Sidelined

Reluctant though I am to start the year on a negative note, the fact that Side's gallery is definitely no more demands acknowledgement.

The Newcastle gallery shut its doors in April 2023 owing to substantial funding cuts, but there was some optimism that the closure might only be temporary (including on this very site), given the groundswell of public support that the news generated. That support and enthusiasm has sadly not been enough, with a permanent exhibition space deemed "no longer financially viable in the current funding climate", and the gallery has been converted into "a Pilates and wellness studio".

That Side's work will continue through digital exhibitions and collaborations with other organisations and institutions comes as some consolation - the archive is too valuable to be lost or forgotten - but the loss of a physical home is nevertheless a heavy blow.

Over the festive period, I took the opportunity to immerse myself in some of the weightier photobooks on my shelves, including the wonderful Chris Killip retrospective. Killip died in 2020; as one of Side's founders and its first director, he would no doubt have been particularly dismayed by the gallery's demise. It should make us treasure - and, more to the point, actively support - the likes of Ffotogallery, the Photographers Gallery and the Martin Parr Foundation all the more.