Side Photographic Gallery

The Side Photographic Gallery is an institution that's well worth visiting. It's exhibitions of documentary photography are thought provoking.

Newcastle seems to lack a gallery showing historic photos of the city. However, the current exhibition on the holocaust in (mainly) Eastern Europe was well presented but very sombre.

A wonderful place - one of the best photography galleries in the country. It would be a tragedy if it weren't able to reopen soon.

This gallery explores a number of different themes through a variety of photographers exhibits. But for me, the highlight and the 5 star rating goes to Chris Killip for his portrayal of life in the little fishing village of Skinningrove between 1982 and 1984. If you haven't been to the Laing gallery go see his work there documenting the lives of the Shipbuilding community in Wallsend during 1975/76. Alas Chris died last year of cancer, but he leaves an invaluable legacy. He had a great talent for portraying ordinary working people and connecting then to their environments.Another theme explored through the current exhibition is Lost Summer" portraits of North London teenagers who lost the opportunity to celebrate "end of year" due to Covid in 2020.Other themes are explored in this gallery

A great looking gallery, I hadn't visited since the refurbishment. The current Work and workers exhibition is very interesting.

A surprising little gallery, slightly hidden but very accessible with a lift. Excellent shop area where you can buy postcards, posters, books or dvds and even a small study space on the first floor. The exhibition space is nice, I spent an hour going around which was enough time to read all the text and study the photos. Even had the cutest little books where you could leave reviews on the work, can’t wait to visit again.

Sadly their web site was not-up-to date so, after travelling some distance to visit the Side gallery, we were met wit a locked gate & the discovery that it was closed in preparation for a new exhibition. We were so disappointed. Perhaps the gallery might keep the web page more up-to-date in future to avoid this happening to other people too.

Thought provoking and one photo in particular did bring a tear to my eye, so poignant yet beautiful. Loved this exhibition and speaking personally to the photographer was a memory I’ll cherish.Practically speaking - very safe exhibition to visit. The staff were very COVID19 savvy. I loved the chance to break the monotony of staying in.