Newcastle’s Side Gallery closes after funding cuts and energy bills rise

The Side Gallery, the Newcastle home of documentary photography and film for more than 40 years, has closed its doors because of funding cuts and cost-of-living pressures.

The Side announced on social media it would shut to the public on Sunday 9 April, blaming "critical funding cuts and the cost of living crisis".

The gallery became one of the Arts Council England national portfolio organisations in 2018, but last year it was told its application for another four years had been unsuccessful.

It officially closed at 5pm, which coincides with the last day of its current exhibition A Wounded Landscape - Bearing Witness to the Holocaust. 

A campaign has started to save a culturally significant gallery from closure.

In a social media post, they said: "Our small team are doing everything possible to secure additional funding so that we can eventually re-open to the public.

"However, our future is uncertain, and we now face the possibility of permanent closure."

The gallery has set up an online appeal for £60,000, which raised more than £10,000 in less than 24 hours.

The plan is to also apply to a larger number of funding bodies in an effort to ensure it survives the current crisis.

"With the support of donors, we can continue working towards re-opening in September 2024" The Side gallery added.

The Amber film and photography collective, which came together in 1968 to capture working-class life in the North East, opened the Side gallery in 1977.

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