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Newcastle

Boys with bonfire
Tish Murtha © Ella Murtha

Tish Murtha’s searing documentation of broken Britain

Vandalism on a Grand Scale — Capturing youth unemployment and poverty in north-east England during the ’80s, the photographer never lived to see her work published. A new photobook by British Culture Archive brings her eye-opening work to light.

  • Activism
  • Miss Rosen
DJ with headphones operating green-lit turntables in dimly lit booth, motion blur on hands from mixing records.

The story of World Headquarters, the beating heart of Newcastle’s underground

Refuge & ruckus — Sprouting from free party roots, the nightclub institution has been an inclusive pillar of the North East’s music scene since the early ’90s. Olivia Fee dives into its long history, evolution, and ongoing importance.

  • Music
  • Olivia Fee
Silhouette of person on horseback against orange sunset sky, with electricity pylon in foreground.

The inner-city riding club serving Newcastle’s youth

Stepney Western — Harry Lawson’s new experimental documentary sets up a Western film in the English North East, by focusing on a stables that also functions as a charity for disadvantaged young people.

  • Culture
  • Isaac Muk

How Whitley Bay Skate Club built a scene from scratch

In partnership with 99designs by Vistaprint — By Design is a new editorial series, created in collaboration with 99designs by Vistaprint, that celebrates small businesses across the UK and spotlights the power of a strong visual identity. In the first instalment, we explore how a retro skate shop in the North-East became the launchpad for a thriving creative community.

  • Skate
  • Niall Flynn

Unflinching photos of austerity in Newcastle in the ‘70s & ‘80s

Invisible Britain — When photographer Tish Murtha died suddenly in 2013, she left behind a largely forgotten archive of extraordinary images of working-class communities in the North East. Now, her daughter Ella is seeking to revive her mother’s legacy with a documentary film.

  • Culture
  • Daniel Dylan Wray

'Great photographers need determination not talent'

Advice from Chris Killip — Photographer Chris Killip captured the North of England's deindustrialisation in a way no one else did. Now, almost three decades later, he looks back at what it takes to create images that truly record a place and time.

  • Photography
  • Biju Belinky

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