Newcastle & Gateshead Exhibitions 2026

The first major UK solo exhibition by New York-based artist Chitra Ganesh, premiering a large-scale animation inspired by the ancient Sumerian myth of Inanna's Descent into the Underworld. New sculptures, a site-specific wall drawing, paintings and prints weave Mesopotamian cosmology with futurist imagery and present-day political urgency.

The first time four major series by the celebrated South Shields-born documentary photographer Tish Murtha are shown together in the North East, capturing working-class Elswick life during industrial decline in the 1970s–80s. Alongside her archive sits a newly commissioned body of work by Newcastle-based artist Kuba Ryniewicz exploring contemporary working-class experience.

Up to 100 works by North East-based artists — amateur and professional — selected through an open-call process, with a Youth Open Call for 11–17-year-olds themed 'Local'. Preview evening 18 September. Works reviewed by internationally acclaimed artists Laura Lancaster and Rachel Lancaster.

Forty-six contemporary portraits on tour from the National Portrait Gallery, shown alongside 'Exploring Identity' — a new curation of historic portraits from the Laing, Shipley and Hatton collections featuring Francis Bacon, Frederic Leighton and Harold Knight.

A free display of landscape watercolours and prints from the Laing's collection, spanning the eighteenth century to the present day. Includes dramatic scenes by John Martin and Graham Sutherland alongside three recently acquired works by contemporary women artists.

The first exhibition to explore the profound link between Pre-Raphaelite art and poetry, bringing together over 130 objects — paintings, embroidery, metalwork and stained glass — by William Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones and Julia Margaret Cameron.

Works by 57 graduating Fine Art students presented at the culmination of their four-year degree — painting, sculpture and audiovisual installation. Preview evening 22 May, 6–9pm. Free admission.

Guest curated by artist Louise Wilson, this exhibition examines how artists use the 'line' as an expanded concept across photography, painting, collage, printmaking, film and sculpture. Includes the Newcastle premiere of Jane and Louise Wilson's acclaimed video installation 'Undead Sun' (2014), alongside works by Rita Donagh, Georgina Starr and Wolfgang Weileder.

Thousands of years of history told through remarkable finds: Tudor coins, Roman jewellery and Anglo-Saxon gold. Features major loans from national institutions and free family events including curator tours and treasure-themed activities throughout the run. Free admission.

Newcastle University research transformed into illustrated artworks, bringing complex academic ideas to life and celebrating the diverse journeys that lead people into research. Student-led outreach events and interactive sessions run throughout the year alongside the display. Free admission.

The UK's largest independent commercial art gallery presents its early-summer season, headlined by Jo Sharpe's still-life compositions and Kathryn Williams' photographic series 'Striking Image'. Over 200 artists exhibiting across two floors of the former Victorian warehouse. Free admission.

A solo exhibition by Emerson Mayes exploring themes of transience and impermanence through installation and mixed-media works. Part of the Biscuit Factory's summer season alongside group work from over 200 artists. Free admission.

Tyneside Cinema screens the full National Theatre Live season — award-winning productions filmed live from the National Theatre in London, including serious drama, contemporary comedies and sold-out stage hits, giving Newcastle audiences front-row access to the best of British theatre.

Eight spectacular live broadcasts from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York — Bellini, Puccini, Strauss and Tchaikovsky transmitted directly to Tyneside Cinema's screens in high definition with multi-language subtitles.