What's on at North East Museums
10 exhibitions and events you must visit in North East England in 2026
Looking for cultural things to do in North East England in 2026? Here are 10 unmissable exhibitions and events you’ll love. It's your ultimate guide to the region's heritage highlights.
The North East's top 10 cultural moments for 2026
- Monet: In the Presence of Nature at South Shields Museum & Art Gallery
- Pre-Raphaelites: Art and Poetry at Laing Art Gallery
- Treasure: Hidden, Lost, Found at Great North Museum: Hancock
- Northumberland Open Exhibition 2026 at Woodhorn Museum
- HAPPY! at Hatton Gallery
- Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2025 at Laing Art Gallery
- The Late Shows 2026
- The Northumberland Miners' Picnic at Woodhorn Museum
- Following the Eagle at Segedunum Roman Fort
- Things That Go at Discovery Museum
1. Monet: In the Presence of Nature – a rare masterpiece in South Shields
When was the last time you saw a Monet painting in South Shields? Well now's your chance, thanks to the National Gallery's Masterpiece Tour.
Claude Monet's 'The Petit Bras of the Seine at Argenteuil' is the star of the show. Did you know this painting has left London's National Gallery just once in the last 20 years? Did you also know that 'petit bras' means 'little arm' in French?
Alongside the Monet painting, this free exhibition includes wonderful landscapes by other artists, borrowed from the Laing and Shipley art galleries. There's a display of artwork by local young people, too.
2. Pre-Raphaelites: Art and Poetry – a stunning new exhibition at the Laing
This one's for people who appreciate beauty.
The Laing Art Gallery team has created a major new exhibition about the Pre-Raphaelites. It's the first show (we know of) to explore the link between Pre-Raphaelite art and poetry in depth.
All the big names of the movement are represented: William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Ford Madox Brown, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones, Arthur Hughes.
But they'll sit alongside work by women artists like Elizabeth Siddal, Kate Bunce and Julia Margaret Cameron.
Expect a visually stunning show with art on loan from museums, galleries and collectors right across the UK. We'll be publishing an exhibition catalogue as well - the perfect coffee table book for lovers of art and literature.
Pre-Raphaelites: Art and Poetry | Laing Art Gallery | Newcastle upon Tyne | 17 October 2026 – 13 February 2027 | admission charges apply
3. Treasure: Hidden, Lost, Found – discover the North East's buried history
What links Roman coins, Viking Age silver, and a buried stash of Tudor coins?
They're all things you can see in this glittering new exhibition which shows why buried history matters.
What is Treasure, exactly? What makes something valuable? Who does the past belong to? The answers to these questions will be revealed to you!
This is a family-friendly exhibition that adults will love too, with loans from the British Museum, the National Museum of Scotland and the Roman Vindolanda.
4. Northumberland Open Exhibition 2026 – celebrating local artistic talent
Attracting submissions from artists across the North East, the annual Open Exhibition is the largest of its type in Northumberland. There are over 500 artworks for you to admire.
The Overall Winner (Andy Martin's photograph The Circus and The Graveyard) and Highly Commended prizes were decided by a panel of professional artists and curators.
But you can still have your say. Thousands of visitors vote to decide the People's Choice winner, and maybe that's the real first prize...
5. HAPPY! – joyful art curated with young people at the Hatton
HAPPY! is a new exhibition created with the young people's group at Hatton Gallery.
What makes it special is that they're working with one of the UK's best private collections of modern and contemporary art - the Jerwood Collection.
So, alongside work by local young artists, you can expect art by Gillian Ayres RA, Yinka Ilori and Eva Rothschild.
Hatton Gallery is tucked away in the Fine Art building at Newcastle University but it's open to everyone so please don't be shy! It is an amazing space to explore and this show is bound to make you feel happy.
HAPPY! | Hatton Gallery | Newcastle upon Tyne | 14 February – 9 May 2026 | free entry
6. Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2025 - the UK's top portrait exhibition comes to the Laing
The Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2025 is coming to Newcastle from the National Portrait Gallery, London. The exhibition has 46 portraits, including the overall winner, Moira Cameron's self-portrait.
If that wasn't enough, it's two exhibitions for the price of one. The ticket includes entry to Exploring Identity, a new curation of portraits from the Laing, Shipley and Hatton art collections.
Exploring Identity provides historical context to the Portrait Award show and features some big-name artists: Francis Bacon, Christina Robertson, Frederic Leighton, Harold Knight and more.
7. The Late Shows 2026 – the North East's biggest culture crawl returns
The Late Shows is NewcastleGateshead's annual culture crawl since 2007.
Across the weekend of Friday 8 and Saturday 9 May, scores of cultural venues open their doors in the evening. Think museums, galleries, libraries, art studios, heritage buildings, visitor attractions and creative hubs.
There are countless opportunities to 'give it a go', from screen printing to dancing.
This is the best way to 'do' The Late Shows:
- Go somewhere you haven't been before
- Stay for 20 minutes
- Try an activity. Meet lovely people
- Move on to the next venue.
Whether you plan your route in advance or go with the flow, free buses help you get around on a cultural adventure as the sun sets.
Friday night focuses on the Ouseburn area of Newcastle. On Saturday night, the action moves to Newcastle city centre and Gateshead.
8. The Northumberland Miners' Picnic – a proud celebration of mining heritage
The Northumberland Miners' Picnic is an incredibly important celebration of mining tradition for the communities of Ashington, Bedlington, Blyth, Ellington and beyond.
But it's also a family day out that's tremendously fun, whatever the weather. Expect live music, street theatre, kid's activities, food stalls and special free entry to Woodhorn Museum.
The Northumberland Miners' Picnic | Woodhorn Museum | Ashington, Northumberland | a Saturday in June 2026 (watch this space) | free entry
9. Following the Eagle – a showcase of rare Roman military diplomas at Segedunum
Find yourself thinking about the Roman Empire often? This exhibition could be for you. Following the Eagle features military diplomas alongside other archaeological artefacts.
A diploma was a document inscribed in bronze, a sort of 'honourable discharge' certificate given to members of the armed forces, usually after 25 years' service. It could also mean that the holder had been granted Roman citizenship.
A career in the Roman military often meant phenomenal amounts of travel, and that's one of the main themes here. Take for instance Statius Priscus, commander of the Fourth Cohort of Lingonians. His 18 different posts took him to seven provinces right across the Empire.
10. Things That Go – a new transport-themed adventure for families
Discovery Museum is getting a new space for special exhibitions (we're saying a fond farewell to the old Working Lives gallery).
The inaugural exhibition is especially for families with kids aged 7 and under. Things That Go will be transport-themed, which is fitting given Tyneside's rich engineering, maritime and rail history.
From boats, buses and bicycles to tractors, trains and planes, get ready to explore the exciting world of transport through hands-on play and truckloads of toys.
Sounds like fun!
Things That Go | Discovery Museum | Newcastle upon Tyne | summer 2026 (watch this space) | free entry
Even more things to see and do
We have so much going on in 2026, we couldn't fit it all into a top 10 list. The best of the rest is listed below, and we'll keep adding more!
- Attend the Northumbrian Gathering and hear bagpipe performances at Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum (10-12 April 2026)
- See the After the Fire exhibition at Arbeia, South Shields Roman Fort (30 March - 27 September 2026)
- See Mik Critchlow: The Coal Town Collection at Woodhorn Museum (Wednesday - Sunday)
- Take a Heritage Train Ride at Stephenson Steam Railway (Sundays during the April - October running season)
- See the Sublime Landscapes exhibition at Laing Art Gallery (Monday - Saturday until 5 December 2026)
- See Chris Killip: The Last Ships at Laing Art Gallery (Monday - Saturday)
- See a Planetarium show at the Great North Museum: Hancock (daily)
- See the Steam to Green exhibiton at Discovery Museum (daily)
- Join a Picture of the Month tour with the Friends of the Laing Art Gallery (every Saturday, 11am)
- See the Our Voice (Apni Aawaaz) display at Discovery Museum (until 31 May 2026)
- Explore the Saltwell Towers collection at Shipley Art Gallery (Tuesday - Saturday).
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