Offsite : What's For Tea? - From BALTIC & Travelling Gallery

About

Beginning 26 February 2022 in Bensham, Gateshead, the tour will pack up the whole BALTIC experience; an exhibition, informative talks, artist-led workshops, fun and friendly conversation and free hospitality; and de-camp to locations across the North East region, from Birtley to Blyth, Chopwell to Consett and Alnwick to Ashington.

The mobile exhibition, What’s for Tea? will be housed inside a custom-built mobile art gallery as BALTIC partners with the Scotland-based organisation Travelling Gallery to journey to communities far and wide. It will return to base for BALTIC’s 20th Birthday Celebration Weekend as the bus parks up outside the gallery on Baltic Square on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 July 2022.

On Saturdays in February through to June, between 12noon-4pm the bus will be stationed at a different community centre, civic project, hospital, garden or car park to host a free programme of artist-led workshops, foraging walks and exhibition tours with BALTIC’s friendly Crew team. There will be free food and drinks, echoing the complimentary / donations-welcome offer in ‘Front Room’ in the building at BALTIC Gateshead. The activities will be suitable for families, children and young people and all are welcome to turn up, whether the bus is visiting nearby or for anyone who wishes to travel to where it visits.

The exhibition title comes from the age-old question which Northern residents get quizzed on daily by friends, family and partners, “What’s for tea?”, referring to their main/evening meal of the day. What’s for Tea? will reference BALTIC’s building history as a working flour mill, opened in 1950 by Rank Hovis. It will explore food production and consumption; what we eat, how much we eat and how our eating habits could help combat the climate emergency.

Works by Isabella Carreras, Kara Chin, Turner Prize-nominated duo Cooking Sections, artist collective Future Farmers, Asunción Molinos Gordo, Julia Heslop, David Lisser and Sarah Qaed will explore sustainable food production and community initiatives through film, installation, sculpture, print and the written word.

What's for Tea? Bus Tour Dates

• Sat 26 Feb > The Comfrey Project, Windmill Hills Centre, Bensham, Gateshead
• Sat 5 March > Pennywell Community Centre, Portsmouth Rd, Sunderland
• Sat 12 March > Sunderland Training and Education Farm, Keelman's Ln, Sunderland
• Sat 19 March > The Forage Community CoffeeHouse, Westerhope Rd, Washington
• Sat 26 March > Scotswood Garden, Yewcroft Ave, Newcastle upon Tyne
• Sat 2 April > The NewBridge Project, Shieldfield Centre, via Stoddart St, Newcastle
• Sat 30 April > Alnwick Community Centre Howling Lane, Alnwick, Northumberland
• Sat 7 May > Real Deal within Ashington Life Centre, Station Rd, Ashington
• Sat 14 May > Blyth, Northumberland. Venue TBC
• Sat 21 May > Citizens House, Station Rd, Consett
• Sat 28 May > The Winlaton Centre, North St, Winlaton
• Sat 4 June > Birtley Community Centre, Ravensworth Road, Birtley, Chester-le-street

• Sat 11 June > Chopwell Pavillion, Chopwell, Newcastle

• Sat 16/Sun 17 July > BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead Quayside