A blog on Newcastle Arts and Culture, Cinema and Life.
Enter Newcastle’s distinguished Laing Art Gallery and you will hear a strange clicking noise. At first it sounds like the chirping of crickets in long grass, but if you listen more closely you’ll notice the sound is different to that made by insects in the wild. This sound is more rhythmic and tinny – like [...]
B.Y.O.B. Is there ever a more welcome acronym than that? Many of us have grown accustomed to forking out more than our hourly rate of pay for a decent cocktail in this city (I’m looking at you Al Vino’s). Undeniably, there’s pleasure be found at the bottom of a carefully sugar-dusted martini glass, but can’t [...]
Recently, I dreamt that I was at an elegant social gathering in a giant marble hall. All around me people were sipping champagne, nibbling at canapés and enjoying illuminating conversations. It was a bit like something out of The Bonfire of the Vanities and all very exciting. Soon, I realised that something was very, very [...]
Last week, I called into Newcastle City Library on the way home from work. I don’t go to this library very often because, simply put, I hate the way it looks. It’s all open spaces and accessible shelving and computer clusters and there’s a distinct lack of books. Remember books, anyone? Those paper things we [...]
I used to love that scene in Calamity Jane where Doris Day and her stage-singer pal transform her scruffy log cabin into a fifties housewife’s dream of domesticated bliss – complete with freshly baked pie and Gingham curtains – all while dancing in circles and singing ‘A Woman’s Touch’. But once that sugary-sweet makeover scene [...]
‘Curiouser and Curiouser!’ Cried Alice, as her body shot up to nine feet tall after eating a piece of cake labelled ‘EAT ME.’ Her sentiment is shared by the 12 volunteer curators invited to delve deep into the treasure trove of the Great North Museum’s stores to select ‘mystery objects for their newest exhibition, The [...]
The Laing Art Gallery is currently hosting a whimsical exhibition of ink and watercolour illustrations by none other than Quentin Saxby Blake entitled As Large As Life. Commissioned for display in healthcare centres, these images provide a much-needed dose of innocence and joy, hoping to make the whole healthcare experience just a little bit more pleasant for all involved. Roald Dahl without Quentin [...]
The poor little Shipley Art Gallery gets a bit forgotten about doesn’t it? Way over there on the wrong side of the river it can seem somewhat neglected. A quiet and peaceful ‘hidden gem’, this art gallery never gets as busy as the more overtly child-oriented places, which makes a visit infinitely more pleasant for [...]
What’s Your Story? Discovering Family History is the latest temporary exhibition to open at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle. Tracing family history, as a solo and almost completely paper-based endeavour, is a tricky subject to exhibit. Yet, this carefully thought-out gallery succeeds in pleasing the eye brightly displayed collection of objects, large photographs, decorative panels [...]
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