Photography gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne
Side Gallery is a photography gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, run by Amber Film &amp; Photography Collective. It opened in 1977 as Side Gallery and Cinema with a remit to show humanist photography "both by and commissioned by the group along with work it found inspirational". It is the only venue in the UK dedicated to documentary photography. Side Gallery is located at Amber's base in Side, a street in Quayside, Newcastle near the Tyne Bridge.
Side Gallery closed on 9 April 2023 after the loss of its Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation status and funding in November 2022, combined with rising energy bills. It launched a fundraising campaign which closed on 30 May 2023 to help it work towards reopening in 2024.
History.
The inaugural exhibition was titled "Documents in the North East" and showed the work of four documentary photographers: Robert Hamilton Carling, James Henry Cleet, Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen and Graham Smith.
In 1978, Henri Cartier-Bresson had a retrospective exhibition at Side.
In 2015 the gallery closed for a year and a half for major redevelopment, reopening in September 2016. A second exhibition space was added, as well as a library, and study centre / social space with digital access to the collection.
Side Gallery closed on 9 April 2023 after a reduction in Arts Council England funding, combined with rising energy bills. It launched a fundraising campaign to raise £60,000 so it could work towards reopening in 2024.
Collection.
The gallery's collection includes "an extensive documentary record of the region" as well as work by Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen, Russell Lee, Lewis Hine, and Susan Meiselas. Some of the gallery's exhibitions that are held in its collection include Tish Murtha's "Juvenile Jazz Bands" (1979), Konttinen's "Step by Step" (1984), Dean Chapman's "Shifting Ground" (2001) and Karen Robinson's "All Dressed Up" (2005).
References.
 ;templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" / ;