Baltic Centre For Contemporary Art

BALTIC Big Create continues today in Quay until 16.00. Join artist Louise Bradley creating colourful mini-artworks using collage, rubbing, drawing and mark-making, inspired by Idea of the North’s Dome. Free to join, just drop in!

For Idea of North, artists David Blandy & Larry Achiampong have created a new work that combines footage of Hadrian’s Wall with computer gaming visuals drawn from popular video game Skyrim. Experience 'The Wall and the Incongruous' at BALTIC, as part of Idea of North, until 30 Sep.

➡️Job vacancy: BALTIC is recruiting for a Producer (Communities) to lead on the development and delivery of our Communities Programme. Find out more & apply using the link below:

For Raising the Flag, Poet Degna Stone crowdsourced a Poetry Manifesto, which she read alongside Essex Hemphill’s 'Black Beans'- the poem from which Lubaina Himid's exhibition title took its name. Degna asked participants "If you could write a manifesto for a better world, what would you put in it?". This short video captures Degna's first reading of the manifesto.
Raising the Flag is a twelve-week programme of activities that celebrates the raising of the flag which sits on top of BALTIC's roof.

Read the frieze review of Lubaina Himid's Our Kisses are Petals, open at BALTIC until 28 Oct.
"Our Kisses are Petals is a tender but deeply conscious exhibition. It subtly embodies the sentiments of a woman who has spent much of her life, tirelessly waving the flag for black art and thought, even when no-one was looking."

On Sunday 12 August The Poetry Exchange will take over Baltic Square from 10.00, exploring poems as friends. There's still a few free spaces left to chat to the team about your favourite poem. In exchange you’ll receive a gift: a special recording of your chosen poem! Book now:

#Makesomethingbrilliant is here! Check out the creative fun for children and young people taking place across NewcastleGateshead. Including BALTIC's very own Meet & Make every Sunday 2-4pm https://cityofdreams.click/under13/

Watch Jane and Louise Wilson discuss the location and video installation, Suspended Island, presented as part of the Great Exhibition of the North, in this BALTIC Bites film.
An atmospheric installation questions what is means to be Northern, British and living on an island in the current political flux of #Brexit. Suspended Island is open in Low Yard, accessed through Live Garden, Live Theatre, Newcastle Upon Tyne until 9 September.

BALTIC's rooftop restaurant, Six, enjoys enviable views of NewcastleGateshead. With August offers available, starting at just £10, now is the time to book.
Available from 12-19.00 Tue-Sat throughout August. T&Cs apply, further details: https://www.sixbaltic.com/august

On Sunday 5 August Ladies of Midnight Blue led a community drum circle on Baltic Square, where audiences were invited to bring drums and percussion instruments to join in with the drumming. The drum circle coincided with the raising of the flag on BALTIC’s roof, as part of the Raising the Flag programme.
Ladies of Midnight Blue are an Afro-Latin percussion & brass duet comprised of Hannabiell Sanders (Bass Trombone, African & Latin Percussion and Composer) and Yilis del Carmen Suriel (African & Latin Percussion). They create a powerful and upbeat fusion which reaches deeply into trance drum rhythms to create a melodic sound that inspires dancing and audience participation.

Looking for summer activities with your little one? Explore the world through messy play, sensory experience, mark making & movement at BALTIC. Book now your Messy Play ticket now (includes biscuits & juice afterwards!):

Group exhibition Idea of North celebrates northern identity & spirit through architecture, photography, music, art and design. Find out more about the show from BALTIC Crew member Sam with this short video, and visit the show at BALTIC Centre For Contemporary Art until 30 September.

📚 Calling all readers, writers & lovers of words! Do you have a poem whose been a friend to you? Get involved in Poetry Takeover Day at BALTIC Centre For Contemporary Art, part of Raising the Flag. Find out more & book your free place by clicking below ⬇️

6-9 Sep & 13-16 Sep 10.00-10.45 FREE (voluntary donations tickets available*) Booking essential
Heritage Open Days is an annual event every September, where some 40,000 volunteers across England organise 5,000 events to celebrate the countries history and culture. This year, BALTIC is providing daily tours where you can discover more about BALTIC, the building and its history, as well as the local Quayside. All tours are free, and will last approximately 45 minutes.
... Situated on the south bank of the River Tyne in Gateshead, England, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, a former flour mill, consists of 2,600 square metres of art space, making it the UK’s largest dedicated contemporary art institution.
*Plus booking fee, non-refundable
See More

Head to the Baltic Square this Sunday 5 August for a Community Drum Circle led by Ladies of Midnight Blue: Hannabiell & Yilis. Bring your own drum or percussion instruments, and join the circle to coincide with the raising of Lubaina Himid’s flag on BALTIC's roof. There'll also be a performance by Ladies of Midnight Blue in the Ground Floor gallery from 13.30.

MORE TICKETS RELEASED: Book your free space for 7 days of digital creative fun at BALTIC with Digital Worlds Summer School. Donations tickets are also available and welcome to support BALTIC's learning programme.

In this short BALTIC Spotlight film Crew member Claire explores artist Michael Dean's exhibition Having you on, open at BALTIC Centre For Contemporary Art until 30 September 2018.

BALTIC is open 10am-8pm every day until 9 Sep for #getnorth2018 This includes all exhibitions, our viewing terraces, BALTIC Shop plus BALTIC Kitchen and our stunning rooftop restaurant Six for food & drink #visitbaltic #freeentry #parkingavailable #GreatExhibitionoftheNorth

to help parents who are looking to book a party here as I was hesitant on booking due to not being able to find any... we had a magical monster party today for our 6 year old son he and his friends thoroughly enjoyed it Laura from celebration station who the Baltic hire for there parties is fabulous and the food the Baltic provide is delicious will definitely recommend !! only down side is parents were told they could purchase a drink from the café downstairs but most didn't want to stay away from party for long once we had purchased the drinks we weren't allowed to take them upstairs unfortunately which seems strange considering the children have food & drink in the room anyways !

We had this venue for our daughter's wedding. The service was first class, Rachel the wedding coordinator and all the staff were exceptional and the food was amazing. We had guests from all over the world, Spain, Germany, Italy, Brazil and Japan as well as many people from all over the British Isles. They were all impressed with Baltic Centre For Contemporary Art as a venue and amazed at the fabulous views of our wonderful Quay side and bridges. We can not recommend this place enough, it is a must for locals and tourists to visit

Thank you to all the very friendly staff for today. We had a wonderful morning and everyone made my daughter feel included.

One of my favourite museums, even the building itself is beautiful. Stunning views, free entrance, relevant contemporary expositions. Five stars.

One amazing place with some fantastic art. Some amazing views from the viewing platform loved every minute of it. Staff are really friendly, the coffee is lovely and has some really nice coffee and tea

Never been before first time yesterday. Georgeous view of the river, brilliant sunshine. We were supplied with refreshments and scrumptious cookies. The staff were very helpful thanks for making my experience in the Baltic so enjoyable.

My group of 20 children and 5 adults arrived at the Baltic spontaneously so staff weren't expecting us and had no time to prepare for our arrival. We were treated with kindness and generous hospitality. Without any motivation other than human kindness the manager generously found a solution to a situation we found ourselves in. A simple yet wonderful gesture that I was extremely grateful for. The children thoroughly enjoyed the exhibitions and will be sure to return with their families in future. The staircase is a must for those with a fear of heights o_0 it certainly had my heart racing. Amazing staff with a caring nature that can be hard to come by. Thank you for a wonderful day.

Mila had a wonderful birthday party � � at the Baltic today making a movie � � with her school friends and were amazingly helped and entertained to create a great movie by the extremely talented Laura & Hannah from Celebration Station. The girls looked so happy & thrilled � throughout.

Thank you so much � for giving Milana a wonderful 11th Birthday memory that she will never forget.

I brought my 10yr old son and we both enjoyed the visit. The building itself and viewing platform was amazing in itself. The shop was fab and my son bought two architecture related books which he loves. I had to resist buying lots of things as loved it all. If any improvement then it would be great to see a room where local artists can possibly hire a space to display and sell their work. It would make it feel really like a community building for the people. Overall great visit �

Hired the River Terrace for my son's naming ceremony and was thoroughly impressed with the quality service throughout the entire process and during the actual day. I cannot speak highly enough of Rachael in the Events Team who made this booking run so smoothly. She was very professional and always accessible. The event crew on the day were very helpful and nothing was too much trouble. The food was amazing and everyone commented on it. Thank you to everyone. Our day was simply amazing.

Great place loads of history in the Building some great exhibits on View's are great from the top

Fab views, great gallery, fun and interesting shop and nice coffee. 👍🏼

Been here many times. Interesting exhibitions, excellent gift shop and the café serves the best eggs benedict in the universe according to my son 😀. The view from the terrace was lovely and service in the café was prompt too.

Attended a wedding here yesterday, and what an outstanding venue. The wedding went seamlessly as we moved from different floors/rooms with the most spectacular views (one of them being from the ladies toilets on floor six 😂)

Great service from the bar staff, waiters and waitresses also.

Beautiful place and will definitely come again

Always an interesting experience in such an iconic building, a piece of advice.. ask the guides, they are full of enthusiasm and well educated on the art on display!

Ok. This is difficult. My 4 stars rate the experience I had, not how I rate the art.

Like many centres for contemporary or modern art, the BALTIC is a space of great scale and ambition and a worthy conversion of a notable landmark with its own place in industrial history. There is absolutely no doubt that it is worth visiting for its own sake; furthermore the people we met there could not have been more welcoming or more informative.

We (a couple in late middle age) were making our first joint visit to the area having both been individually in the 1980s. It was a wet Monday with relatively few visitors so we got a lot of attention. We started with a tasty and well priced light lunch in the café, served by staff who seemed interested in their work and who were prepared to chat.

The foyer is a bit bleak but it is obviously designed to cope with a crowd. You do feel a bit like a pupil going up to teacher as you approach the reception desk!

Having parked our possessions in the useful lockers (£1, which you get back) we engaged with the stairwell - a piece in itself - then got talking with guide Linda and the leader of a crew taking down an exhibition. They explained what it had been and how hard it was to disassemble. This made us feel right at home.

Later we reconnected with Linda for a guided introduction to floor 4 which was hosting two of four artists competing for a public vote to get further exposure. She was warm, clear and informative about both exhibits and really brought to life what the average viewer might have considered a random collection of found objects.

I have very little patience for most contemporary art but always try to keep an open mind. I might still have found little artistic merit in the various exhibits but at least I came away feeling I understood what had been attempted.

Oh, and the one-star review that highlights the vast quantity of white particleboard is also spot on. If that is the sort of thing you like, you will love the BALTIC.

Came to the centre with my grandson today Asked at the information desk if there were any childrens activities on and was told no but there was a child friendly exhibition on. I nearly didnt go any further but little man wanted to ride in the lift. Turns out the exhibition was a child friendly art activity for kids as there were dozens of children creating duct tape art. Staff need to be a bit more informed or enthusiastic as we could have missed out on a great event.

a new facebook group has been set up for people "BALTIC: HAVE YOUR SAY"

Give your opinion good, bad or indifferent. The Baltic has always maintained an ivory tower attitude when it comes to the public's opinions.



The new group is a place for folks to freely express their opinions on BALTIC.

Fabulous surroundings sitting outside yesterday - ordered x2 portions of chips, a beer and a glass of prosecco - waited and waited in the heat - asked about the food - waitress came back and said it's coming - waited and waited - asked again and bumped into her on way to our table - asked where the drinks were - she explained that the girl on the cash desk should have told us there was a long wait for drinks (we weren't told) started eating without drinks - went inside again to ask about drinks and waitress finally appeared in an apparent bad mood and delivered the drinks without a word - chips were ok - drinks were ok - probably won't return - plenty of other places on quayside to spend our money - disappointed