Simon and Tom Bloor
You are invited to discover an alternative landscape where the structures of urban development become the stuff of play. Explore a maze, build a tower, climb a sculpture and reclaim the city as a space for fun.
What will Britain look like, feel like, be like to live in, in the wake of the Brexit vote? 50 projects funded by Sky Arts on this topic will be showcased on TV in Spring 2019. They will also be showcased at a free weekend festival in February at Barbican, London and BALTIC and Sage Gateshead. BALTIC’s specific artist commissions will include performance and film work.
Declaration of Independence
Barby Asante’s work creates situations and spaces for dialogue, collective thinking, ritual and re-enactment. For Declaration of Independence, the artist proposes a performative forum, drawing its inspiration from conferences and sessions that negotiate treaties and create policy.
BALTIC Artists’ Award 2019 is our second worldwide biennial art award judged solely by artists. Three internationally renowned artist-judges have each selected an artist who has the opportunity to realise new work which will be seen in this four-month exhibition.
This exhibition draws on the imagination of contemporary artists to inspire a conversation on ideas of citizenship in the digital age. We are said to live in the era of ‘fake news’ – online propaganda which significantly endangers democracy.
BALTIC Then & Now explores BALTIC’s sixteen-year exhibition history and some of the most memorable moments through short film screenings, a presentation of archive objects and books to browse.
The Age of Love
Produced as a major new commission that responds to BALTIC’s vast Level 4 gallery, Heather Phillipson presents a series of videos, sounds and objects that operate as landmarks in a remixed geology.
A Retrospective
Spanning more than 60 years, Rasheed Araeen: A Retrospective offers the first comprehensive survey of the work of artist Rasheed Araeen.
A twelve-week programme of activities accompanies Lubaina Himid: Our Kisses are Petals. The programme celebrates the raising of the flag which sits on top of BALTIC's roof, taking place on each of the Sundays throughout the Great Exhibition of the North. Each week there will be activity at 11.00 to coincide with the raising of Lubaina Himid’s flag.
To Give Light (Northern Aspirational Charms)
Baltic Square
Part of the Great Exhibition of the North
Ten black concrete sculptures, each depicting an object originally designed to emit light with a historical link to the North of England, are installed on Baltic Square outside of BALTIC.