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Side, the internationally recognised home of humanist documentary photography and film, which has spent nearly fifty years recording and preserving working-class lives, from its gallery in Newcastle, will establish a curatorial office at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead in February 2026. The move is both a pragmatic response to the pressures facing arts organisations today and a bold step into a new creative direction. It will enable Side to bring its collection to a wider audience, commission and co-create new work, and deepen its commitment to education and community practice across the North East and beyond.

Side was founded in 1977 on Newcastle’s Quayside by the Amber Film & Photography Collective as a space for lens-based documentary rooted in the realities of working people. From shipyard workers to new communities arriving in the region, Side has made the lives of those too often absent from arts spaces visible. Its AmberSide Collection, recognised by UNESCO, is a growing archive of photography and film that continues to respond to the present: migration, precarity, resilience and everyday solidarity.

The decision stems from the realities of today’s cultural landscape. With public funding shrinking and the cost of running independent venues escalating, many arts organisations today are facing closure. Side and Baltic have chosen to cooperate in a mutually beneficial agreement.

As a cultural tenant within Baltic’s building, Side retains its autonomy and individual voice while both parties can collaborate on exhibitions that recognise the importance of photography as an art form and bring continued visibility of working-class culture to a high volume of diverse audiences.

From 2027, Side will work with Baltic in developing presentations across a range of exhibition and programmable spaces within the landmark industrial building, a former flour mill.  Just as importantly, this move frees Side to invest more deeply in what has always set it apart as an arts organisation: education and community work. With new capacity, Side will expand projects with schools, youth groups and neighbourhoods, creating hyper-local displays that place documentary art back into the communities where it is created.

Laura Laffler, Managing Director of Side said:  “Working-class culture is living culture — it doesn’t belong in the past. Our move to Baltic is about making sure the voices and experiences of ordinary people around the globe remain visible, urgent and valued in the present. Rooted in the North East, connected internationally, we will continue to commission, co-create and champion work that speaks to resilience, struggle and collective imagination.”

Sarah Munro, Director of Baltic said: “We’re delighted to welcome Side as a cultural tenant in spring 2026. Photography is crucial to Baltic’s programme. Our audiences have been enthusiastic and visited in high numbers to exhibitions of photography by Chris Killip and Martin Parr to Franki Raffles, Joanne Coates and Phyllis Christopher. We want to represent the communities that live in the locale of the gallery and who visit Baltic frequently. Collaborating on these presentations will be exciting as we approach our twenty-fifth anniversary, and Side look to their 50th year. It is important that Side’s collection, its legacy and their future survive and thrive. In these challenging times it’s vital to find new ways of working together.”  

This new chapter coincides with a moment of reflection and renewal. In 2027, Side will mark 50 years since its establishment, while Baltic will celebrate its 25th year. Together they will create a platform where history and the present meet, where real people’s lives (from the North East and further afield) remain central to our region’s cultural spaces, and where documentary is made, seen and valued.

This announcement comes at the conclusion of the 'Transforming Amber' National Lottery Heritage Fund project, which set out to rethink how Side works and how the AmberSide Collection is shared. Over the past year, this project focused on strengthening the organisational foundations of Side, improving access to the AmberSide Collection (both digital and physical), and finding new ways to make it visible, relevant and active for more people than ever before. This announcement with Baltic marks the first stage of a wider programme shaped through this work from The AmberSide Trust.

Through The AmberSide Trust, the AmberSide Collection is secured and shall remain intact and accessible in the North East of England. Further announcements, including new opportunities for public access to the AmberSide Collection, will be shared across 2026.

 See: https://sidegallery.co.uk/blog/side-at-baltic and https://baltic.art/news-and-media/side-at-baltic/

Image: River Project: Quayside, 1971 © Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen | Courtesy of the AmberSide Collection

A former gallery known for exhibitions documenting working class life has been turned into a Pilates and wellness studio. The Side Gallery was opened in Newcastle by the Amber film and photography collective, which aimed to capture and celebrate life in north-east England, in 1977. The gallery shut in April 2023 due to 'critical funding cuts and the cost of living crisis'.

See: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4grdj00pyxo

Read more about Side Gallery's new direction here: https://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/backlash-as-side-gallery-announces-it-will-not-re-open-newcastle-

Newcastle's Side Gallery has published an update on its future which includes confirmation that the gallery will not re-open. This has prompted a backlash on social media from those who had supported the gallery's appeal for support, previously noted on BPH (see here), and had expected the gallery space to return.  

Managing Director, Laura Laffler, posted a statement on the gallery's website summarising its journey from 2023 when it closed the galery and looking ahead to a partner and community-base future: 'When Side closed its building in 2023, the response was overwhelming. #SaveSide grew faster than any of us expected. People shared memories, sent messages and stepped in to keep the organisation alive. Your support covered basic costs we could not avoid, ensured the AmberSide Collection continued to be cared for responsibly, and brought us the time we needed to secure grants from Arts Council England, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, The National Archives, Community Foundation and to commence the next phase of our education programme funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Quite simply, Side would not still exist without you. 

That time allowed us to deliver Transforming Amber, our National Lottery Heritage Fund programme. It rebuilt the organisation from  the inside out. We catalogued the AmberSide collection into a new accessible digital content management system, launched a new website, opened up access for schools and communities, shared our work nationally, and supported people to make and show their own work. It was a year of consolidation, allowing Side to move forward with focus and purpose. This project has now come to an end and we move forward into 2026 stronger and more resilient. 

What comes next is grounded in our renewed commitment to our region. The North East has always been our centre of gravity. Its communities, photographers, cultural life and irreplaceable heritage continue to shape who we are. From our home here, we are expanding our cross-region remit that lets us support more people while staying rooted in the place that made us. At the same time we remain committed to linking the North East to the rest of the world through documentary projects and sharing working class solidarity across borders. 

After consultation and expert guidance from across the arts and heritage sector, from December 2025, Side will no longer be a solely gallery based model and will not be reopening our Quayside location. Instead we have become a vibrant and multi-faceted organisation: working with high-profile exhibition partners and local community and heritage centres, building digital access, continuing our established education programme, and supporting incredible creativity in lens-based documentary arts.' 

What seems to have upset supporters who had donated to Side's appeal was the burying of news of the gallery's closure deep in the statement with one claiming 'a dirty trick' and others unimpressed with the decison. Many had expected their support would lead to the public gallery space being part of the future. Laffler notes, in repeated standard responses to individual comments, that 'Amber Film & Photography CIC has never owned the Side Gallery buildings' and the location was sold to a new landlord in 2024. Side was offered a longterm lease but 'the cost of the rent along with other operational costs meant that it was not a sustianable base for our future.'  

The closure of Side Gallery highlights the lack of permanent gallery space for photography in the north east. 

See: https://sidegallery.co.uk/blog/a-year-of-transformation and https://www.instagram.com/

Join us at Side for What’s Next?, a public Q&A with Managing Director Laura Laffler and members of the senior team. This is your opportunity to hear directly about what lies ahead for Side as we near the end of our Transforming Amber: Building a Resilient Future project, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

In 2023, Side lost its National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) funding from Arts Council England and was forced to close its doors. Over the last year, with support from the Heritage Fund, we have worked to lay the foundations for a more sustainable future. This includes the development of a new business model, changes to our exhibition programme, and the opening up of the AmberSide collection to new audiences through partnerships.

As this exploratory year concludes, we are now ready to share what happens next. This event will outline the next phase of our work. We will present key plans for the gallery and archive, explain how we are adapting to a difficult and uncertain funding environment, and provide updates on our efforts to rejoin public funding streams.

The national picture is challenging. The application process for new NPO funding has been delayed again. Local authority support for the arts continues to fall. But Side is committed to continuing its work and deepening its roots in the North East.

This session is for anyone who wants to understand where Side is heading and how we are continuing the mission that began in 1977. Attendance is free and all are welcome.

Side: What's Next? An open conversation about our future
25 August 2025, 1600-1700
Side Cinema, 5-9 Side, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1JE
Free, registration required. 
Book: https://sidegallery.co.uk/whats-on/events/side-whats-next

Impressions Gallery, Open Eye Gallery and Side Gallery are looking for a Network Coordinator to work to establish a new pilot network across the North for photographers and organisations that are working with photography.

Specifically, the Photo Connect network aims to support those interested in amplifying or expanding photography provision across the North. It is open to anyone wishing to collaborate – individuals, community groups, organisations and educational institutions – and will provide mechanisms to:

• Share information about photography exhibitions, workshops, and events, across the North.
• Manage Photo Connect communications, e.g. Instagram account.
• Share information from photography courses in the north.
• Share photography related news and opportunities.
• Support bespoke carbon literacy training for photographers.
• Provide at least one Photo Connect networking event in each of the 3 north areas North West, Yorkshire and North East.
• Champion the benefits of collaborating to increase reach and impact.
• Better understand the current photography ecology and demand for increased provision.

We know that photography is under-funded in the north, with just two organisations receiving core support from Arts Council England – Impressions Gallery and Open Eye Gallery – which is at odds with the public’s engagement and interest in photography. The Network Coordinator role is critical to establishing the Photo Connect network and driving forward this ambitious 12 month year-long pilot. The Network Coordinator will provide managerial capacity to identify the photography ecology across the North, connect with potential collaborators, and play a key part in planning and delivering the aims and objectives of Photo Connect.

The deadline for expressing interest is 12pm noon on 31 December 2024.

See: https://www.impressions-gallery.com/opportunity/photo-connect-network-coordinator/

Photo Connect is made possible by Arts Council England project funding

Newcastle's Side Gallery has several jobs available. Amber Film & Photography Collective CIC and Side Gallery have a rich and intertwined history rooted in the vibrant arts and culture scene of the Northeast. The collective and gallery were established in the late 1960s and early 1970s by a group of visionary photographers and filmmakers driven by a shared passion for documentary storytelling and cultural preservation.

• Curatorial Assistant / https://www.amber-online.com/job-opportunity-curatorial-assistant/
• Creative Director/Side Gallery Curator / https://www.amber-online.com/job-opportunity-creative-director-curator/

and previously announced

• Project archivisit / https://www.amber-online.com/job-opportunity/

Image: Interiors, 1981 ©Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen, AmberSide Collection

Side Gallery which had temporarily closed last year and was under threat of permanent closure (see here) having lost its Arts Council National Portfolio status and funding has provided an update of its position. In 2023 is secured over £50,000 as part of a Crowdfunding exercsie and it has just been awarded a £236,000 grant by The heritage Fund which 'secures our building for the next year, which will allow us to host pop-up exhibitions and do comprehensive cataloguing.'

Side's statement sent to those who had supported its Crowdfunder says: 

When we last emailed you in March we had several exciting updates to share about the collection, however, the future of Side Gallery was still uncertain… 
We had one final funding application under review, which if not won would mean the permanent closure of the Side Gallery. 
I am pleased to announce that we have been awarded a £236,000 grant by The Heritage Fund thanks to National Lottery players. 
This grant secures our building for the next year, which will allow us to host pop-up exhibitions and do comprehensive cataloguing.
But this grant isn’t just about the gallery, it’s much bigger.
This means exploring new partnerships and ensuring we are more connected to working photographers and the North East arts community. 

This grant will enable us to run a 12-month project that includes:

• Expanding our team (new roles to be announced soon)
• Business & Resilience Development
• Creating new exhibitions representing many viewpoints, nurturing an inclusive culture
• Exploring new ways to collaborate with new artists, audiences and lifelong supporters. 
• A comprehensive, publicly accessible catalogue of the AmberSide Collection

The grant puts us on the path to reopening the gallery, but we not going back to business as usual; instead, we are forging a new direction that is mindful of our original principles.

We have a long way to go, but we would not have made it this far without you
Your donation to #SaveSide allowed us to protect the collection and gallery space and spend time creating the highest-quality funding applications. 
Thanks to you and the 2,000 others who care deeply about telling North Eash stories we #SavedSide. 

We’ll share updates and stories from the project along the way, and can’t wait to see what this next chapter brings for the collection and photography in the North East. 

All the best, 

Laura Laffler

Amber Film & Photography Collective

See: https://www.amber-online.com/side-gallery/

Newcastle's Side Gallery which closed last year after losing its Arts Council England NPO status (see here) is seeking the views of supporters and the public as it looks to the future. In an email from Laura Laffler, Director at Amber Film & Photographty Collective she said:

Thanks to your support, we can continue to digitise our archive, take part in exhibitions nationwide and support the next generation of North East documentary artists. We will find out about several major funding opportunities in the next few weeks, and you’ll be the first to receive an update.  But right now, more than anything, we need your feedback. Galleries should exist for everyone, and we believe the best way to relaunch our space is with community and collaboration at its core. Our next steps are to take survey responses and turn them into an in-person event where, together, we can co-create the next chapter of the Side Gallery.

To share your views click here

Newcastle’s Side Gallery is to close on 9 April 2023 as a consequence of the loss of it’s Arts Council England (ACE)  National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) status last November. This had provided the gallery with £120,000 annually for the previous four years. The gallery received £70,880 in ACE transition funding to help it move from public funding to other sources. The gallery blamed ‘critical funding cuts and the cost of living crisis’ for the closure.

This week the Gallery launched a public crowdfunder with a target of £60,000 to support re-opening in September 2024, although it says ‘our future is uncertain, and we now face the possibility of permanent closure’. It has lost six staff members and curator Kerry Lowes is coming up with a survival plan. 

There is a sense of déjà vu with the current situation and loss of NPO status and its associated funding. Back in 2011 Side Gallery also lost its NPO status and a petition was then launched then to save it. An Early Day Motion (EDM) was tabled in Parliament on 11 May of that year calling on the Arts Council to review its decision.

Side Gallery re-opened in 2016 after a two year refurbishment funded with £1.12 million for the National Heritage Memorial Fund and £90,000 from the Arts Council. It re-gained its NPO status in 2018. 

The gallery is run by Amber Film & Photography Collective CIC with the significant Amberside collection of photography held Amberside Trust. The Amber film and photography collective, which came together in 1968 to capture working-class life in the North East, opened the gallery in 1977. The Amberside Collection was reported in 2022 to comprise some 20,000 photographs, 10,000 slides and 100 films. These, together with their associated paper files take up 36.19 cubic metres and there are currently approximately 6 TB of digital assets.

Details of the crowdfunder are here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/saveside

By 1000 on Sunday, 9 April the crowdfunder had raised £38,748 of £60,000, by 2132 on Sunday, 9 April is stood at £40,921. 

The total required has been increased to £75,000. The call has reached £63,486 at 1334 Sunday, 23 April. 

Image: Side Gallery

As a fitting conclusion to the current  LSC Book of the month promotion, photo historian Denis Pellerin, from the Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy, will be giving a FREE 3D online talk, entitled “The Poor Man’s Picture Gallery: the Search goes on”, on Wednesday May 26th at 7.00 pm. Whether you have already got a copy of the book (we love you!) or have not purchased it yet (there is still time to visit our online shop !), there will be a lot to look at and learn in this colourful, entertaining and educational presentation.

Denis will examine the reasons that prompted the publication of the book in the first place and how all the original connections that are made in it between high art, popular art and stereoscopic photography, make it a unique volume that goes far beyond a simple survey of some of the best-selling Victorian stereo cards. Although the book was released some years ago, the search for more connections still goes on and the speaker will disclose some of the latest avenues he has explored and the numerous new links between paintings and stereo views he has discovered, and written about, since.

The images will be displayed side-by-side for parallel viewing. You can watch the whole presentation in 2D but if you want the 3D experience you need a Lite Owl, a Steampunk Owl, an Owl VR kit, or any other lorgnette-type viewer. If you haven’t got a viewer there is still time to order one from our online shop (https://shop.londonstereo.com/)

To book click here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-poor-mans-picture-gallery-the-search-goes-on-tickets-154817562497

BPH heard late yesterday afternoon that the British documentary photographer Chris Killip had died at his home in the United States. Killip was born in the Isle of Man, and started his career by assisting Adrian Flowers in London. From 1969 he began concentrating on his own photography. In 1977 he became a founder, exhibition curator, and advisor at the Side Gallery Newcastle, and worked as its first director. His work was championed and purchased by the V&A Museum, London. 

He documented many aspects of 1980s Britain and is best known for In Flagrante (1988). His work has been widely exhibited and collected and his body of work The Station is currently on view at the Martin Parr Foundation. 

From 1991-2017 he was Professor of Visual and Environmental Studies at Harvard University, in Massachusetts.

Killip received the Henri Cartier-Bresson Award for In Flagrante.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/oct/14/chris-killip-hard-hitting-photographer-of-britains-working-class-dies-aged-74

and: 

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/oct/16/chris-killip-recognition-for-a-great-photographer

Images  © Michael Pritchard. Above: Killip at the launch symposium for the Martin Parr Foundation in 2017. Read more here.  Left: The Station at Martin Parr Foundation, on view until 20 December 2020. 

I am looking to contact or at least discover more about the photographer, Isabela Jedrzejczyk, who has exhibited at the Side Gallery in 1980. I am particularly interested in her series of photographs known as 'the Jungle Portraits', named after a pub called the Northumberland Arms, aka The Jungle, in North Shields photographed in 1979 as part of a Side Gallery commission. 

I believe Isabela may be lecturing now but have little more information generally available. 

Many thanks,

Alex Schneideman

Flow Photographic

alex@flowphotographic.com

Amber Film & Photography Collective which includes Side Gallery, Newcastle-on-Tyne is recruiting for a series of part-time positions. 

• Audience Development Coordinator - https://www.amber-online.com/job-opportunity-audience-development-co-ordinator/
• Fundraising Manager - https://www.amber-online.com/job-opportunity-fundraising-manager/

Stills gallery is to present a selection of photographs from The AmberSide Collection, a unique archive that continues to grow out of the documentary production, commissioning, exhibition and touring work of Newcastle-based Amber Film & Photography Collective. The group established itself in North East England in 1969 and opened Side Gallery in 1977.

The display at Stills highlights a selection of AmberSide’s holdings of photographs by women photographers. Key documentary works by founder Amber member Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen, by Tish Murtha and Izabela Jedrzejczyk, both of whom worked at Side Gallery, share the walls with those of celebrated international photographers, such as Graciela Iturbide, who toured Konttinen's Byker in Mexico, and Susan Meiselas, whose Central American work was toured by Side in the early 1980s.

The exhibition illustrates AmberSide’s historic and ongoing commitment to the best in documentary, showcasing photography that tells stories of marginalized and threatened people and communities, whether they are from the North East of England or anywhere else in the world.

This exhibition is part of an annual series of displays at Stills aimed at celebrating the diversity and richness of photographic objects held within archives and collections in the UK.

Women Photographers from The AmberSide Collection
15 Nov 2019 - 8 Mar 2020
See: http://stills.org/exhibition/future-exhibition/women-photographers-ambersidecollection

Image: Girl on a Spacehopper, Byker 1971 © Sirkka Liisa Konttinen, courtesy Amber/ L. Parker Stephenson Photographs

We are looking for a  Curator to take responsibility for the conceptual development, organisation and co-ordination of exhibitions and publications assigned by the Director and Chief Curator, including budgetary management and fundraising. The Curator also contributes ideas to the Gallery’s programme, liaises with other internal departments as appropriate and represents the Whitechapel Gallery at relevant networking events. 

Conditions of Work

•    Full time permanent position
•    Hours of work: 9.30am – 5.45pm, Monday - Friday plus some occasional weekend and evening work, which will be compensated by time off in lieu
•    Salary: £32,000-35,000 per annum
•    The period of notice is 3 months in writing on either side
•    Probation period: 6 months

For further details, and how to apply visit www.whitechapelgallery.org

Deadline for applications is midnight on Monday 9 October 2017.

Photohistorians Dr Brian May CBE and Denis Pellerin are presenting an exclusive lecture on behalf of The Royal Photographic Society. May and Pellerin have researched the little known connections between Victorian art and stereo-photography.  For the first time they examine the art behind many popular stereocards of the time.  The lecture accompanies the publication of a new book The Poor Man’s Picture Gallery and a display at Tate Britain. 

Brian and Denis will be signing copies of the book after the lecture. Copies will be available for purchase.  

The Poor Man’s Picture Gallery, is a 208-page book, the second to be published under the imprint of the London Stereoscopic Company, and comes with Dr Brian May’s specially designed Owl stereo-viewer. 

The six-month exhibition at Tate Britain, London, runs from 13 October 2014 to 12 April 2015 where twelve paintings from the Tate collections will be displayed side by side with the stereo-photographs they inspired. Stereoscopic cabinets, also designed by Dr May, will make it possible for visitors to experience 3D viewing the Victorian way and to compare the three dimensional rendition of the painting with its original version hanging on the wall.

See more and book tickets at: http://www.rps.org/events/2014/october/09/the-poor-mans-picture-gallery

AmberSide has to announced that it has received a confirmed grant of £1,121,200 from the Heritage Lottery Fund for its project, The AmberSide Collection: Access & Engagement.  It provides the key element in a £1.6m, three year programme of work. Securing a remarkable documentary film & photography collection, it supports:

• The capital redevelopment of Side Gallery on Newcastle’s Quayside, delivering full access, increased/enhanced exhibition spaces; a study centre with digital access to the collection and a library; improved work, exhibition development and conservation facilities (see image, right);

• A major exhibition at Newcastle’s Laing Art Gallery opening in June 2015, while Side Gallery is closed, exploring the rich narrative of the collection;

• A programme of volunteer involvement that will help to digitise over 7,000 images, 2,000 minutes of film & video as well as audio tapes and documents;

• The redesign and rebuild of Amber-Online, delivering access to the digitised collection and the rich network of connections between the different films and photographic bodies of work; 

• 18 projects working with the collection and the possibilities of documentary with primary schools, secondary schools, colleges, community groups and individuals - particularly in the communities whose histories have been captured in Amber / Side Gallery’s documentary works.

• The project will see the digitisation of photographs, video, documents and audio from an extensive T Dan Smith archive; together with the digitisation of a filmed interview with Mary Lowther on the Socialist Cafe, a key leftwing meeting place in Newcastle’s Royal Arcade.

Ivor Crowther, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund North East, said: “Documenting the lives of working class and marginalised communities in the North East over the last 40 years, the AmberSide collection is of significant local, national and international importance. HLF’s grant will not only conserve the historic building where the collection is housed, it will also drastically improve access and, by digitising the majority of items, create even more opportunities for people everywhere to learn about key moments in our history, including the decline of industry along the Tyne in the 70s, the redevelopment of Newcastle in Byker and images of Durham’s mining communities.” 

Founded by the filmmaker Murray Martin, the Amber collective came to the North East in 1969 ‘to collect documents of working class culture’. Collection accelerated after it opened Side Gallery in 1977. In 2011, the interlinked narrative of Amber’s films and the photography of collective member Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen was inscribed in UNESCO’s Memory of the World UK register. An influential voice in British documentary photography, it was a key player in the Film Workshop movement of the 80s and early 90s.

Collective member Graeme Rigby, said: “This is a hugely important award for us. Amber has created a living archive over the past 45 years. This gives us the opportunity to work with the collection and let people know just how beautiful and extraordinary it is. And it sets us up for the next 45 years!”

Matched funding is still being sought. 

See: http://www.amber-online.com/

The V&A Photography Gallery opened this evening. The display and room was every bit as good as the exclusive BPH photographs showed (see:http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/exclusive-the-new-v-a-photography-gallery-opening-tuesday-25th-oc. Shown here is the V&A Director opening the gallery with Curators Martin Barnes and Marta Weiss to his side. 

The gallery opens to the public Tuesday morning. Make a date and visit - you won't be disappointed.

An online petition has been launched save Newcastle's Side Gallery which opened in 1977. The Gallery has a commitment to documentary in the tradition of the concerned photographer. It commissions work in the North of England and shows historical and contemporary work from around the world. Talks are organised around most of the exhibitions. The Arts Council has axed Side Gallery as a revenue client in its ‘National Portfolio’. The reasons for the decision are:

• The gallery is part of a collective and therefore doesn’t have a board;
• The gallery needs Arts Council funding and therefore isn’t sustainable;
• There are too many galleries dedicated to humanist documentary photography in Side’s geographical location.

This flies in the face of the fact that the collective has continued to deliver what is unquestionably the strongest cultural legacy created in the North East over the past forty years.  Unlike many Arts organisations, its egalitarian collective governance has meant Side Gallery has never approached the Arts Council or Northern Arts for a bail-out. It is the only gallery in the country dedicated to documentary photography.

For see the petition click here: http://www.gopetition.com/petition/44355.html

To visit the Gallery's website click here: http://www.amber-online.com/sections/side-gallery

The hatchet has finally come down, and the full extend of the government's austerity measures on the Arts Council and photographic galleries/organisations have been laid bare for all to see. A quick glance reveals the following:

Photography galleries and organisations that will receive increased funding from ACE: Open Eye Gallery (Liverpool): +15.4%; The Photographer's Gallery: +10.4%; Redeye Photography Network: +55.7%; Photoworks: +2.5%; Impressions Gallery: +5.1%; Focal Point Gallery (South-on-Sea Borough Council): +157.3%.

Photography galleries and organisations that will see their funding cut in part: Autograph: -2.2%; Rhubarb Rhubarb: -14.2%; Photofusion: -6.9%; De La Warr Pavilion: -6.0%.

Photography galleries and organisations that have lost their ACE funding: Side Gallery, Hereford Photography Festival, Pavilion, and Four Corners Film.

A full report can be found in the official Arts Council website here, and also in a BJP report here.

On a happier note, the recent Photographer's Gallery/Christie's auction as reported in a BPH blog raised over £325,000. The press release can be found here: AuctionR.pdf.