-curated a vibrant exhibition of artwork made with their local communities. Celebrating skill, creativity, and collaboration, the showcase brings together projects from across the programme—from dance and art workshops to wellbeing activities, large-scale installations, and inspiring Go & See visits.

Venue:: Arts Centre Washington, Biddick Lane, Fatfield, Washington, NE38 8AB
Date:: Mar 11th 2026 - Apr 4th 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

Present Continuous, Present Imperfect

An exhibition by Rory Williams that attends to the often unnoticed moments that make up the texture of the everyday, bringing together paintings, prints, and drawings that linger on the small, unguarded intervals of daily life. Lost objects, scattered bowls after a meal, a fleeting meeting between generations – these moments, often passed over, are held long enough to reveal their quiet resonance.

Venue:: Arts Centre Washington, Biddick Lane, Fatfield, Washington, NE38 8AB
Date:: Mar 27th 2026 - Apr 25th 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

Milly Thompson: My Body Temperature is Feeling Good

A solo exhibition of work by the late Milly Thompson, a prolific painter, sculptor, video artist and writer. My Body Temperature is Feeling Good spotlights a particular blend of irony and sincerity that characterises the artist’s latter-day work, exploring romantic novels and sun-drenched summer holidays as spaces for escapism and sensual self-reinvention.

Venue:: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Date:: Mar 28th 2026 - Aug 30th 2026
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00
Price:: Free

Foundation Press: Starting Lines

Baltic is pleased to present Starting Lines, the first major solo exhibition, an interactive installation exploring creativity collaboration and community, by North-East-based artists and designers Foundation Press. The exhibition will feature material from the Foundation Press archive, including posters, banners, wallpapers and collaborative publications that traces their contribution and impact across design, print, and community practice over the last 10 years.

Venue:: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Date:: Mar 28th 2026 - Aug 30th 2026
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00
Price:: Free

Milly Thompson: My Body Temperature is Feeling Good

A solo exhibition of work by the late Milly Thompson, a prolific painter, sculptor, video artist and writer. My Body Temperature is Feeling Good spotlights a particular blend of irony and sincerity that characterises the artist’s latter-day work, exploring romantic novels and sun-drenched summer holidays as spaces for escapism and sensual self-reinvention.

Venue:: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Date:: Mar 28th 2026 - Aug 30th 2026
Opening Times:: Sun and Wed-Sat 10:00 - 18:00
Price:: Free

Vivienne Westwood: Rebel – Storyteller – Visionary

Charting Westwood’s journey following her punk rebellion with Malcolm McLaren to her reinvention of historical dress and couture and featuring rarely seen pieces from private collections, this exhibition offers an unprecedented glimpse into Westwood’s artistry. Calico toiles, deconstructed garments and ensembles are displayed chronologically alongside historic objects from the museum’s collection, fusing rebellion with tradition.

Venue:: The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8NP
Date:: Mar 28th 2026 - Sep 6th 2026
Opening Times:: Daily 10:00 - 17:00
Price:: £19.50/under 18s Free