Culture Digest 31.07.26
This week's round up of the arts and culture stories from across the North East which have caught our attention
🌻🌻🌻 Reminder: Due to annual leave, Cultured. On Sunday will be on a break until August 9. And next week’s Curated Culture will be delivered on Wednesday, August 5. 🌻🌻🌻
Two North East acts join Mercury Prize shortlist
The North East has two chances to celebrate at this year’s Mercury Prize after JADE and Newcastle jazz collective Knats were both named among the 12 Albums of the Year nominees ahead of October’s awards ceremony at Utilita Arena Newcastle.
They join an impressive shortlist featuring Dave, Dove Ellis, Florence + The Machine, Kojey Radical, Nia Archives, Olivia Dean, Paul McCartney, RAYE, Suede and War Child Records’ HELP(2), with the winner due to be announced on October 22.
The Mercury Prize celebrates the best British and Irish album released over the past year, recognising artistic achievement across every genre. Widely regarded as one of music’s most prestigious accolades, previous winners include PJ Harvey, Arctic Monkeys, Little Simz, Wolf Alice, Ezra Collective and, most recently, Sam Fender, who lifted the trophy on home soil last October after People Watching was crowned Album of the Year.
First Durham Book Festival events open for booking
Tickets have gone on sale for the first events in this year’s Durham Book Festival, offering an early glimpse of the programme ahead of its full launch on August 13.
Running from October 9-11, we now know the festival will welcome poet Hollie McNish, author Susanna Clarke and Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant, while New Northern Voices will showcase Louise Powell, Sufiyaan Salam and Shaun Wilson.
The early release also includes an event with bestselling author Lucy Foley, whose novel The Hunting Party has been chosen for the North East Big Read, part of this year’s National Year of Reading celebrations.
Theatre Royal project gets West End folk chatting
Proof that the Theatre Royal’s creative footprint extends far beyond Grey Street comes with the celebratory launch of a new publication under the heading Stories of the West End.
Actually, it’s the first of four booklets – all packed with stories, memories, anecdotes and images.
The other three will come out in the autumn but number one, The Soil and the Seeds, is to arrive with some fanfare at a public event on Sunday (August 2) at The John Marley Centre, remembered by older local residents as a school but now a thriving creative hub.
There will be readings from the booklet by actors and some of the 150 or so West End people who shared their stories with Chatty Laura.
Those attending will also hear singer-songwriter Katie Doherty give the first public performance of a newly commissioned song inspired by contributions to the book. Read more
Pride brings colour and crowds to Newcastle streets
The sky might have been drab but the streets certainly weren’t after the Newcastle Pride parade smothered them with rainbow hues.
Photographer David Whinham was there on Friday and Saturday (July 24 and 25) to capture an occasion which celebrates both difference and unity.
On the face of it, that might seem paradoxical but it’s not really.
We’re all a bit different, absolutely all of us, but that shouldn’t – and doesn’t – prevent us coming together for a good time. And certainly it should be no ground for hostility or persecution.
David followed the Saturday parade from the Civic Centre to Grey’s Monument, recording the fact that many participants had not dressed what you might call formally for the occasion.
Michael Palin on the way with tales of the Philippines
Inveterate traveller Sir Michael Palin is hitting the road again – not bound for foreign climes but on a UK tour that will bring him to Newcastle’s Tyne Theatre & Opera House on October 29.
The ‘Monty Python’ legend is embarking on a 13-date autumn tour to talk about the Philippines.
He will share stories from his latest TV series, Michael Palin in the Philippines, which is due to air in September on Channel 5. Read more
Arty teens show moxie at MIMA before Turner Prize
A ribbon cutting ceremony always means something special and that was the case at MIMA, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, which is enjoying a year of high profile exhibitions.
New Contemporaries runs until August 16 and then the Turner Prize exhibition opens on September 26, when all eyes will be on Middlesbrough which is hosting the prestigious competition for the first time in its 42-year history.
The young people gathered behind that ribbon on July 25 – all members of MIMA’s Saturday Club - can have been left in no doubt as to the significance of the Turner Prize.
Dr Laura Sillars, dean of culture and creativity at Teesside University and director of MIMA, told them: “When we announced the four artists who are going to be in it, we gained news stories across 14 countries and reached a potential readership of 1.24 billion.”
Live Tales birthday bash to mark a decade
All are invited to a special party as Live Theatre’s story and playwriting programme, Live Tales, celebrates its 10th birthday.
Summery Tales will take place in the Live Garden, behind the theatre on Broad Chare, Newcastle Quayside, from 11am to 3pm on Saturday, August 1.
It’s a free event with family activities including live music, face painting and a range of workshops (which must be booked in advance).
The creative workshop programme, supported by Space Architects, begins at 11am with art-K Watercolour Creatures, a watercolour workshop delivered by art-K Jesmond.
Inspired by the magic of stories, it will be repeated at 11.50am, 12.40pm and 1.30pm. Read more
Sights and sounds of BBC Proms in the North East
The music goes on at all three participating venues – of course it does - and the BBC Proms doesn’t actually end until the famous Last Night on September 12. But in the North East, that’s it for another year.
The presenters, the technicians and the BBC vans have moved on, the banners and logos been put away.
What has the BBC ever done for me? (Or us?)
That’s the question being asked (rather relentlessly, it has to be said) as it campaigns for continued public funding ahead of charter renewal at the end of next year.
Well, one thing it does is the BBC Proms and by embracing the regions this musical national institution effects a sense of togetherness.
Why you should get to The Fire Station early this August
Some of the North East’s most exciting emerging artists will find themselves playing to some of their biggest audiences yet this August, thanks to a partnership between BBC Introducing and Sunderland’s Summer Parties series at The Fire Station.
Carefully matched with headline artists whose audiences are likely to appreciate their sound, the BBC Introducing line up promises to give concertgoers the chance to discover new music before the main event.
Across the month, acts including Cortney Dixon, Esmeralda Road, Venus Grrrls, Hector Gannet, Swindled and Spacecadetbloom will perform ahead of headliners including Kula Shaker, Pale Waves, John Grant and Richard Hawley, The Lottery Winners and Maxïmo Park. Read more
New home for rare Cornish work
An early painting offering a rare window into artist Norman Cornish’s development before he left his full-time mining job has been donated to a university collection of his work.
The painting, Colliery Row, was created in 1947 while Norman Cornish was still working as a miner at Dean & Chapter Colliery in Ferryhill and beginning to sketch and paint through the Spennymoor Settlement Sketching Club, which he joined at the age of 16.
It is the earliest work now held in Northumbria University’s collection – one of the most important collections of Cornish’s work in the world – and the only one from this formative period before he became a full-time artist.
Something in the Water to return to Newcastle Theatre Royal for 2027
Something in the Water, the North East fundraising concert celebrating the region’s creative talent, will return to Newcastle Theatre Royal next spring after two sell-out performances raised £30,000 for charity this year.
The variety show, presented by Joe McElderry alongside co-director and producer Michael Lavery and backed by funk and soul collective Groovetrain, will be staged on Sunday, May 16, 2027.
Since debuting in 2025, the show has established itself as a feelgood celebration of North East performers, bringing together established stars and emerging talent for an evening of music, entertainment and storytelling while raising money to support the next generation of artists. Read more
Landmark exhibition celebrates 500 years of Tyndale's revolutionary translation
One of the world’s rare surviving copies of William Tyndale’s New Testament – the book that changed the course of English history – is now on display in Bishop Auckland as part of a new exhibition marking the 500th anniversary of its publication.
Running at The Faith Museum until December 31, Light and Fire: 500 Years of Tyndale’s New Testament will tell the remarkable story of the scholar whose determination to make the Bible accessible to ordinary people ultimately cost him his life.
At the heart of the exhibition will be one of only a handful of known surviving copies of Tyndale’s 1536 New Testament, making The Faith Museum the only venue in the North East where visitors will be able to see an edition produced during Tyndale’s lifetime in this anniversary year.
North East documentary longlisted for prestigious award
Judges for the Grierson Award will be immersing themselves in the story of a Wearside man.
Directed by Toby Robson Poised spotlights the story of Sunderland’s Steven France, who channelled his own trauma - and what helped him get through it - into empowering young people from the city struggling to find positive paths to follow.
After losing his step dad to suicide, Steven found an outlet for his trauma in his local martial arts centre.
A decade later, he opened his own gym with a mission to offer the same kind of solace and inspiration to local young people - a group he could see being left behind.
Produced by Toby’s production company, Two Yanks and a Brit, Poised got its first official showing at New Zealand’s Academy Award-qualifying festival, Doc Edge in 2024.
Widely regarded as the UK’s leading documentary awards, the Grierson Awards recognise exceptional British and international filmmaking, celebrating documentaries that combine quality, integrity and creativity.
Bursaries awarded ahead of Berwick Open Studios
The recipients of three studio bursaries at Berwick Barracks have been announced by The Maltings (Berwick) Trust.
The bursaries were made available to artists in north Northumberland and the Scottish Borders and offered the use of a studio for one month, support towards the cost of materials and mentoring opportunities.
One of the bursaries, in partnership with Berwick Open Studios, was intended to enable an artist who may not otherwise have been able to participate in the event the opportunity to do so.
That bursary goes to Julia Sweryda whose practice entails exploring ocean botanicals.
She will use the studio to enable her to participate in Berwick Open Studios and develop new creative ideas. Read more
Tyne Theatre & Opera House seeks new trustees to support restoration plans
Newcastle’s Tyne Theatre & Opera House is looking to recruit new volunteer trustees to help steer the historic Newcastle venue through the next phase of its ambitious £7.2 million restoration programme.
The Grade I-listed theatre is seeking people with expertise in areas including project management, surveying, fundraising, sustainability and IT to join its board as it prepares a major National Lottery Heritage Fund bid.
Trustees will help shape the charity’s long-term strategy and governance, with applications closing on August 31. Successful candidates are expected to take up their roles in January 2027. Prospective applicants are advised to contact the Trust for an informal conversation ahead of submitting their CV and covering letter.