Urban Art Association

Spank The Monkey - Newcastle / Gateshead, by mido on Oct 4, 2006 18:47:50 GMT 1,

[glow=red,2,300]My Spank The Monkey / Street Art Guide - Newcastle / Gateshead[/glow]

I’ve cobbled this together from the Nexus website, local newspaper ( icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/ ), and Thugs’ info on ebay forum, and I checked it all, added to it etc…..

It’s well worth the trip, but I’d strongly suggest wandering the streets and not just the Baltic, which, as usual, is a bit of an art wank trip.

General street & Nexus stuff….

Nexus ( www.nexus.org.uk/wps/wcm/connect/Nexus/Metro ) has co-operated with BALTIC in staging Spank The Monkey, the first international exhibition of Urban art, providing a number of sites on Metro and at Gateshead Interchange for artists taking part in the exhibition to display work outside the conventional gallery space. These include:

Jesmond Metro station has giant artworks at the platform ends created by a unique collaboration of artists from all over the world. These include: Faile (three artists working out of New York, Os Gemeos (twin brothers from Brazil), Barry McGee (San Francisco) and Neasden Control Centre (UK). However, it is very hard to see. It’s in the train tunnel, just to the south (I.e. Newcastle city centre) side of the station, so can only be briefly glimpsed as the train goes in/out of the station. I glimpsed some Shep Fairey stuff but little else.... Photos are available, by popular demand, on the Nexus site.

There is also work at Howdon metro station but I stupidly choose to blank that info and not check it out…. Doh…… Photos are available, by popular demand, on the Nexus site.

A 10-metre mural just inside the entrance to Byker Metro, “Spank Me, Kiss Me, Love Me“, by Chicago-based artist Dzine. The mural space at Byker has previously been used by a number of community groups to display art in the last two years, including old people’s groups and refugees. Local people had asked Nexus for it to continue to be used for changing temporary displays.

There will apparently be works on major billboard sites at Central and other stations by Shepard Fairey, and the giant retaining wall between BALTIC and The Sage Gateshead, but I didn’t see any, and I assume the ‘giant wall’ is the one that currently still has an enormous BUPA / Great North Run advert on it?

Gateshead Interchange - I couldn’t see anything? But didn’t know what I was supposed to be looking for anyway….

Freaks Gallery have taken over the shop next door to electrik sheep on pink lane, Newcastle. The shop is owned by ES. Unfortunately they (FG) got rid of the Eine’d shutter though, for no obvious reason !!!!! Doh.

Swoon at Ellison St, Gateshead. On the side of the Gregg's shop on the south edge of the 'Indoor market' (amazing brutalist concrete carpark and market type thing - totally like a ghost town at 8.30am). Check out two of the Baltic lifts for other Swoon stuff - fantastic.

Large Os Gemeos piece on a hoarding on newcastle quayside, near King St, a couple of doors down from heartbreak soup (which has a nice invader on it). The hoarding covers up the derelict land behind, and may explain the annoyingly large and badly placed sponsorship tag that (IMHO) spoils the Os Gemeos piece. Will sponsors ever learn?

The STM sub-site ( www.spankthemonkey.uk.net/ ) also shows something in the Gallowgate area, but gives no info on what it is, or where exactly it is.


Invaders have landed at the following locations on Tyneside:

1st wave….

• Above the newsagent on the corner of Pudding Chare and St John St, off Bigg Market, Newcastle.
  
• At the very top of the last set of steps walking up to The Sage Gateshead from Baltic Square.
  
• Above Heartbreak Soup on the Newcastle Quayside.
  
• Bottom of Pilgrim Street, Newcastle, opposite Popolos, on a deserted concrete office block.
  
• Floor level, below the ‘Side’ street sign at the top end of the Side, Newcastle, on Scott’s Hairdressers
  

.

I didn’t see the following so can’t vouch if they are there….

• High Bridge, Newcastle - next to the old entrance to Waygood Gallery.
  
• Somewhere on Northumberland Street, Newcastle.
  
• Next to Waterstone's, near Grey's Monument, Newcastle.
  
• In The Baltic, Gateshead, on the side of the stairs.
  

2nd wave……

• On the corner of the top end of Pink Lane and Westgate Road, opposite Cross Street.
  
• Halfway up Pink Lane, on the building opposite the Jazz Club.
  
• On the Quayside, BELOW the riverside railings on the side of the Baltic.
  

I didn’t see the following so can’t vouch if it is there….

Underneath the railway bridge on the corner of Forth Street and Westgate Road.


I did spot a few others on my wanders as well….

1 - on the railway bridge across City Rd, just down from the ‘55 degrees North’ roundabout (not far from the bottom of Trafalgar St).
2 - on the massive bridge across ’Side’, at the corner with Dean St.


Eine’d Shutters

C & L - On a (derelict?) shop (Dandy Party Shop) at the bottom of Pink lane, just opposite main entrance to central Train Station.
E - On Electrik Sheep shop - Pink Lane (the ‘S’ next door has sadly gone!)
I & A - Cross St
P - On Roti take away - corner of Westgate Rd and Clayton St West
Q - On Mr. Q’s Off licence - corner of Pink Lane and Clayton St West