ArtsBank

ArtsBank is a major new artistic initiative, privately funded, and based on Teesside. Successful local businessman Bryan Goodall (FRSA and chairman of the Hambleton Group) has assembled a group of like-minded directors, and has formed ArtsBank, with a £600k initial investment. ArtsBank is a Community Interest Company, and it aims to give a massive boost to the work of creative people across the north east, and beyond.
At its April opening, ArtsBank will showcase more than fifty visual artists. They are the cream of an enormous and rich crop of northern talent: painters, photographers, sculptors and craftspeople, from all generations. Some are renowned. Some are neglected. Some are unknown. But all deserve the widest exposure.

Profile on Weegee

The Profile Gallery, Saltburn, is currently showing work by the late Austrian-born American press photographer Weegee, the first time his pictures have been exhibited on Teesside.
The show is part of the gallery’s link with Amber, the film and photography collective based at Side Gallery in Newcastle, which has an extensive archive, including one of the best collections of Weegee’s work in the world.
Born Usher Fellig, Weegee captured the gritty underbelly of 1930s’ and 1940s’ New York, earning his nickname because he was usually first on the scene with his small Speed Graphic camera.
His photographs capture decisive moments, from gangland hits to women attending opera and children playing with water from a fire hydrant on the lower east side.
He was famous for his crimescene work, but also recorded all aspects of life as social documentary, often with humour and irony.
The exhibition runs until June 5, with 30 images on display, including pictures of Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali.