Art on a bus set for Northumberland tour

Food-inspired contemporary art from BALTIC is going on show in Northumberland – not in a gallery but on a bus.
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The Travelling Gallery’s exhibition, ‘What’s for Tea?’ is part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead.

As well as visiting schools, the purpose-built art bus, with chatty driver and art explainer Andy Menzies at the wheel, has been parking at different locations on Saturday afternoons.

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But now it’s Northumberland’s turn, with the bus due in Ashington and Blyth on the next two Saturday afternoons.

Travelling Gallery driver Andy Menzies.Travelling Gallery driver Andy Menzies.
Travelling Gallery driver Andy Menzies.

Visitors will be welcomed aboard to see an exhibition focusing on the hot topics of food production and consumption.

They will also be invited to take part in activities, such as grinding grain to make flour using the granite hand mills designed by Gateshead artist Julia Heslop.

Sarah Munro, director of BALTIC since 2016, said: “The idea here is not about taking people to the gallery, it’s about taking the gallery to the people.”

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BALTIC chair Kirsty Lang added: “There are a lot of people who won’t walk into an art gallery because they think that space is not for them.

Sarah Munro and Kirsty Lang.Sarah Munro and Kirsty Lang.
Sarah Munro and Kirsty Lang.

“How do you reach those people? This is one way of doing it and we hope they’ll have a good experience and one day visit BALTIC. It’s a way of creating a community.”

‘What’s for Tea?’ was chosen as the exhibition theme because food was something everyone could relate to, and it was also the purpose of the Baltic Flour Mills before it was converted into BALTIC.

Food and what people have for tea are simple things but it’s all taken on a particular poignancy at the moment when some people don’t even know if they can afford their tea or to heat their food,” said Sarah. “We wanted to use the idea of food to really connect people.”

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“We’ve been blown away by the response we’ve had so far to the exhibition, and particularly from schools.”

The Travelling Gallery, with its distinctive livery, will be at Real Deal within Ashington Life Centre, Station Road, on May 7; and Briardale House, Briardale Lane, Blyth, on May 14. All between 12 noon and 4pm.

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