The gallery was founded in 2002, aiming to showcase contemporary visual arts in the North East region of England. BALTIC was created through in collaboration with the National Lottery through Arts Council England, Gateshead Council, Northern Rock Foundation, the European Regional Development Fund and One NorthEast. BALTIC receives continued support from Arts Council England and Gateshead Council and is a registered charity.

Juliette Contin @studiojude _ Unsplash

The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art is one of northern England’s premier galleries. In 2011, it also hosted the Turner Prize exhibition. Located in Newcastle and specifically, in a former flour mill, the Baltic includes four gallery spaces, and it lacks a permanent collection. It hosts regularly changing exhibitions and has worked with over 300 artists from across the globe. Some of the most notable artists include Daniel Buren, Jesper Just, British performance, and installation artist Marcus Coates.

One of the most significant exhibitions anyone could see right now is the BALTIC Open Submission, a major open-call exhibition. The gallery received over 540 submissions, and from them, 150 artists were selected. The entries were judged by a panel of three artists based in the North East: Richard Bliss, Lady Kitt and Padma Rao, and Katie Hickman, Curator (Performance and Public Programme) at BALTIC.

The exhibition presents works by artists who have been making throughout their lifetime to those just beginning. It comes from people who work collectively, those who create alone, those who have studied fine art, and self-taught creatives who have only ever done work in their private homes. It includes a wide range of media, including mixed media, painting, print and sculpture. The exhibition seeks to give visibility to art practice from individuals and collectives that a public audience may not have previously seen.

You can also see the exhibition space through an interactive 3D:

https://baltic.art/whats-on/3d-virtual-tour-baltic-open-submission

Klaudia Piaskowska @cloudyaa – Unsplash

Another exhibition held in the same space in BALTIC is the Making of Husbands: Christina Ramberg in Dialogue. It is a major exhibition that brings the works of acclaimed artist Christina Ramberg. Christina, through her work, explored the contemporary debate around gender and identity. She was an American artist, a member of Chicago imagists, and was really enchanted with the abject status of sex during the post-war American and specifically on the female form. The depiction of the female torso is one of the most common motives in Ramberg’s art. The torso in her work is being manipulated, corseted, girdled and veiled by the bondage-like trappings of typical 1950s female garments.

The exhibition hall also offers a wide selection of prints, books and products by favourite artists. The gallery also offers some unique gift ideas for the upcoming fathers day on 20th of June.

If you want to find out more about the current exhibitions you can visit this website:

https://baltic.art/

Featured image: Shane Zhong on Unsplash.