Culture Digest 29.11.24
A round up of some arts and culture stories from across the North East which caught our attention this week
End of an era as JG Windows closes its doors
It has been supplying the region’s music lovers - and some of its biggest music stars - for nearly 125 years, but it has been announced that Newcastle music shop, JG Windows has closed for good.
One of the North East’s best known retail fixtures, the company - whose flagship store was in Newcastle city centre’s Central Arcade, was the go-to place for anyone looking for musical instruments, sheet music and vinyl records.
Stars such as Bryan Ferry, Mark Knopfler and members of Lindisfarne often namecheck Windows when recounting their early days and ambitions as musicians in the region.
While stores in the MetroCentre and Darlington had closed in 2022 and 2018 respectively, the Central Arcade HQ had kept going.
Could Trevor Wood’s new crime-busting hero fill the Vera void on TV?
As Vera Stanhope exits the small screen, could her place be taken by Jack Parker?
That’s DCI Jack Parker, protagonist of The Silent Killer, the latest from award-winning Newcastle novelist Trevor Wood.
The screen rights to the novel have been secured by production company FilmNation TV UK after a reported bidding war.
If you’ve read the book, you’ll know that the title refers to a killer within. Jack is in the first stages of early onset dementia, having been diagnosed quite by accident.
The Silent Killer is the first in a new crime fiction series by Trevor whose debut novel, The Man on the Street, was shortlisted for the Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year accolade.
Read more: Review - Mother Goose at The Customs House
North East Culture Awards fill the Fire Station
A big celebration of the region’s cultural sector took place in Sunderland on Thursday night, with more than a double handful of gongs given out in recognition of individual and collective achievement.
The annual ceremony returned to the Fire Station for the second consecutive year and saw awards given out in ‘… of the Year’ categories such as Visual Artist; Performing Artist; Performance; Museum or Cultural Venue; Newcomer; and Arts and Education partnership; and Arts and Business partnership.
We were delighted to present the award for Writer of the Year… although its winner, Christina Berriman Dawson was otherwise engaged being an evil eel at Newcastle Theatre Royal in The Little Mermaid. We’ll high five her when we see her next - but if you’re reading this, Christina - CONGRATULATIONS!
There were also special awards for Youth Achievement, Heritage, Best Event and the Arts Council Award as well as performances from Voices of Virtue Gospel Choir, Adam Davies and Harry Wilson from Eliot Smith Dance, Lizzie Esau and a reading from celebrated author David Almond.
Tyne and Wear Museums’ chief art gallery curator, Julie Milne was also given a well-deserved award in recognition of her Outstanding Contribution to the region’s rich cultural fabric.
Here’s a full list of the winners:
Performance of the Year: Public Service Broadcasting featuring NASUWT Riverside Band and Felling Male Voice Choir at Durham Brass Festival 2024
Best Museum or Cultural Venue: Hopetown Darlington.
Visual Artist of the Year: Alexandra Carr and Colin Rennie
Best Arts and Education Partnership: Every Child a Filmmaker; The Young Women’s Film Academy, INTO Films and West Hill Primary School
Best Arts and Business Partnership: Steam to Green; Discovery Museum and various partners
Writer of the Year: Christina Berriman Dawson
The Arts Council England Award: Fat Chance (Rachel Stockdale)
Best Event or Exhibition: Middlesbrough Art Week 2024
Special Award for Young Achievement: The Young Musicians Project
Performing Artist of the Year: Hannah Walker
Heritage Award: Black Creatives and Arts Network
Newcomer of the Year: Isabel Maria
Outstanding Contribution Award: Julie Milne (Tyne and Wear Museums’ chief art curator)
Well done all.
Sam Fender clocks up 2025 hat-trick at St James’
Hypersonic music star, Sam Fender has booked a third date at his beloved St James’ Park for 2025.
Having already announced two dates at the Newcastle United stadium on June 12 and 14, the North Shields Brit Award winner has booked another one on June 15*.
*This still leaves a free date in the middle… just saying.
Tickets went on sale this morning (Friday, Nov 29) from samfender.com so you’ll either be reading this from Smugsville with your confirmation email safely filed away… or from Hopesville, keeping your fingers crossed that a) the tickets haven’t sold out yet; or b) Sam decides not to take June 13 as a day off.
Don’t forget that £1 from every ticket sold will be donated to select cultural organisations such as Youth Music and Sunday For Sammy to support the arts in the North East of England.
Read more: The month in (Christmas) classics - December
‘Staggering result’ has auctioneers bowled over
A pair of Chinese bowls has sold for £325,000, including fees, after fierce bidding at a Newcastle auction.
Originally listed for sale with an estimation of £200-£400 due to their condition, bidding “soared to way above the imaginable”, according to auctioneers Anderson & Garland.
The bowls were consigned by a seller in Hexham.
Nigel Smith, head of Asian art and ceramics at the Newcastle auction house described the bowls sale as “a staggering result”.
Read more: Interview with North East author Phil Murphy on his first novel
Packed out pink carpet premiere for new BBC sitcom Smoggie Queens
Hundreds of Teessiders joined the cast and crew of new BBC sitcom, Smoggie Queens at a special pink-carpet premiere event at Middlesbrough Town Hall on Wednesday night.
Star and creator of the show, Middlesbrough-born comedian, Phil Dunning was joined by fellow cast members Mark Benton, Elijah Young, Alexandra Mardell and Patsy Lowe as the whole team celebrated the launch of the six-part series.
They in turn were joined by a fabulous parade of drag queens who made sure the event’s ‘glitzy’ billing was more than accurate.
The audience were treated to episodes one and three, followed by a Q&A with the cast, presided over by Drag Race UK runner up, Michael Marouli.
Set and shot in Middlesbrough, the series debuted on BBC Three last night (Thursday) and is already available to binge watch on iPlayer.
Look out for Sam Wonfor’s interview with the cast coming next week.
Hopetown Darlington invites visitors to 'Experience’ new ride
The North East’s newest visitor attraction, Hopetown Darlington, which celebrates Darlington’s pioneering railway heritage, has just opened its state-of-the-art railway-themed time travel immersive experience – Experiment!
Found on the platform at North Road Station Museum, Experiment! is ‘an extraordinarily vivid immersion into passenger rail travel’.
It uses giant digital screens and a motion simulator ride themed like Experiment, the carriage pulled by Locomotion No. 1 on its first journey on 27 September 1825.
The ride takes passengers from Darlington all across the world - and through different time periods - showcasing Darlington’s impact on railways across the world.
Visit the website for more information.
Read more: Review - The Little Mermaid at Newcastle Theatre Royal
More than just a name change for North East Museums
A move into Northumberland required a name change for the organisation previously known as Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums.
Another ampersand might have done the trick, with ‘& Northumberland’ being inserted in the middle.
But you can have too much of a good thing and the announcement came this week that the cultural organisation with the newly expanded remit is now North East Museums.
Read more: Review - Wolf! At Northern Stage
National award captured by North East project
A project powered by volunteers which uses wildlife photography on a grand scale has won a national award.
MammalWeb - established in 2013 in collaboration between Durham University and Durham Wildlife Trust - has landed the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) Group Award 2024.
Contributors’ camera traps have so far captured 2.3 million classified image sequences and videos, of which more than 700,000 are mammal detections.
This supports future research and conservation while also helping to inform policy decisions that affect wildlife.
Nerys Johnson exhibition promises winter sunshine at the Laing
A new exhibition at the Laing Art Gallery is to open in time for Christmas and it promises to be a winter treat.
The title is a bit dry – Nerys Johnson: Disability and Practice – but the work will be anything but.
Nerys loved flowers and sunshine and colour and it’s all there in the paintings, two dimensional expressions of joie de vivre.
She suffered from Still’s disease, a rare form of arthritis, but you never got any sense of suffering when you met her in public.
Darlington Hippodrome announces 2025 pantomime which is ‘just right’
Former Strictly Come Dancing professional and Dancing on Ice finalist, Brendan Cole has been unveiled as the cast lead for next year’s panto offering at Darlington Hippodrome.
Rehearsals are already underway for a circus-themed incarnation of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, which see Cole take on the role of the Evil Ringmaster.
Tickets for the production, which will run from December 5 to 21, 2025 will go on general sale from December 6 from the Hippodrome website.
Northern Writers’ Awards open for entries
Designed to discover and support writers in the North of England (with a focus on work-in-progress) the Northern Writers’ Awards offer a wide range of opportunities for writers at all stages of their careers*.
*Although if you’re coining it in, we’d respectfully suggest to stand back and let someone else take a swing.
Produced by New Writing North and supported by Northumbria University and Arts Council England, the awards are the largest writing development programme of their kind in England.
The support on offer includes publication, mentoring, manuscript assessment, writing placements, retreats and cash awards to buy time to write.
So if you’ve been mulling over entering - now’s the time to get cracking. The current window for entries closes on January 13, 2025.
Visit the website for more information.