The NewBridge Project

The NewBridge Project is an active artist-led community that supports artists, curators and communities through the provision of space for creative practice, curatorial opportunities and an ambitious artist-led programme of exhibitions, commissions, artist development and events.

The NewBridge Project was established in 2010 to provide exchange and support in an engaged community of artists, and our public spaces are places where artists and local communities can come together to work, learn and socialise with each other.

Our programme is based on an artist-led model, and we aim to deliver an ambitious programme of exhibitions, performances, screenings, educational talks, workshops and bookshop events in consultation with our artist members. This creates a programme that reflects the diversity of contemporary art practice, is responsive to the environment within which it exists, that builds solidarity, and that places community-centred, experimental, collaborative and socially conscious programming at its heart.

Commissions, exhibitions and projects

We aim to deliver an artistic programme that is artist-led and experimental in its approach. Our programme supports the production and presentation of new artwork through a varied programme of exhibitions, commissions, off-site work, collaborative projects and events. We encourage artists to make work on their own terms, to be ambitious and experimental, and provide opportunities for regional and national early-career artists at key points in their artistic development.

NewBridge staff work alongside a Programme Committee to shape and deliver an artistic programme with a diverse curatorial voice. The Committee is a vital part of our artist-led approach to programming, ensuring that many voices, interests and practices are represented through NewBridge’s exhibitions, commissions and events.

As well as stand-alone projects and commissions, we explore broader themes over long periods which inform one-and-other, and the way we develop our public programme and organisation. These have included, Hidden Civil War, which explored austerity and inequality in the wake of the EU referendum; Deep Adaptation which considered how social, political and economic issues could be understood in relation to climate change; and For Solidarity, an ongoing project which has mapped and established a network of organisations, communities and individuals who are working toward social and climate justice, and exploring alternatives to the mainstream economic system.

Community hub

The NewBridge Project creates a welcoming and public space, and we aim to provide a resource for the creative and local community alike. We host a regular programme of events including communal meals, social events and creative workshops.

We work with a group of Co-Investigators annually; these are community researchers who gather insights and provide feedback from a diverse range of perspectives on our programme and/or themes and issues we are exploring, which directly feeds into the development of our programme.

Artist Development

NewBridge works with artists at all stages of their careers, providing support through three programmes that provide creative, personal and professional development. These programmes are created by artists, for artists, and are responsive to different needs and interests.

Practice makes Practice is for all artists, curators and people interested in the arts; The Collective Studio is an annual 10 month early-career / graduate programme for artists across all creative disciplines at the start of their career; and Create / Disrupt is  a new strand of development that creates new pathways for people to develop a creative career and aims to remove systemic barriers that exist in the cultural sector, supporting those who are currently underrepresented.

Studio and workspace

The NewBridge Project provides affordable and accessible studio and project spaces for artists and creatives in the North East. The shared workspace is a supportive and collaborative environment that allows artists to discuss and develop new ideas and projects. We are based at the Shieldfield Centre in Newcastle, which house over 120 studio members, co-work spaces, workshop facilities, flexible project spaces for making and presenting work, and our public gallery space, bookshop and reading room.

You can explore our full website for more information about this work and to see upcoming programmes.