2024 Exhibition and Event Highlights
Some of the highlights from our 2024 programme
Katie Cuddon: A is for Alma
3 February – 4 May 2024
Hatton Gallery, King’s Road, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU
Free admission, donations welcome
Katie Cuddon (b. 1979, London) is an artist living and working in Newcastle upon Tyne. A is for Alma is Katie’s first solo exhibition in Newcastle for 15 years and presents work created since she gave birth to her daughter in 2018. The works explore the union between mother and child and the emerging dialogue between them.
Katie Cuddon: A is for Alma | What's On | Hatton Gallery
ARTIST ROOMS Vija Celmins
3 February – 4 May 2024
Hatton Gallery, King’s Road, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU
Free admission, donations welcome
Latvian American artist Vija Celmins (b. 1938) produces exquisitely intricate drawings and prints of natural phenomena, notably the ocean, spider webs and the night sky. Her painstakingly slow method of composition is characterised by the extraordinary precision of her approach across a variety of media, and her persistent return to certain subjects. Based upon close observation of photographs, her delicate-seeming work addresses subjects that are both powerful and timeless.
ARTIST ROOMS presents the work of international artists in solo exhibitions drawn from a national touring collection jointly owned by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland. Its national programme is supported by Art Fund, Henry Moore Foundation and using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and Creative Scotland.
ARTIST ROOMS Vija Celmins | What's On | Hatton Gallery
The Spirit of Invention
16 March – 23 June 2024
Discovery Museum, Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4JA
Free admission, donations welcome
This new family-friendly exhibition was inspired by some of the thousands of creative designs registered with the Board of Trade from 1839 onwards which are housed at The National Archives. The exhibition features contemporary technology alongside eye-catching inventions from the Victorian era including a ventilating top hat and a typewriter for visually impaired people. With hands-on interactive activities, visitors of all ages can try their hand at designing and inventing.
The Spirit of Invention | What's On | Discovery Museum
Collecting the Past
23 March – 2 November 2024
Segedunum Roman Fort, Buddle Street, Wallsend, NE28 6HR
Children and young people 21 years and under and NE28 residents free, adult admission fee applies
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.
Collecting the Past | What's On | Segedunum Roman Fort
Space Investigators North East
30 March – 1 September 2024
Great North Museum: Hancock, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4PT
Free admission, donations welcome
This immersive exhibition takes visitors on a multi-sensory journey into the hidden worlds of the Universe. There's so much to learn about how advances in technology are constantly unveiling new areas of the Universe for us to investigate. With every advance, we learn more and more about how our beautiful planet sits amongst the endless beauty and wonder of space. Whilst on a 'galactic voyage' through this exhibition visitors can discover some of the objects of astronomical importance that were designed and made right here in the North East, as well as learning about the cutting-edge astronomy research that still takes place in the region today. This exhibition has been designed and curated in collaboration with a team of Astrophysicists at Newcastle University.
Space Investigators North East | What's On | Great North Museum: Hancock
Streets Above: Photographs of the roads and buildings that covered Roman Wallsend
23 March – 2 November 2024
Segedunum Roman Fort, Buddle Street, Wallsend, NE28 6HR
Children and young people 21 years and under and NE28 residents free, adult admission fee applies
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.
Streets Above | What's On | Segedunum Roman Fort
Flora: Plants in Roman Life
25 March – 29 September 2024
Arbeia, South Shields Roman Fort, Baring Street, South Shields, NE33 2BB
Free admission, donations welcome
This exhibition explores the importance and everyday use of plants in Roman life. The Romans not only used plants for food, medicine, and dyeing, but also in religious ceremonies and as decoration. They wore wreaths of flowers and leaves during dinner parties, and decorated buildings and military standards during annual Rose Festivals.
Flora: Plants in Roman Life | What's On | Arbeia, South Shields Roman Fort
Turner: Art, Industry & Nostalgia
10 May – 7 September 2024
Laing Art Gallery, New Bridge Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8AG
Admission charge applies
Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire (1839), on loan from the National Gallery, will be the centrepiece of this exhibition which explores the rise of steam power and industry in Britain. This is of particular relevance to the North East, with ship building still very much part of the identity of the region. The Laing Art Gallery is one of twelve partners to be loaned a masterpiece in celebration of the 200th birthday of the National Gallery, with all partners opening their exhibitions on 10 May 2024 – the Gallery’s official bicentenary.
Turner: Art, Industry & Nostalgia will include over 20 works by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851), one of Britain’s greatest and most prolific painters. The Fighting Temeraire, one of the artist’s best-known works, is a tribute to the ship HMS Temeraire, which played a distinguished role in The Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The painting shows the final journey of the ship as it is towed along the river Thames by a modern paddle-wheel steam tug in 1838, towards its final berth in Rotherhithe to be broken up for scrap. It is significant for the North East and its industrial heritage that the two steam tugboats that pulled the Temeraire in reality – the Samson and the London – were manufactured on Tyneside.
Turner: Art, Industry & Nostalgia | What's On | Laing Art Gallery
The Late Shows
Friday 17 & Saturday 18 May 2024
Venues across Newcastle and Gateshead
Free admission
Newcastle and Gateshead’s free late night culture crawl is back in May 2024 with museums, galleries, studio collectives and landmark historical buildings opening after hours to offer hands-on workshops, behind-the-scenes tours, performances and parties. It's the perfect way to sample the best of Newcastle and Gateshead's cultural offer in short taster visits. Sponsored by Creative Central NCL, a project funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority and Newcastle City Council.
Rome Transformed
25 May – 1 September 2024
Great North Museum: Hancock, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4PT
Free admission, donations welcome
Visitors can immerse themselves in a series of epic 3D visualisations and embark on a time-travelling journey alongside experts at Newcastle University. The journey follows archaeologists as they delve deep into the Ancient City of Rome, uncovering the grand tapestry of history, marked by seismic shifts in politics, armies, and religion using cutting edge technology. Their quest poses critical questions about investigating ancient cities, exploring suburban mysteries, and discerning the ripple effects of Rome's transformations on a broader scale from 1st to 8th centuries CE. This is the story of Rome Transformed, where history comes to life through the lens of innovation and exploration.
Rome Transformed | What's On | Great North Museum: Hancock
Steam to Green: A North East Energy Revolution
20 July 2024 – 20 July 2026
Discovery Museum, Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4JA
Free admission, donations welcome
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 museum’s historical collections, as well as new interactives, Steam to Green will demystify new technologies and showcase how the North East is leading the way once more.
Steam to Green: A North East Energy Revolution | What's On | Discovery Museum
SCRAN! A History of Food & Drink in South Tyneside
Until 25 January 2025
South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, Ocean Road, South Shields, NE33 21A
Free admission, donations welcome
This exhibition charts the story of food and drink across South Tyneside, from Roman times up to the present day. Visitors can find out about the origins of some of the borough’s most iconic eateries and learn how culinary horizons have been expanded in the decades following the Second World War with the introduction of flavours from places far beyond UK shores.
SCRAN! A history of Food & Drink in South Tyneside | What's On | South Shields Museum & Art Gallery
Woodland Walk
Late summer 2024
Stephenson Steam Railway, Middle Engine Lane, North Shields, NE29 8DX
Free admission to museum (donations welcome), charges apply for heritage train rides
The Woodland Walk is being created by transforming an area of disused land into a haven of wildlife. It is also a place where the local community can connect with nature and learn about the area’s natural beauty and industrial heritage.
What's On | Stephenson Steam Railway
Family Arts Festival
Throughout 2024
Shipley Art Gallery, Prince Consort Road, Gateshead, NE8 4JB
Free admission to Gallery (donations welcome), charges apply for some activities
At the heart of the community in Gateshead, Shipley Art Gallery will be running a variety of events throughout the year to bring people together and nurture their creativity including the popular Family Arts Festival.
What's On | Shipley Art Gallery
For full listings and up to date information on exhibitions and events, please visit the individual venue websites which can be accessed from Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums (twmuseums.org.uk).
