Side Gallery

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Side Gallery Dedicated to Documentary Photography since 1977.
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Side Gallery is committed to exhibiting the best in international humanist documentary, its concerns rooted in a long-term engagement with working class, marginalised and threatened communities in the North of England – and by extension with the experiences of those documented by some of the finest photographers working across the world. It is committed to preserving and making accessible these extraordinary bodies of work, whilst using them to inform, lever and sustain the new production that will continue to take documentary practice forward. Side is centrally concerned with visual narratives: the quality of the imagery; the aesthetic and moral questions that are raised; sharing visions of the world and the marginalised experience to which they are able to give such insistent power.

🏗️ Cities change. But who makes the decisions, and who lives with them?North East based street photographer Jan Panke ha...
23/10/2026

🏗️ Cities change. But who makes the decisions, and who lives with them?

North East based street photographer Jan Panke has been capturing visitors (including some of the iconic photographers whose work is in the exhibition) exploring "Under Development: What Happens When Cities Change?" at Newcastle Contemporary Arts.

Bringing together over 50 years of documentary photography from the AmberSide Collection and Four Corners Archive, looking at Tyneside and East London. The exhibition looks at the promises of regeneration, the realities of housing and redevelopment, and the communities who have challenged and shaped these changes.

There's plenty to see, question and talk about. If you haven't visited yet, come and take a look!

đź“Ť Newcastle Contemporary Arts (NCA), High Bridge Works, Newcastle
📅 Until 29 November | Thurs–Sat, 12–5pm
🎟️ Free entry
đź”— Full exhibition details: sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/under-development

đź“· Jan Panke

Newcastle Contemporary Art Four Corners

19/10/2026

🏗️ How much of Newcastle was knocked down to make the city we know today?

In 1972, Amber filmed the demolition of Newcastle city centre, capturing buildings and streets disappearing as the city was being radically reshaped. The footage was never made into a finished film, but remains a fascinating record of a Newcastle many people won't recognise.

Want to see more?

At "Under Development: What Happens When Cities Change?", we're showing more of this remarkable footage alongside over 50 years of documentary photography from Newcastle and East London. It's an exhibition about the places we've lost, the communities affected by redevelopment and who gets to decide what our cities become.

Come and have a look. You might never see Newcastle quite the same way again.

đź“Ť Newcastle Contemporary Arts (NCA)
đź“… Until 29 November 2026
⏰ Thursday - Saturday, 12 - 5pm
🎟️ Free Entry

đź”— Exhibition details: sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/under-development

🎞️ Newcastle Demolition Shots, 1970s © Amber Films

Newcastle Contemporary Art Four Corners

📣 Event Reminder!InSide: Documentary Photography Community is back this October.Bring work in progress, a question you’v...
17/10/2026

đź“Ł Event Reminder!

InSide: Documentary Photography Community is back this October.

Bring work in progress, a question you’ve been sitting on, or a sticking point in your practice. Or just come along to hear what others are making and join the conversation.

The first half of the evening gives photographers time to share work and talk things through with the group. It is peer-to-peer support, not a formal critique unless that is the kind of feedback someone asks for.

The second half is a look in the AmberSide Collection archive, sharing news, opportunities, events and ideas, and continuing to build a stronger documentary photography community in the North East.

📅 Monday 19th October 2026, 6–8pm
đź“Ť Gosforth Civic Theatre

Find out more and let us know you’re attending: sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/events/inside-october-meeting-2026

🏙️ The signs are up on High Bridge, and we're for "Under Development: What Happens When Cities Change?" to open to the p...
16/10/2026

🏙️ The signs are up on High Bridge, and we're for "Under Development: What Happens When Cities Change?" to open to the public tomorrow at Newcastle Contemporary Arts.

Bringing together the AmberSide Collection and Four Corners Archive, the exhibition explores more than 50 years of documentary photography from Tyneside and East London, looking at housing, redevelopment, resistance and who gets to shape our cities.

Many of these photographs are being shown together for the first time, revealing fascinating connections between the two cities and the artists who have documented them. We're looking forward to sharing it all with you.

đź“Ť Newcastle Contemporary Arts, High Bridge Works
📅 17 October – 29 November 2026
Thursday–Saturday, 12–5pm. Free entry.

Find out more: sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/under-development

Newcastle Contemporary Art Four Corners

đź‘€ Looking for something to do with the family this half term? Grab your cameras and join us for a photowalk around Newca...
09/10/2026

đź‘€ Looking for something to do with the family this half term? Grab your cameras and join us for a photowalk around Newcastle!

On Saturday 31 October, documentary photographers Sasha Mallo Tardiveau and Hazel Plater will be leading an afternoon of photography for the whole family.

We'll start at Newcastle Contemporary Arts (NCA) with a visit to "Under Development: What Happens When Cities Change?", exploring how photographers have documented the city and its changing neighbourhoods over the past fifty years.

Then it's your turn! We'll head out into the city centre to look for old and new Newcastle, unusual details, favourite places and the things you might normally walk straight past.

Everyone can get involved, whatever their age or photography experience. And photographs from the day can be submitted to "Newcastle Now", an upcoming exhibition and newspaper documenting the city today.

📅 Saturday 31 October, 1–3pm
đź“Ť Newcastle Contemporary Arts (NCA)
đź“· Bring a camera or camera phone. No special equipment needed!
👨‍👩‍👧 Every child must attend with a parent, carer or responsible adult.

Places are limited, so book your family's place here: sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/events/newcastle-now-family-photowalk

📸 All images from Newcastle City Centre, 1970-1980 ©Lambton Visual Aids (AmberSide Trust)

Hazel Plater Photography

đź›’ What can a shop window tell us about a place?In 1974, Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen photographed shop windows across Tyneside...
08/10/2026

đź›’ What can a shop window tell us about a place?

In 1974, Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen photographed shop windows across Tyneside, recording something of the region's commercial life, but also its humour, tastes and local character.

Fifty years later, what would a photographic record of your neighbourhood reveal?

We're inviting photographers to explore the streets around them through two open calls:

📸 "Newcastle Now" invites young people under 25 to photograph Newcastle in 2026, with selected work appearing in an exhibition and newspaper.
đź”— sidegallery.co.uk/blog/newcastle-now-young-person

📸 MySide's latest theme, "Changing Places", is open to photographers of all ages and locations. We're interested in the ways our streets, neighbourhoods and communities change over time.
đź”—sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/myside

📷 Shop windows on Tyneside, 1974 ©Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen

📸 InSide: Documentary Photography Community is back this October.Bring work in progress, a question you’ve been sitting ...
07/10/2026

📸 InSide: Documentary Photography Community is back this October.

Bring work in progress, a question you’ve been sitting on, or a sticking point in your practice. Or just come along to hear what others are making and join the conversation.

The first half of the evening gives photographers time to share work and talk things through with the group. It is peer-to-peer support, not a formal critique unless that is the kind of feedback someone asks for.

The second half is a look in the AmberSide Collection archive, sharing news, opportunities, events and ideas, and continuing to build a stronger documentary photography community in the North East.

📅 Monday 19th October 2026, 6–8pm
đź“Ť Gosforth Civic Theatre

Find out more and let us know you’re attending: sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/events/inside-october-meeting-2026

đź“· What would you photograph if someone asked you to show them Newcastle right now?Your walk to school. Your mates. The M...
06/10/2026

đź“· What would you photograph if someone asked you to show them Newcastle right now?

Your walk to school. Your mates. The Metro. A football pitch. The view from your window. A building going up, one coming down, somewhere you love, somewhere you avoid, or something most adults walk straight past.

"Newcastle Now: Young Persons’ Open Call" is looking for photographs made by young people across Newcastle. You don’t need to be a photographer and you don’t need a fancy camera. A phone is absolutely fine.

The open call is part of "Under Development: What Happens When Cities Change?" at Newcastle Contemporary Art (NCA), and asks young people to build their own picture of the city: what Newcastle looks like, feels like and is becoming. Selected photographs will be brought together in a "Newcastle Now" exhibition and newspaper.

Get out, take a picture and show us your Newcastle.

Find the full brief and submit: sidegallery.co.uk/blog/newcastle-now-young-person

📸 Tom Collins House, Byker Revisited, 2008 ©Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen

Newcastle Contemporary Art

01/10/2026

🔥 In 1827, around two-fifths of all glass made in England was produced on Tyneside. For generations, glassmaking was a major part of the region’s industrial life.

Lemington Glass Works remained in production for more than 200 years. When Amber Films went inside the works in 1977, some highly skilled processes were still being carried out by hand, even as mechanisation was transforming the industry.

“Glassworks” follows the people and processes behind handmade industrial glass, from the hand-drawing of fine capillary tubes to the making and changing of the huge refractory pots used in the kiln.

The clip here is a glimpse of an industry with deep roots in the North East, recorded through the work and skills of the people doing it.

🎬 Watch the full film “Glassworks” (Amber Films, 1977): sidegallery.co.uk/collection/glassworks-1977

Want to learn more?
on Monday 5 October, Side / AmberSide Trust Managing Director Laura Laffler will be at West End Library in Benwell for “Amber: Industry & The Tyne”, an informal introduction to Amber’s work on working life, industry and industrial communities.

đź“Ť West End Library, Condercum Road, Benwell
đź—“ Monday 5 October, 1pm
đź”— More info: sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/events/amber-industry-tyne-talk-26

🎥 “Glassworks”, Amber Films, 1977 © Amber Films

🏗️ We’re excited to announce "Under Development: What Happens When Cities Change?", opening at Newcastle Contemporary Ar...
29/09/2026

🏗️ We’re excited to announce "Under Development: What Happens When Cities Change?", opening at Newcastle Contemporary Arts this October.

Bringing together more than fifty years of documentary photography from Tyneside and East London, the exhibition draws on the AmberSide Collection and Four Corners Archive to trace the human consequences of decisions about housing, planning and who gets to shape the places we live.

đź“Ť Newcastle Contemporary Arts
📅 17 October – 29 November 2026

Find out more: sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/under-development

📷 Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen, "Cale Cross House, Quayside", 1978 © Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen

Four Corners Newcastle Contemporary Art

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5-9 Side
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE13JE

Opening Hours

Thursday 11am - 5pm
Friday 11am - 5pm
Saturday 11am - 5pm
Sunday 11am - 5pm

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