ART & LIT PEOPLE POWERED: STORIES FROM THE RIVER TEES @ MIMA

Words: Emily Ingram

There’s something undeniably vital about the Tees. For the people of Middlesbrough, the existence of the river – along with all its sights, sounds and smells – has proved to be the one reliable constant throughout two centuries of rapid change and uncertainty. It flowed when the town was nothing but a cluster of farmhouses at the turn of the 19th Century; when the golden age of iron and steel production prompted William Gladstone to declare Middlesbrough an ‘Infant Hercules’; and continues to flow now the old giants of industry have been flattened for redevelopment. As such, it seems that there’s no time like the present for the good folks at MIMA to launch a hefty exhibition inspired by the River Tees. Formulated in partnership with the National Portrait Gallery, this collection of stories, poetry and portraits will delve into histories and folk tales exploring, in their words, “how the magnificent River Tees has shaped the region”. Whether you’re a curious ‘Boro native or just keen to learn more about this mighty river, the exhibition promises to be revealing and intriguing.

People Powered: Stories from the River Tees is at MIMA, Middlesbrough from Saturday 22nd July-Sunday 7th January 2024. www.mima.art

FREE ENTRY · NO TICKET REQUIRED s h e drew t h e g u n

AMELIA COBURN // ELAINE PALMER // MICHAEL GALLAGHER // DYLAN CARTLIDGE

JAMES LEONARD HEWITSON // PLAZA // WE TIBETANS // MT. MISERY

HECTOR GANNET // MAX BIANCO // THE WOVEN PROJECT // CORTNEY DIXON // MACHINER

Little Hands // DAWKS // CHARLOTTE GRAYSON // HARRIET BRADSHAW // DILETTANTE

COSIAL // MARKETPLACE // POCKET JAZZ ORCHESTRA // MANCHESTER ANTHEMS

AARMS // JAY MOUSSA-MANN // BURN THE VALLEY // CIGAR CIGAR // PEK & WANLEY

NORTHERN HOSPITALITY // LOST STATE OF DAN // THE D'ARCY DANIELS BLUES EXPRESS

BUBAMARA // HARTLEPOOL COMMUNITY SINGERS // HARTLEPOOL LADIES CHOIR

HARTLEPOOL MALE VOICE CHOIR // ANDY PALMER // JAMES ROBSON // Sarah Johnsone

MUSIC KATE CLOVER @ ZEROX

Words: Michael O’Neill

Following in the rich lineage of X, Germs and The Gun Club, Kate Clover has long established a strong reputation as one of the foremost flag-bearers of the wonderful, defiantly anything-goes spirit of LA punk; a timeless and wonderfully chameleonic pantheon of bold and boundary pushing wonder. 2022’s Bleed Your Heart Out is a phenomenal testament to her talents; never boring and staying true to the spirit of classic LA punk without ever veering into sounding like an over-earnest pastiche of a sacred sound. As anyone who found an epiphany in Fire Of Love and Wild Gift will tell you: that’s not an easy thing to pull off. Exploring the intricacies of self-discovery, self-creation, and self-preservation in the place where dreams are born to die.

Kate performs at the perfectly suited Zerox on Sunday 16th July, a venue whose Quayside location has evolved into a wonderful embodiment of the zany, vivid atmosphere conjured up in Kate’s brilliant music. There’s also an eclectic support line-up, with Leeds-based art rock quintet Mother Said, Durham’s finest purveyors of mullet rock Tin Ribs, and Ousecore’s finest power couple Bullion Train rounding off a phenomenal line-up of refreshing and enthralling banger-merchants.

Kate Clover, Mother Said, Tin Ribs and Bullion Train play Zerox, Newcastle on Sunday 16th July. www.kateclover.com