Experience North East England will be showing off its art and culture side this summer with world-class exhibitions, festivals and events taking place at some of its top venues and attractions.
The North East offers the UK’s art and culture scene, with internationally significant spaces such as the Baltic: Centre for Contemporary Art, independent art galleries and a lively creative community. This summer is set to be a special one for art and culture lovers and beyond as the region sees some major exhibitions and festivals launch.
From 7 to 9 August, Novum Summer Festival will be making a return to Newcastle. This three-day event will see the city’s streets and squares transformed into a playground of performances, creativity and community celebration. Visitors can expect a packed, family-friendly programme of free events, including outdoor performances, installations, artist workshops, music and plenty of pop-ups. Dominoes Newcastle will see the city become a moving art installation with large breeze blocks popping up across the city in a larger-than-life domino run.
The Baltic launched a landmark exhibition, marking the first time four major series by celebrated documentary photographer Tish Murtha will be shown together in the North East, alongside a newly commissioned body of work by Newcastle–based artist Kuba Ryniewicz. Working closely with Tish’s daughter Ella Murtha, the exhibition honours her vision and the continued stewardship of her archive. Baltic will present, for the first time together, works from the series Elswick Kids, Elswick Revisited, Save Scotswood Works and Youth Unemployment alongside Ryniewicz’s contemporary take on the exhibition. Tish Murtha & Kuba Ryniewicz Close to Home will be at Baltic until 4 April 2027.
Visitors to Newcastle and North Tyneside will also be able to take part in a new art trail, Peter Rabbit™ Tales on the Tyne. From Wednesday 15 July to Monday 14 September 2026, Newcastle and North Tyneside will be transformed by the arrival of super-sized sculptures inspired by the much-loved character created by Beatrix Potter, Peter Rabbit. Located alongside some of the city’s landmarks, each Peter Rabbit sculpture will be designed by artists from the region and beyond.
North East Museums offer a portfolio of art galleries, diverse collections and heritage attraction. Some of the highlights for this summer include:
Laing Art Gallery – Last chance to see Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2025, the National Portrait Gallery’s celebrated painting competition which is on display until 2 September .
Great North Museum: Hancock – Treasure Hidden, lost, found – Discover the North East’s buried history with a collection of objects buried across centuries and uncover the stories they reveal about life in the North East. On until 20 September.
Discovery Museum – Things that Go – This inaugural exhibition, in a new space at Discovery Museum, is especially for families with children aged seven and under. Things That Go will be transport-themed, which is fitting given Tyneside’s rich engineering, maritime and rail history.
From boats, buses and bicycles to tractors, trains and planes, visitors can explore the world of transport through hands-on play and truckloads of toys, open from 6 August to 28 February 2027.
Woodhorn Museum – Mik Critchlow: Coal Town Collection: A moving portrait of Ashington and its people, captured over more than four decades by one of the North East’s most important documentary photographers. Ongoing exhibition.
At the Bowes Museum there is still a chance to see a multi-gallery exhibition celebrating the one of fashion’s most provocative and imaginative British designers, Vivienne Westwood. Featuring many pieces from rarely seen private collections, Vivienne Westwood: Rebel – Storyteller – Visionary offers a glimpse into Westwood’s artistry, one that defied convention and challenged the fashion world. The exhibition runs until 6 September.
From October 2027, the museum will host Bowie at The Bowes Museum as part of the national David Bowie: On Tour from the Victoria & Albert Museum. V&A have announced a national tour of highlights from David Bowie’s Tour giving a rare glimpse into David Bowie’s creative process and how he shaped his image, music, video, TV and film work. Highlights include costumes, musical instruments, career-spanning photography, plus never-before-seen items including Polaroids for make-up and costume fittings, a Ziggy Stardust-era acoustic guitar, unrealised projects, handwritten lyrics, performance notes and costumes from Bowie’s final albums.
For more information on Experience North East England, click here.
