Side
@sidegallery.bsky.social
Est. in 1977: Side is dedicated to lens-based documentary. We are home to the UNESCO-listed AmberSide collection, showcasing film and documentary photography on working-class life from the North East and beyond.
Sidegallery.co.uk
Sidegallery.co.uk
💋 New Blog Post - "Pucker Up: Kisses from the AmberSide Collection"
You might think of the AmberSide Collection as a record of the Industrial North, but contained in its archive you’ll also find social lives, and the tenderness of a kiss.
📰 Read More: sidegallery.co.uk/blog/kiss...
You might think of the AmberSide Collection as a record of the Industrial North, but contained in its archive you’ll also find social lives, and the tenderness of a kiss.
📰 Read More: sidegallery.co.uk/blog/kiss...
February 14, 2026 at 9:19 AM
💋 New Blog Post - "Pucker Up: Kisses from the AmberSide Collection"
You might think of the AmberSide Collection as a record of the Industrial North, but contained in its archive you’ll also find social lives, and the tenderness of a kiss.
📰 Read More: sidegallery.co.uk/blog/kiss...
You might think of the AmberSide Collection as a record of the Industrial North, but contained in its archive you’ll also find social lives, and the tenderness of a kiss.
📰 Read More: sidegallery.co.uk/blog/kiss...
🌊 Tynemouth, February 1996
Thirty years ago Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen photographed this tidal pool for Writing in the Sand. The series is often remembered for beach life, but it also traces erosion and pollution along the North East coast.
🔗 See more: sidegallery.co.uk/collection/writing-in-the-sand
Thirty years ago Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen photographed this tidal pool for Writing in the Sand. The series is often remembered for beach life, but it also traces erosion and pollution along the North East coast.
🔗 See more: sidegallery.co.uk/collection/writing-in-the-sand
February 12, 2026 at 8:56 AM
🌊 Tynemouth, February 1996
Thirty years ago Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen photographed this tidal pool for Writing in the Sand. The series is often remembered for beach life, but it also traces erosion and pollution along the North East coast.
🔗 See more: sidegallery.co.uk/collection/writing-in-the-sand
Thirty years ago Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen photographed this tidal pool for Writing in the Sand. The series is often remembered for beach life, but it also traces erosion and pollution along the North East coast.
🔗 See more: sidegallery.co.uk/collection/writing-in-the-sand
📸 Join us! InSide is a monthly meet-up for photographers working in documentary. A space to share work, ask questions, and build community.
Next meeting:
🗓️ Mon 16 Feb, 6–8pm
📍Meet in Sandyford Foyer, City Campus, Northumbria Uni, NE1 8QH
🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
Next meeting:
🗓️ Mon 16 Feb, 6–8pm
📍Meet in Sandyford Foyer, City Campus, Northumbria Uni, NE1 8QH
🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
February 10, 2026 at 2:38 PM
📸 Join us! InSide is a monthly meet-up for photographers working in documentary. A space to share work, ask questions, and build community.
Next meeting:
🗓️ Mon 16 Feb, 6–8pm
📍Meet in Sandyford Foyer, City Campus, Northumbria Uni, NE1 8QH
🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
Next meeting:
🗓️ Mon 16 Feb, 6–8pm
📍Meet in Sandyford Foyer, City Campus, Northumbria Uni, NE1 8QH
🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
✨ MySide: The girls of LS, Leeds, 2024
Children sit along a low wall in Leeds. A small, ordinary moment that holds the wider story of where they are growing up and the changing world around them.
Share your own photographs with MySide: 🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
Children sit along a low wall in Leeds. A small, ordinary moment that holds the wider story of where they are growing up and the changing world around them.
Share your own photographs with MySide: 🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
February 8, 2026 at 12:32 PM
✨ MySide: The girls of LS, Leeds, 2024
Children sit along a low wall in Leeds. A small, ordinary moment that holds the wider story of where they are growing up and the changing world around them.
Share your own photographs with MySide: 🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
Children sit along a low wall in Leeds. A small, ordinary moment that holds the wider story of where they are growing up and the changing world around them.
Share your own photographs with MySide: 🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
🚪 Closing of Wills’ Factory, 1986
Wills’ was a major employer in the North East, but by 1986 the factory was closing and work had already fallen away. This image shows the last marks from a workforce about to vanish.
Share your own moments of change 👉 sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
Wills’ was a major employer in the North East, but by 1986 the factory was closing and work had already fallen away. This image shows the last marks from a workforce about to vanish.
Share your own moments of change 👉 sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
February 7, 2026 at 9:12 AM
🚪 Closing of Wills’ Factory, 1986
Wills’ was a major employer in the North East, but by 1986 the factory was closing and work had already fallen away. This image shows the last marks from a workforce about to vanish.
Share your own moments of change 👉 sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
Wills’ was a major employer in the North East, but by 1986 the factory was closing and work had already fallen away. This image shows the last marks from a workforce about to vanish.
Share your own moments of change 👉 sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
🐘 5 February marks 106 years since North East photographer Edgar G. Lee died. Lee was a unique photographer, using hand-built cameras and fast dry plates to catch real street moments as they happened.
See more from his work in the AmberSide Collection: 🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/collectio...
See more from his work in the AmberSide Collection: 🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/collectio...
February 5, 2026 at 8:19 AM
🐘 5 February marks 106 years since North East photographer Edgar G. Lee died. Lee was a unique photographer, using hand-built cameras and fast dry plates to catch real street moments as they happened.
See more from his work in the AmberSide Collection: 🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/collectio...
See more from his work in the AmberSide Collection: 🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/collectio...
📸 Join us! InSide is a monthly meet-up for photographers working in documentary. A space to share work, ask questions, and build community.
Next meeting:
🗓️ Mon 16 Feb, 6–8pm
📍Meet in Sandyford Foyer, City Campus, Northumbria Uni, NE1 8QH
🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
Next meeting:
🗓️ Mon 16 Feb, 6–8pm
📍Meet in Sandyford Foyer, City Campus, Northumbria Uni, NE1 8QH
🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
February 3, 2026 at 2:16 PM
📸 Join us! InSide is a monthly meet-up for photographers working in documentary. A space to share work, ask questions, and build community.
Next meeting:
🗓️ Mon 16 Feb, 6–8pm
📍Meet in Sandyford Foyer, City Campus, Northumbria Uni, NE1 8QH
🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
Next meeting:
🗓️ Mon 16 Feb, 6–8pm
📍Meet in Sandyford Foyer, City Campus, Northumbria Uni, NE1 8QH
🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
🏭 For over a century, Suvilahti powered Helsinki. Since industry closed, artists, skaters, and communities have made the site their own. Now redevelopment looms. We spoke to Adam Monaghan about his project documenting its changing culture.
🔗 Read more: sidegallery.co.uk/blog/mysi...
🔗 Read more: sidegallery.co.uk/blog/mysi...
January 31, 2026 at 9:48 AM
🏭 For over a century, Suvilahti powered Helsinki. Since industry closed, artists, skaters, and communities have made the site their own. Now redevelopment looms. We spoke to Adam Monaghan about his project documenting its changing culture.
🔗 Read more: sidegallery.co.uk/blog/mysi...
🔗 Read more: sidegallery.co.uk/blog/mysi...
🛍️ Last chance to take advantage of our vintage poster sale! With over 50 designs to choose from, each poster is a piece of documentary history.
Until midnight January 31st, buy two or more posters and get 25% off your poster order.
🛒 Shop now → shop.amber-online.com/colle...
Until midnight January 31st, buy two or more posters and get 25% off your poster order.
🛒 Shop now → shop.amber-online.com/colle...
January 29, 2026 at 8:05 AM
🛍️ Last chance to take advantage of our vintage poster sale! With over 50 designs to choose from, each poster is a piece of documentary history.
Until midnight January 31st, buy two or more posters and get 25% off your poster order.
🛒 Shop now → shop.amber-online.com/colle...
Until midnight January 31st, buy two or more posters and get 25% off your poster order.
🛒 Shop now → shop.amber-online.com/colle...
🎂 Murray Martin, born 27 January 1943
Murray Martin (1943–2007) was a founding member of the Amber Collective. His commitment to everyday life,and community continues to shape documentary practice in the North East and beyond.
Learn more about Amber: sidegallery.co.uk/about/abo...
Murray Martin (1943–2007) was a founding member of the Amber Collective. His commitment to everyday life,and community continues to shape documentary practice in the North East and beyond.
Learn more about Amber: sidegallery.co.uk/about/abo...
January 27, 2026 at 10:50 AM
🎂 Murray Martin, born 27 January 1943
Murray Martin (1943–2007) was a founding member of the Amber Collective. His commitment to everyday life,and community continues to shape documentary practice in the North East and beyond.
Learn more about Amber: sidegallery.co.uk/about/abo...
Murray Martin (1943–2007) was a founding member of the Amber Collective. His commitment to everyday life,and community continues to shape documentary practice in the North East and beyond.
Learn more about Amber: sidegallery.co.uk/about/abo...
🏇 New MySide blog: Langholm Common Riding
Matt MacPake photographs the Langholm Common Riding, documenting how a centuries-old tradition continues to shape memory, identity, and belonging.
🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/blog/lang...
Matt MacPake photographs the Langholm Common Riding, documenting how a centuries-old tradition continues to shape memory, identity, and belonging.
🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/blog/lang...
January 26, 2026 at 11:42 AM
🏇 New MySide blog: Langholm Common Riding
Matt MacPake photographs the Langholm Common Riding, documenting how a centuries-old tradition continues to shape memory, identity, and belonging.
🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/blog/lang...
Matt MacPake photographs the Langholm Common Riding, documenting how a centuries-old tradition continues to shape memory, identity, and belonging.
🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/blog/lang...
🧳 New In Focus blog post - The Withdrawal of Soviet Troops from Czechoslovakia
A close look at Dana Kyndrová's photographs from inside the Soviet barracks, where change is absorbed into routine, and doesn't look like the spectacle you expect.
🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/blog/in-f...
A close look at Dana Kyndrová's photographs from inside the Soviet barracks, where change is absorbed into routine, and doesn't look like the spectacle you expect.
🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/blog/in-f...
January 23, 2026 at 12:30 PM
🧳 New In Focus blog post - The Withdrawal of Soviet Troops from Czechoslovakia
A close look at Dana Kyndrová's photographs from inside the Soviet barracks, where change is absorbed into routine, and doesn't look like the spectacle you expect.
🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/blog/in-f...
A close look at Dana Kyndrová's photographs from inside the Soviet barracks, where change is absorbed into routine, and doesn't look like the spectacle you expect.
🔗 sidegallery.co.uk/blog/in-f...
📸 MySide: Fabio Pellegrini
A Rome-based firefighter and self-taught photographer, Fabio shares everyday scenes from Rome, Newcastle, and Naples, shaped by work, travel, and the places he passes through.
Show us your side of life: Submit to MySide → sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
A Rome-based firefighter and self-taught photographer, Fabio shares everyday scenes from Rome, Newcastle, and Naples, shaped by work, travel, and the places he passes through.
Show us your side of life: Submit to MySide → sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
January 22, 2026 at 8:38 AM
📸 MySide: Fabio Pellegrini
A Rome-based firefighter and self-taught photographer, Fabio shares everyday scenes from Rome, Newcastle, and Naples, shaped by work, travel, and the places he passes through.
Show us your side of life: Submit to MySide → sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
A Rome-based firefighter and self-taught photographer, Fabio shares everyday scenes from Rome, Newcastle, and Naples, shaped by work, travel, and the places he passes through.
Show us your side of life: Submit to MySide → sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/...
🎞️ Home Front was a 1986 Side Gallery exhibition by Derek Bishton & John Reardon, documenting everyday life in communities shaped by migration as the Empire came “home”.
Original posters now on sale: £20 each, 25% off when you buy 2+. Sale ends 31 Jan.
🛒 shop.amber-online.com/colle...
Original posters now on sale: £20 each, 25% off when you buy 2+. Sale ends 31 Jan.
🛒 shop.amber-online.com/colle...
January 20, 2026 at 10:50 AM
🎞️ Home Front was a 1986 Side Gallery exhibition by Derek Bishton & John Reardon, documenting everyday life in communities shaped by migration as the Empire came “home”.
Original posters now on sale: £20 each, 25% off when you buy 2+. Sale ends 31 Jan.
🛒 shop.amber-online.com/colle...
Original posters now on sale: £20 each, 25% off when you buy 2+. Sale ends 31 Jan.
🛒 shop.amber-online.com/colle...
🛠️ Most people today encounter Dunston Staiths as a quiet heritage site. In the 1970s, it was a dangerous place of work.
A new film by Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen and Peter Roberts brings that history back into view → sidegallery.co.uk/blog/coal-staiths-of-the-river-tyne
Commissioned by Tyne Derwent Way
A new film by Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen and Peter Roberts brings that history back into view → sidegallery.co.uk/blog/coal-staiths-of-the-river-tyne
Commissioned by Tyne Derwent Way
January 18, 2026 at 12:53 PM
🛠️ Most people today encounter Dunston Staiths as a quiet heritage site. In the 1970s, it was a dangerous place of work.
A new film by Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen and Peter Roberts brings that history back into view → sidegallery.co.uk/blog/coal-staiths-of-the-river-tyne
Commissioned by Tyne Derwent Way
A new film by Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen and Peter Roberts brings that history back into view → sidegallery.co.uk/blog/coal-staiths-of-the-river-tyne
Commissioned by Tyne Derwent Way
📣 MySide open call: Moments of Change
We’re inviting photos of everyday moments where something is shifting. Big or small. Planned or unexpected. Share your photographs with our team!
Deadline: midnight (GMT), 1 April 2026
Submit → sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/myside
We’re inviting photos of everyday moments where something is shifting. Big or small. Planned or unexpected. Share your photographs with our team!
Deadline: midnight (GMT), 1 April 2026
Submit → sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/myside
January 17, 2026 at 2:26 PM
📣 MySide open call: Moments of Change
We’re inviting photos of everyday moments where something is shifting. Big or small. Planned or unexpected. Share your photographs with our team!
Deadline: midnight (GMT), 1 April 2026
Submit → sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/myside
We’re inviting photos of everyday moments where something is shifting. Big or small. Planned or unexpected. Share your photographs with our team!
Deadline: midnight (GMT), 1 April 2026
Submit → sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/myside
💃 MySide: Maria Maza – Christmas Ballroom, Blackpool Tower Ballroom, 2025
“I was mesmerised by the dancers, who, regardless of age, glided graciously and effortlessly.”
Shared as part of MySide, our grassroots documentary photography project. Submit your images → sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/mys...
“I was mesmerised by the dancers, who, regardless of age, glided graciously and effortlessly.”
Shared as part of MySide, our grassroots documentary photography project. Submit your images → sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/mys...
January 15, 2026 at 4:43 PM
💃 MySide: Maria Maza – Christmas Ballroom, Blackpool Tower Ballroom, 2025
“I was mesmerised by the dancers, who, regardless of age, glided graciously and effortlessly.”
Shared as part of MySide, our grassroots documentary photography project. Submit your images → sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/mys...
“I was mesmerised by the dancers, who, regardless of age, glided graciously and effortlessly.”
Shared as part of MySide, our grassroots documentary photography project. Submit your images → sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/mys...
📣 Last year we said big changes were coming. Here’s the first!
Side is establishing a curatorial office at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, making the AmberSide Collection, our programming and documentary photography more accessible than ever.
📰 Read more: sidegallery.co.uk/blog/side-at...
Side is establishing a curatorial office at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, making the AmberSide Collection, our programming and documentary photography more accessible than ever.
📰 Read more: sidegallery.co.uk/blog/side-at...
January 13, 2026 at 10:18 AM
📣 Last year we said big changes were coming. Here’s the first!
Side is establishing a curatorial office at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, making the AmberSide Collection, our programming and documentary photography more accessible than ever.
📰 Read more: sidegallery.co.uk/blog/side-at...
Side is establishing a curatorial office at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, making the AmberSide Collection, our programming and documentary photography more accessible than ever.
📰 Read more: sidegallery.co.uk/blog/side-at...
🎡 The Hoppings in three acts:
Richard Simpson drops us into the rush.
Lorna MacKay catches the last lights at closing time.
Michaela Simpson shows the morning after, rides packed and gone.
Three views of one Newcastle tradition.
Share your images: MySide’s open → sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/myside
Richard Simpson drops us into the rush.
Lorna MacKay catches the last lights at closing time.
Michaela Simpson shows the morning after, rides packed and gone.
Three views of one Newcastle tradition.
Share your images: MySide’s open → sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/myside
January 11, 2026 at 12:48 PM
🎡 The Hoppings in three acts:
Richard Simpson drops us into the rush.
Lorna MacKay catches the last lights at closing time.
Michaela Simpson shows the morning after, rides packed and gone.
Three views of one Newcastle tradition.
Share your images: MySide’s open → sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/myside
Richard Simpson drops us into the rush.
Lorna MacKay catches the last lights at closing time.
Michaela Simpson shows the morning after, rides packed and gone.
Three views of one Newcastle tradition.
Share your images: MySide’s open → sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/myside
🖤🌈 Black & white or colour? It’s a familiar debate for documentary photographers. We asked this and more in our new #MySide interview with photographer Michele Allan.
📰 Read the full interview: sidegallery.co.uk/blog/myside-michele-allan
📸 Share your photos: sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/myside
📰 Read the full interview: sidegallery.co.uk/blog/myside-michele-allan
📸 Share your photos: sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/myside
January 10, 2026 at 11:54 AM
🖤🌈 Black & white or colour? It’s a familiar debate for documentary photographers. We asked this and more in our new #MySide interview with photographer Michele Allan.
📰 Read the full interview: sidegallery.co.uk/blog/myside-michele-allan
📸 Share your photos: sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/myside
📰 Read the full interview: sidegallery.co.uk/blog/myside-michele-allan
📸 Share your photos: sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/myside
🦌 36 years ago Side opened "Reindeer People: The Saami of Lapland", exploring the Indigenous people of northern Scandinavia.
The vintage poster is available on Side Shop (£20). Buy 2 or more posters to get 25% off your poster order until 31 January.
🛒 shop.amber-online.com/collections/merchandise
The vintage poster is available on Side Shop (£20). Buy 2 or more posters to get 25% off your poster order until 31 January.
🛒 shop.amber-online.com/collections/merchandise
January 9, 2026 at 10:56 AM
🦌 36 years ago Side opened "Reindeer People: The Saami of Lapland", exploring the Indigenous people of northern Scandinavia.
The vintage poster is available on Side Shop (£20). Buy 2 or more posters to get 25% off your poster order until 31 January.
🛒 shop.amber-online.com/collections/merchandise
The vintage poster is available on Side Shop (£20). Buy 2 or more posters to get 25% off your poster order until 31 January.
🛒 shop.amber-online.com/collections/merchandise
☎️ New year, same “one minute, I’m just figuring this out” phone call.
This 1980 shot by Richard Grassick at Cummins Engines captures a feeling that hasn’t changed: a call in one hand, the other in your hair, solutions needed.
📸 ©Richard Grassick
This 1980 shot by Richard Grassick at Cummins Engines captures a feeling that hasn’t changed: a call in one hand, the other in your hair, solutions needed.
📸 ©Richard Grassick
January 8, 2026 at 10:41 AM
☎️ New year, same “one minute, I’m just figuring this out” phone call.
This 1980 shot by Richard Grassick at Cummins Engines captures a feeling that hasn’t changed: a call in one hand, the other in your hair, solutions needed.
📸 ©Richard Grassick
This 1980 shot by Richard Grassick at Cummins Engines captures a feeling that hasn’t changed: a call in one hand, the other in your hair, solutions needed.
📸 ©Richard Grassick
🔨 MySide submission from Newcastle’s Ben Hodgson.
He photographed the final days of the Toys 'R' Us demolition at the Metrocentre, explaining “This place may not have made me, but I’ve little doubt it made other generations…”
Share your photos: sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/myside
He photographed the final days of the Toys 'R' Us demolition at the Metrocentre, explaining “This place may not have made me, but I’ve little doubt it made other generations…”
Share your photos: sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/myside
January 6, 2026 at 11:29 AM
🔨 MySide submission from Newcastle’s Ben Hodgson.
He photographed the final days of the Toys 'R' Us demolition at the Metrocentre, explaining “This place may not have made me, but I’ve little doubt it made other generations…”
Share your photos: sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/myside
He photographed the final days of the Toys 'R' Us demolition at the Metrocentre, explaining “This place may not have made me, but I’ve little doubt it made other generations…”
Share your photos: sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/myside
📢 InSide meets again on Mon 12 Jan, 6–8pm at the Coffee Rooms (2nd floor), Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. Six photographers will share work in the first hour, followed by open discussion and time to connect.
Let us know you’re coming: forms.gle/1PXDuXZcApuQ...
Let us know you’re coming: forms.gle/1PXDuXZcApuQ...
January 5, 2026 at 1:23 PM
📢 InSide meets again on Mon 12 Jan, 6–8pm at the Coffee Rooms (2nd floor), Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. Six photographers will share work in the first hour, followed by open discussion and time to connect.
Let us know you’re coming: forms.gle/1PXDuXZcApuQ...
Let us know you’re coming: forms.gle/1PXDuXZcApuQ...
🛍️ Our vintage poster sale runs until 31 Jan. Buy 2 or more and get 25% off your poster order. There are more than 50 original posters available from Side’s exhibition history, like this announcement poster from our 1999 to 2000 season. £20 each.
🛒 shop.amber-online.com/collections/merchandise
🛒 shop.amber-online.com/collections/merchandise
January 4, 2026 at 11:13 AM
🛍️ Our vintage poster sale runs until 31 Jan. Buy 2 or more and get 25% off your poster order. There are more than 50 original posters available from Side’s exhibition history, like this announcement poster from our 1999 to 2000 season. £20 each.
🛒 shop.amber-online.com/collections/merchandise
🛒 shop.amber-online.com/collections/merchandise