PREVIEWS
REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL WORDS: CLAIRE DUPREE / EUGENIE JOHNSON It’s not all doom and gloom out there; when the situation is challenging, artists always find a way to create. Here we’ve compiled an ever-growing list of places for you to seek entertainment, sustenance and advice, with an emphasis on independent North East businesses.
STREAMING, VIRTUAL VIEWING, PARTICIPATION & MORE Teaming up with Pedestal VR, Tyne & Wear Museum and Archives are offering virtual tours of Great North Museum: Hancock, giving you access to their biology and ethnographic stores as well as their Ice Age to Iron Age gallery. You can still visit Newcastle's Discovery Museum in virtual form, as a variety of their exhibits and rooms are available to look around for free via Google Arts & Culture. If you need an artistic fix, go for a jaunt around the Laing Art Gallery's extensive collection on Google Arts & Culture. Artworks at Middlesbrough's Platform A Gallery are available to view online. Its diverse range of exhibitions, including current works by Leslaw Tetla, can be enjoyed in glorious 3D via the Artland website. Newcastle’s Side Gallery are asking for suggestions on how digital content can be produced for their audience. Not only that, but hundreds of their exhibitions are available to view for free on their website. A digital visit to BALTIC is now possible, with all their current exhibitions including Judy Chicago and Animalesque, plus related video tours by BALTIC Crew and other filmed events available to view. Plus there’s a digital version of the recently opened Abel Rodriguez exhibition containing extensive install photography, plus the full 16 minute film Abel. They've also recently uploaded
4
We've tried our best to be as comprehensive as we can and we’ll update this every month. If you'd like to tell our readers your news, please get in touch: narcmedia@gmail.com. As things seem to be changing on a daily basis at the moment, we apologise for any errors or changes to what's listed here.
the first of their Meet & Make Online videos, featuring artist Mat Fleming. Follow and use #balticconnect to stay plugged in to their activities. Independent Teesside arts organisation Dovetail Joints have launched a virtual gallery and interactive exhibition space for artists to exhibit their work. Submissions and collaborations are welcomed. Slated to take place from Friday 1st-Sunday 3rd May, GIFT (Gateshead International Festival of Theatre) is still going ahead, albeit in digital format. Organisers have been working hard to ensure collaboration and interactivity remain key to the GIFT experience, with a host of talented artists and practitioners providing a vibrant bite-sized programme exploring connection, international identity, sustainability in art and climate emergency solutions. We'll bring you much more info in our May issue. Theatre company Open Clasp have made their production Key Change available to watch for free on their website. Devised alongside women in HMP Low Newton to tour to male prisons, the criticallyacclaimed work presents an illuminating portrait of women in prison. Northern Stage are making sure you can still get your fix of theatrical news and opinions thanks to their podcast which will offer interviews, stories and theatre-related chat. Currently online is a conversation between theatre company Curious Monkey's director Amy Golding, Northern Stage's associate director Mark Calvert and
Young Company associate director Louie Ingham. Listen to the podcast here. From Wednesday 1st April, Eliot Smith Dance Company dancers will be delivering free dance classes, from contemporary to hip-hop and ballet to yoga, tailored for young people, dance professionals and the elderly every Monday, Wednesday and Friday via their social media channels. You can also watch performances from ESD's vast repertoire via their website, and company dancers will be hosting free Q&As. If anyone understands the importance of laughter right now, it's The Stand Comedy Club. With three branches (Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow) and a wealth of excellent contacts in the industry, they're well placed to bring some of the hottest comedians directly to your screens. Saturday Night Live at The Stand will stream live on Saturday 4th and 11th April via YouTube, with more info announced as it happens via their website. Writer CJ Cooke has mobilised a swathe of superb writers for the very first Stay At Home literary festival, taking place via their website until Saturday 11th April. Workshops, readings, panels and Q&A sessions will take place, with events of particular note including our region's own Claire Malcolm, chief executive of New Writing North, who's in conversation with Maggie O'Farrell, and North East poetry magazine Butcher's Dog's editor Jo Clement who chairs a poetry showcase. With 7-8 events per day, and everything free of charge, it'll be an informative and enjoyable way to spend your time.
