Artists' studios, galleries, theatres and museums across Gateshead and Newcastle stayed open until late this weekend for a true celebration of culture. The Late Shows, which began in 2007, has gone from strength to strength and this year an astonishing fifty venues participated.
I began my Late Shows exploration at Baltic 39 where the main exhibition, "They Used to Call it The Moon", is part of a group project; curated by Alessandro Vincentelli, the project centres on the enduring presence and impact of the moon upon artists, moon landings and conspiracy theories and includes local, national and international artists as well as screenings of documentaries about astrology at Tyneside Cinema and a stargazing field trip from the Baltic in Gateshead. The art in Baltic 39 was thought-provoking, with some interesting pieces depicting Jesus as the first man on the moon. The staff at Baltic 39 were also keen to promote the night's moon theme, with many of them wearing tin foil headbands and bracelets and one slightly more unfortunate staff member spent her evening with an upturned silver colander on top of her head. The idea here was to provide multiple entry points for the audience to engage with the art being shown. Additionally, there were sci-fi themed board games postioned around the show space; this definitely provided children with a starting-point for them to begin thinking about the moon and space travel, helping them to access the artworks.
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The one negative point about the night was that there just wasn't enough time to go to all of the events that I wanted to go to. I only managed to go to Baltic 39, the Baltic in Gateshead and The Toffee Factory though there were many more venues that I had planned on visiting. The Baltic in Gateshead is currently showing a fantastic Lorna Simpson exhibition. I love her work and thought that the exhibition's focus on ideas of gender, sexuality and misunderstanding were fascinating. I particularly felt drawn to the film she had made of her friend whistling an old hymn. Filmed in glorious black and white, her friend whistles while clouds of smoke gradually engulf him until he is no longer visible; the film is then reversed and played backwards. Not only does the song sound entirely different but the haunting movement of the smoke is completely compelling. The way his figure disappears within the smoke and the shortness of his song create a sense of how performance is momentary, as is life. Lorna Simpson's friend, captured in this film, died shortly after filming.
I ended my Late Shows journey at The Toffee Factory. Having never been there before I was looking forward to what had been promised as a night of "vintage glamour, killer cocktails and sounds that swing". The evening did not disappoint; there were people dancing to jazz music, gourmet street food and afternoon tea and vintage clothing pop-up shops to delight the crowds of people who had visited the venue.
I was so impressed by how much The Late Shows had created such a strong sense of community; there were people of all ages attending and everyone seemed engaged with the art. The Late Shows does exactly what it says on the tin; not only is it a fantastic celebration of art and culture, it is also a celebration of the North East. What more could one want?
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