Globe Gallery comes home to landmark site in North Shields Cultural Quarter
The Globe Gallery has come home to its original premises in North Shields and is set to open later this month with a world-class art exhibition.
The prominent corner building at 97 Howard Street sits in the heart of North Shields Cultural Quarter.
It features exhibition space as well as a community room for artist workshops and health and wellbeing projects which is coming soon. Globe has space in next door shop Odd Ours, where artists’ limited editions, books and original art can be purchased alongside vintage, craft and designer products.
It will reopen to the public on 27 July with an exhibition of new paintings by internationally-renowned artist Mark Fairnington, originally from Tyneside, entitled Sottobosco Tales of the Undergrowth.
North Shields Cultural Quarter is all about helping the creative economy to grow to regenerate the town centre, with support from the North East Combined Authority. The newly-refurbished Exchange 1856 theatre, North Tyneside Business Centre, Globe Gallery, Pinwheel, North Tyneside Music Education Hub and Helix Arts are all located in a creative hotspot at the crossroads of Howard Street and Saville Street.
The Globe Gallery first opened at 97 Howard Street in 1995 after six months work to transform the building from a derelict shell into a vibrant art space, with the help of family and friends.
In a nod to the building’s history, the gallery was named after the Globe Boot Company, a well-loved shoe shop that used to occupy the site.
Globe moved to Newcastle in 2011 and has since had six different homes including the city’s Commercial Union House. Globe founder and chief executive Rashida Davison has called North Shields home for more than three decades and is delighted to be returning to the gallery’s birthplace.
Rashida said: “97 Howard Street is Globe’s spiritual home. We are returning in time for our 30th anniversary and this is a very special moment for us.
“Globe Gallery has kept its close ties with North Shields, we have a lot of friends and a core audience here who have supported us for many years.
“We are an open-door organisation, we believe in making art accessible to everyone. Chatting with passers-by, inviting people in, and making connections with people from all walks of life is an important part of what Globe does. This prominent corner site is perfect for that, it means we can be close to the community and guided by the people of North Shields.”
Since Globe left in 2011 the unit has been used as a workshop and storage facility but the basic layout is still the same. Working with architect Graham McGinty and North Tyneside Council, the building has been redecorated, new lighting installed and the community room is soon to be fitted out with the help of the National Lottery Community Fund. Changes have been made to improve accessibility and create a space for workshops.
Rashida said: “This is a space I know and feel comfortable in. I know what opportunities it offers and what is possible here. Our aspiration is to bring in exhibitions that people might not normally see outside London and the major cities and combine this with a health and wellbeing programme.
“We also want to create opportunities for creatives who live, work and practice in North Tyneside to exhibit their work so as well as using the gallery we are bringing the Globe’s work out into other spaces such as 131 Bedford Street, Exchange 1856 and the Tynemouth Metro station bridge.
“When we took over the building back in 1994 it was pretty derelict. Bringing it back to life was a labour of love and a real team effort. When we were asked by North Tyneside Council to come home and be a central part of the Cultural Quarter, we knew it was the right move.
“It’s fabulous to be back at the heart of the North Shields artistic community. There’s been a lot of investment and regeneration in the area around Howard Street, it’s got a new lease of life as a creative destination.”
Globe’s opening exhibition on 26 July will be a series of paintings by Mark Fairnington, an internationally-renowned artist born in Gateshead. His paintings have been exhibited at the Natural History Museum, Baltic and National Trust property Cherryburn, to name but a few.
Rashida said: “These new paintings are breathtakingly, incredibly detailed, large scale oil paintings based on a barren tree stump coming back to life. This new body of work is all about renewal, regeneration and growth, perfect for the story of Globe coming back to North Shields in the middle of this period of regeneration and new beginnings.
“We’re a forward-looking contemporary gallery but the history of this building is very important too. When we first took the building on in 1994 it was going to be named Howard Street Art Centre. However, after asking the late Jimmy Donald, father of the Viz creators, to look into the history of the building, a rich history was discovered.
“It had been the first telephone exchange in North Shields and at one time it was used by the Socialist Party for meetings. The one thing that really stood out was the lower corner ‘shop’ space which had been The Globe Boot Company, and this inspired the name. We knew it would resonate with the local community, who had come here for many years to buy shoes and still, today, we hear many stories relating to this time.
“For our 10th anniversary in 2005 we worked with artists to recreate the shoe shop, only this time the shoe boxes contained artwork from artists across the globe. Visitors were given a list to choose from and the ‘shop assistant’, Richard Rigg, would get the chosen boxes down for visitors to view the artwork inside.
“It's our 30th anniversary in 2025 and we want to celebrate Globe’s past, present and future. Shoes will come into it, but we’ll look at it a different way to last time. Our anniversary coincides with the North Shields 800 celebrations and we’re working on ideas to contribute something really special to that, celebrating the artistic life and heritage of this inspiring town.”
Cllr Carl Johnson, Deputy Mayor for North Tyneside and cabinet member responsible for Regeneration, Economic Development and Culture said: “We are delighted that Globe Gallery has come home to the heart of North Shields Cultural Quarter.
“Globe has been part of fabric of the town’s artistic community for decades. Having this exhibition space in the town centre brings opportunities for local, national and international artists to show their work in North Shields.
“This will be a welcoming place where everyone can come and enjoy art as well as community wellbeing activities. Its site on the corner of Howard Street and Saville Street is now a destination area for arts and culture, helping to regenerate the economy of the town centre.”
