Side Gallery is a photography gallery in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, run by Amber Film & 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 Documentary photography usually refers to a popular form of photography used to chronicle events or environments both significant and relevant to history and historical events as well as everyday life. It is typically undertaken as professional pho ...

. Side Gallery is located at Amber's base in Side, a street in

Quayside The Quayside is an area along the banks ( quay) of the River Tyne in Newcastle upon Tyne (the north bank) and Gateshead (south bank) in Tyne and Wear, North East England, United Kingdom. History The area was once an industrial area and busy co ...

, Newcastle near the

Tyne Bridge The Tyne Bridge is a through arch bridge over the River Tyne in North East England, linking Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead. The bridge was designed by the engineering firm Mott, Hay and Anderson, who later designed the Forth Road 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 has launched a fundraising campaign which closes on 30 May 2023 to help it work towards reopening in 2024.

History

The inaugural exhibition was titled 'Documents in the North East' featuring the work of four documentary photographers Robert Hamilton Carling, James Henry Cleet, Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen and Graham Smith. In 1978,

Henri Cartier-Bresson Henri Cartier-Bresson (; 22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street photography, and viewed photography as cap ...

had a retrospective exhibition at Side. In 2015 it 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 is to close on 9 April 2023 after a reduction in Arts Council England funding, combined with rising energy bills. It has launched a fundraising campaign to raise £60,000 so the gallery can work towards reopening in 2024.

Directors

* Ron McCormack (September 1976-June 1977). * Murray Martin (interim June 1977-late 1977). *

Chris Killip Christopher David Killip (11 July 1946 – 13 October 2020) was a Manx photographer who worked at Harvard University from 1991 to 2017, as a Professor of Visual and Environmental Studies. Killip is known for his black and white images of people ...

(late 1977–1979).

Exhibitions

* 1977. until 13 February. ''Documents in the North East''. Featuring work from Robert Hamilton Carling, James Henry Cleet, Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen and Graham Smith. * 1977. until 13 March. ''Singular Realities''. Curated by Gerry Badger. Showing work from Lewis Ambler, Kurt Benning, John Blakemore, Beverly Bryon, Eric Carpenter, Paul Hill, Isabella Jedrzejscyk, Paul Joyce, Guy Ryecart, Paddy Summerfield, Gail Tandy and Peter Turner. * 1977. until 10 April. ''New York in the Thirties - the photographs of Berenice Abbott''. * 1977. until 8 May. ''A Vision of Paris - he photographs of Eugene Atget'' and ''Viva - the photographs of Claude Raimond-Dityvon, Yves Jean-mougin, Herve Gloaguen, Martine Franck, François Hers, Michel Dulluc and Jacques Minassian''.

Collection

The gallery's collection includes "an extensive documentary record of the region" as well as work by

Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen (born 1948) is a Finnish photographer who has worked in Britain since the 1960s.Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen (ed. Andrew Pulver),Photographer Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen's best shot, ''The Guardian,'' 12 August 2009. Accessed 11 Nove ...

, Russell Lee,

Lewis Hine Lewis Wickes Hine (September 26, 1874 – November 3, 1940) was an American sociologist and muckraker photographer. His photographs were instrumental in bringing about the passage of the first child labor laws in the United States. Early life ...

, and

Susan Meiselas Susan Meiselas (born June 21, 1948) is an American documentary photographer. She has been associated with Magnum Photos since 1976 and been a full member since 1980. Currently she is the President of the Magnum Foundation. She is best known for h ...

. 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

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Side Gallery 1977 establishments in England Art galleries established in 1977 Art museums and galleries in Tyne and Wear Tourist attractions in Newcastle upon Tyne Photography museums and galleries in England