Mapping the people, places and independent creatives shaping North Shields’ growing cultural scene.
Last updated: September 2026
North Shields has a creative scene worth discovering. Across the town, artists, makers, photographers, designers, musicians and craftspeople are working from studios, workshops, galleries and unexpected spaces.
We’re starting to map them.
This growing I Love North Shields guide brings together the people and places shaping the town’s art and cultural scene — helping you discover who is here, what they create and where to find them.
Paintings and prints. Ceramics and sculpture. Photography. Stained glass. Illustration. Animation. Textiles. Public art. Zines. Giant paper flowers. LEGO. Even vinyl records.
And much of it is happening behind doors most of us probably walk past without giving them a second thought.
A growing I Love North Shields directory of the artists, makers, studios and creative spaces working in our town.
We’ll keep adding to it as we discover more.
Howard Street & the Cultural Quarter
Sum Place
At 101 Howard Street, Sum Place is a public-art studio producing large-scale permanent installations for civic and healthcare spaces across the UK.
This is the sort of place that makes you realise just how much happens behind an otherwise ordinary-looking North Shields door. The team designs and creates large suspended sculptural commissions, taking projects from ideas and fabrication through to finished public artworks.
Website: sum.place
Instagram: @sum.place
Ellie Land | The Limerence
Based on the first floor of 101 Howard Street, Ellie Land works across animation and immersive content.
Her practice combines animation, film, printed work and interactive experiences, bringing storytelling and visual art together.
Website: ellieland.com
Instagram: @land.ellie
Brick This | Steve Mayes
There aren’t many towns where you’ll find a professional independent LEGO artist tucked away in a studio.
Steve Mayes is the artist behind Brick This, creating incredibly detailed LEGO models and commissions from his Howard Street studio.
His practice is a brilliant reminder that creativity doesn’t have to fit neatly into the traditional idea of painting, sculpture or galleries.
Website: brickthis.co.uk
Sickstyles Print and Designs | Bobby Colvin
Local graphic designer and mural artist Bobby Colvin works from 104 Howard Street.
Through Sickstyles Print and Designs, Bobby works across murals, graphic design, prints and branding, including collaborations with independent businesses.
Website: sickstyles85.wixsite.com/bobbycolvin
Etsy: SickStyles85
Instagram: @sickstyles85
Tynemouth Photographic Society
Despite the name, Tynemouth Photographic Society has its home right here in North Shields at 106–107 Howard Street.
Its two adjoining clubrooms are home to contemporary photographic work by members alongside a fascinating archive of local historical photography.
The society also runs specialist-interest groups and has published books using images from its archive.
Website: tynemouthps.co.uk
Globe Gallery
Founded in 1994, Globe Gallery has been part of the North East contemporary-art scene for more than three decades and is now back in its original home at 97 Howard Street following renovation.
The gallery works across exhibitions, installations and community activity and continues to bring contemporary work into the heart of North Shields.
During Open Quay, visitors encountered Mourning Tea Tyne and Lost Frequencies by Christoph and Sebastian Mügge, combining film, sound, found objects and local stories. North Shields Cultural Quarter
Website: globegallery.org
Instagram: @theglobegallery
Helix Arts
Based at 54a Saville Street, Helix Arts is a community arts organisation with a long history of bringing artists and communities together.
Its work spans participatory art, film, print, community projects and creative development.
For Open Quay, visitors were even able to get close to wood from the famous Sycamore Gap tree as part of an ongoing community project and try mono-printing with artist Emma Sheridan. North Shields Cultural Quarter
Website: helixarts.com
Instagram: @helixartsne / @helixarts
Light House Art Space
Tucked into Northumberland Street, Light House Art Space contains a collection of individual working studios.
Rather than one gallery with a single identity, it’s a building full of different practices — sculpture, glass, ceramics, painting and making.
Keith Barrett
Sculptor and carver Keith Barrett works from Light House Art Space.
Among the pieces associated with his studio is the original pattern for the Mary Ann Macham bronze, commemorating the formerly enslaved woman who escaped America and eventually made North Shields her home.
Website: keithbarrett.co.uk
Instagram: @keith.barrett_sculpture
Also: @eastcoastcarvingclub
Carrie Lang Ceramic Studio | The Clay Lab
Ceramic artist Carrie Lang creates small-batch pottery from her North Shields studio.
She develops her own glazes and teaches wheel throwing alongside creating bespoke pieces, making The Clay Lab both a working studio and somewhere people can experience making with clay themselves.
Website: carrielang.com
Many Moons | Kiri Nicholetts
Kiri Nicholetts is the maker behind Many Moons.
Her studio combines making, selling and creative workshops, including hands-on activities where visitors can have a go themselves.
Instagram: @manymoons.collection
Shop: manymoonscollection.etsy.com
Iris Houghton | Art of Transparency
The landscapes and coastal waters of the North East provide much of the inspiration for Iris Houghton’s work.
She creates fused-glass artwork alongside paintings from her North Shields studio.
Website: artoftransparency.co.uk
Instagram: @artoftransparency
Brian Ord
Painter and sculptor Brian Ord is another of the artists based at Light House Art Space.
Website: ne-arts.co.uk
Instagram: @veebee8000
Jon Andrews | JMarc
Artist Jon Andrews, also known as JMarc, works from his studio within Light House Art Space.
Instagram: @jmarcstudio
Salve Ceramics | Ellen Wood
Ceramic artist Ellen Wood works as Salve Ceramics, creating work in clay and demonstrating some of the traditional hands-on processes behind ceramics.
Alyson Donnelly Ceramics
Alyson Donnelly works in ceramics and mixed media and shares the creative studio environment at Light House Art Space.
One Three One | Bedford Street
One Three One at 131 Bedford Street.
The former derelict heritage building is now home to artists, designers and independent creative businesses working across several floors.
Instagram: @onethreeonespace
Ronan Devlin Studio
Ronan Devlin is an artist and designer working across print, digital media, installation and public art.
His projects combine graphic design, generative processes and storytelling and can range from abstract compositions to work rooted in the history and identity of particular places.
Website: ronandevlin.studio
Instagram: @ronandevlinstudio
Lily Senner
Lily Senner is a painter based in North Shields, producing original work from her studio inside One Three One.
Website: lilysenner.com
Instagram: @lilysenner_studio
Lyoness Press | Beth Farmer
Printmaker and textile designer Beth Farmer is the founder of Lyoness Press.
Her work bridges fine-art printmaking and textile design, encompassing original prints, drawings, fabrics and professional commissions.
Website: lyonesspress.co.uk
Instagram: @lyoness_press
Amusing Originals | Jools Coxon & Jane Smallcombe
Founded by Jools Coxon and Jane Smallcombe, Amusing Originals brings photography, contemporary art and design together.
Their North East surroundings — coastlines, architecture, industrial heritage and natural textures — feed into work exploring geometry, pattern, colour and form.
Instagram: @amusingoriginals
Jungle Studio | Geoff Sanderson
Geoff Sanderson brings more than 40 years of experience in the greetings and creative industries to Jungle Studio.
His career has included senior positions connected with companies including M&S/Tigerprint, Hallmark and Moonpig.
After returning to North Shields, Geoff established Jungle Studio with his daughters, working across publishing, art direction, licensing and mentoring while helping other creatives understand how their work can become commercially viable. North Shields Cultural Quarter
Instagram: @wearejunglestudio
Feral Hair Studio | Katy-Jay Rook
Creativity isn’t confined to an artist’s canvas.
Katy-Jay Rook is an independent hair artist specialising in vivid, creative colour and highly individual transformations from her studio at One Three One.
Instagram: @feral_hairstudio
Hastie Studios
Behind the doors at 24 Kettlewell Terrace is another community of working artists.
Hastie Studios contains individual creative spaces built around a shared courtyard — precisely the sort of place Open Quay was made for.
Helen Pailing
Helen Pailing creates sculptural objects and installations from found and salvaged materials.
Discarded objects and materials are transformed into something completely different, including an extraordinary collection of illuminated sculptures.
Website: helenpailing.com
Instagram: @helenpailing
Laura Lawson
Contemporary painter and poet Laura Lawson has spent more than two decades developing a practice centred on landscape, memory and atmosphere.
Working primarily in oils, she draws heavily on northern coastlines and landscapes, creating paintings that sit somewhere between direct observation and memory.
Website: lauralawson.co.uk
Instagram: @lauralawsonart
Michael O’Grady | Tanners Darkroom
Photographer Michael O’Grady keeps the physical processes of photography alive through Tanners Darkroom.
The working darkroom offers an opportunity to see photographic printing and scanning beyond the screens and phones through which most of us now experience photography.
Instagram: @ohgreyd
Darkroom: @tannersbankdarkroom
Helen Smith
Helen Smith is a printmaker based at Hastie Studios.
Her studio gives people the chance to see the physical craft behind printmaking rather than simply the finished image.
Website: helensmith.co.uk
Cate Watkinson
Cate Watkinson works in architectural and stained glass, keeping traditional stained-glass techniques alive while applying them to contemporary work and commissions.
Visitors to the studio can see some of the processes involved in building a stained-glass window from individual pieces of coloured glass.
Website: watkinsonglass.com
Instagram: @catewatkinson
Peter Curran
Artist Peter Curran also works from Hastie Studios, where visitors can encounter not only finished pieces but the practical processes involved in producing them.
The Loading Bay | Salt Market Social
The Loading Bay inside Salt Market Social on the Fish Quay has become a flexible space for live music, markets, exhibitions, workshops and community events.
It also provided a temporary studio and exhibition space for a brilliant mix of independent artists during Open Quay.
Instagram: @theloadingbaynorthshields
Instagram: @saltmarketsocial
Mim Robson
There really isn’t one neat category for Mim Robson.
She makes prints, cards, ceramics, zines, matchbox stories, metal-embossed botanicals and curious little objects from vintage books and magazines.
There’s humour, nostalgia and storytelling running through much of it, including her wonderfully titled Birds of Shame series.
Website: mimrobson.com
Instagram: @mimrobsonartist
Britt Coxon
Illustrator and zine-maker Britt Coxon works across illustration, graphic design, photography, comics and paper craft.
Storytelling sits at the centre of much of Britt’s work, exploring everything from local and personal histories to nature, mental health and the tiny moments of everyday life.
Britt is also a member of Newcastle’s Paper Jam Comics Collective and has contributed work to more than 15 anthologies. North Shields Cultural Quarter
Website: britthub.co.uk
Instagram: @brittcoxon
Mastodon: mastodon.art/@brittcoxon
Louise Rea
Louise Rea creates playful abstract work that moves between print, painting and sculpture.
Her work includes paintings, sculptural building blocks and limited-edition risograph prints.
Instagram: @louise_reaart
stuARTgeddit
The artist behind stuARTgeddit has been using found photography as the starting point for paintings.
Old family photographs and images of North Shields can become source material for completely new work, connecting individual memories with the history of the town.
Instagram: @stuartgeddit
Susan Thompson
Painter Susan Thompson works across paper and canvas, creating both intimate studies and larger oil paintings.
Her work looks for poetic qualities in everyday life and observation.
Instagram: @susan3261thompson
Maggie Westmoreland
Maggie Westmoreland is a multidisciplinary artist and maker working with print, textiles and found and foraged materials.
Since moving to the coast, she has incorporated materials gathered around Tynemouth into lino prints, hand-stitched and embroidered pieces, decorative objects and wearable work.
She also creates bespoke hand-carved stamps which can then be developed into branding for independent businesses.
Instagram: @made.bymaggiemay
North Shields Library & Community Makers
North Shields Library became another temporary home for artists and organisations during Open Quay — proof that creative activity doesn’t need to happen inside a conventional gallery.
Catherine Selby | Remarkable Makeables
Catherine Selby creates fused-glass work including pictures, dishes, votives and jewellery.
Much of the work begins at the National Glass Centre before being completed in her home studio.
Instagram: @remarkable.makeables
Michael Dennison
Painter Michael Dennison creates acrylic works on canvas, including North East landscapes and seascapes.
Heritage, History & Her | Molly Wyatt
Molly Wyatt combines creativity, heritage and social history through Heritage, History & Her.
Her work asks how history connects with people’s lives now and explores stories that haven’t always been prominent in conventional historical narratives.
Workshops can combine artistic responses, traditional heritage skills, living history and interpretation.
Website: heritagehistoryher.co.uk
Instagram: @heritage_history_her
Cullercoats Self-Help Basketry Group
Part of Northumbria Basketry Group, the Cullercoats group keeps traditional basket-making skills alive.
Members work predominantly with locally grown willow while also exploring other soft-fibre techniques, passing knowledge between makers through regular group sessions.
Website: northumbriabasketrygroup.co.uk
Linskill Shed
Linskill Shed is a community woodworking group where practical skills, conversation and making come together.
Members produce handcrafted work while maintaining the simple but important tradition of people learning skills from one another.
Website: linskill.org/community-programme/#the-shed
North Tyneside Art Studio
North Tyneside Art Studio is a creative-health charity using art and creativity to support wellbeing.
Members work across different media, with exhibitions providing opportunities for work created within its studios and community groups to be seen by a wider audience.
Website: northtynesideartstudio.org.uk
Craft-A-Rella
Run by Barbara, Craft-A-Rella is built around making creativity accessible.
Sewing, crochet, pattern making, upcycling and other practical crafts are taught in a relaxed environment for both adults and children.
Website: craftarella.co.uk
Instagram: @craft_a_rella
More Artists & Creatives Around North Shields
Emma Pace | Pacecraft Creations
If you’ve seen enormous paper flowers appearing around the area, there’s a good chance you’ve encountered the work of Emma Pace.
After a career in arts management, Emma moved into her creative practice full-time.
Her giant paper flowers have since travelled considerably further than North Shields: her work is now owned by customers in more than 15 countries, with commissions available internationally. Her large-scale floral work has also been displayed at Tynemouth Bridge. North Shields Cultural Quarter
Shop: pacecraftcreations.etsy.com
Instagram: @pacecraftcreations
Rachael Dee Brien
Contemporary artist Rachael Dee Brien works across different media using bold colour, abstraction and geometry.
Her practice looks at patterns in materials and human behaviour, including work exploring motherhood and the huge transition that comes with becoming a parent.
Website: rachaeldeebrienart.co.uk
Motherfolk North Tyneside | Lily Howes
Motherfolk, led locally by Lily Howes, uses writing and community to explore early motherhood.
Its creative writing circles and installations create spaces in which mothers’ experiences become the subject rather than something happening quietly in the background.
Website: motherfolk.org.uk
Instagram: @motherfolk_northtyneside
Louise Thompson
Artist Louise Thompson draws inspiration from the North East coastline, its landscapes and the people who live around them.
Working in oils, watercolour and line-and-wash, her paintings range from loose contemporary studies to recognisable beaches, maritime buildings and coastal scenes.
Instagram: @lou_thompson_artwork
Bus Stop Gallery
Yes, North Shields even has art at the bus station.
Bus Stop Gallery, inside North Shields Transport Hub, turns an everyday public space into somewhere people can encounter local artwork without deliberately setting foot inside a gallery.
Instagram: @nshieldsbusstopgallery
The Glasshouse
At 5b Albion Road, The Glasshouse is the working studio of stained-glass designer Derek Halliday.
Derek has more than 30 years’ experience in the glazing industry, with the workshop giving visitors the opportunity to see what goes into the making and restoration of stained glass. North Shields Cultural Quarter
Website: glasshousestudio.co.uk
Instagram: @glasshousetgh
The Jungle Record Press
Here’s another one you might not expect to find in North Shields: a vinyl record pressing plant.
The Jungle Record Press on Northumberland Street manufactures vinyl for independent artists, labels and collectors, combining traditional record-making processes with modern pressing technology.
It’s part art, part music and part manufacturing — and a genuinely fascinating bit of the town’s creative landscape.
Website: thejunglerecordpress.com
Instagram: @thejunglerecordpress
Kiinship
On Clifford Street, Kiinship combines creativity with workshops, wellbeing and therapy.
Activities range from drawing and clay to movement, sound, journalling and workshops led by visiting artists.
Website: kiinship.space
Instagram: @kiinshipspace
Also: @sjaan_movingarts
Flow
Flow is a community interest company creating collaborative and purposeful creative activities with neurodiverse adults.
Its work demonstrates something important about the wider creative scene: not everything has to be about making work to hang in a gallery. Making can be about skills, confidence, communication, friendship and participation too.
Instagram: @flow_ne_cic_
Live Well with Cancer
Based at its Nile Street hub, Live Well with Cancer incorporates creativity into its work with people affected by cancer.
Activities include painting and creative workshops that bring people together through making and conversation.
Website: livewellwithcancer.co.uk
Instagram: @livewellwithcancer
The Old Low Light
The Old Low Light on the Fish Quay is best known as a heritage centre, but art and creativity are woven into what it does too.
Its café and shop showcase work by independent artists, makers and local authors, while its upper floors host exhibitions, events and community activity.
Website: oldlowlight.co.uk
Instagram: @oldlowlight
Former Colonel Linskill Pub | Window Spaces
Even an empty window can become a gallery.
The former Colonel Linskill pub on Charlotte Street was used during Open Quay as a street-facing exhibition space, including work by Rachael Dee Brien and an installation from Louise Rea.
It was a simple idea, but a good one: taking artwork to where people already are rather than expecting everybody to enter a formal gallery.
Creativity Is Everywhere — If We Open the Doors
What struck us most about Open Quay wasn’t one particular painting or studio.
It was the sheer variety of what people are doing.
Some are established professional artists. Some are building businesses. Some make things because they simply can’t imagine not making them. Others bring people together to learn a skill, experiment, tell stories or create something with their hands.
And they’re everywhere.
On Howard Street. Behind the Fish Quay. Above shops. Inside old industrial buildings. In former commercial premises. At the library. Behind anonymous doors we’ve probably passed hundreds of times.
Open Quay gave us an excuse to open those doors.
Now we’d like to keep them open.
Are You an Artist, Maker or Creative in North Shields?
This directory started with the people and spaces we discovered through Open Quay 2026, but it isn’t intended to stop there.
If you’re an artist, photographer, illustrator, filmmaker, ceramicist, printmaker, designer, sculptor, maker, craftsperson or independent creative working in North Shields, we’d love to hear from you.
The same goes for studios, workshops and interesting creative spaces we haven’t discovered yet.
Send us:
Your name or business name
A short description of what you do
Your North Shields location
Website
Instagram/social handle
A couple of photographs of you or your work
Email: hello@ilovenorthshields.com Subject: Directory
We’ll keep building the page as the creative community grows.
Because sometimes the most interesting things happening in a town aren’t happening on a stage or behind the doors of a major institution.
They’re happening in someone’s workshop, studio or spare room just around the corner.
Keep looking. Keep opening doors. Keep discovering North Shields.
