System is a non-profit and volunteer-operated contemporary art gallery. Its mission is to support emerging artists and offer them the opportunity to exhibit their work in conjunction with already well-known artists. Alongside the exhibitions, System also puts on live music performances and workshops. The gallery’s location on the upper floor of a bar allows for interactions with the artists and likeminded art enthusiasts.
Artists at all stages of their career are welcome to send submissions to the gallery for review. There are two gallery rooms and exhibitions change on a monthly basis. They range from light installations to painting, photography, sculpture and multimedia. Visitors often get the chance to meet the exhibiting artists and learn more about the theory behind the work.
One exhibition, called Invisible, invited homeless and vulnerable people of Newcastle to take photos that represented their lives. Others have explored the intuition and nature of women and the connection between audiotype images, a person’s voice and their mannerisms.
Visit the bar on the ground floor, which has a menu with breakfast, lunch and dinner options. Enjoy performances by bluegrass, folk, indie rock and synth-pop musicians. Attend jam sessions and open mic nights.
The gallery is open in the afternoon every day of the week. Note that the opening hours on Sunday and Monday are shorter. Exhibitions are free. Find a schedule of current events on the gallery’s official website.
System is a short walk from the Haymarket and St. James subway stations and public buses stop nearby. This is just one of several excellent art galleries that you can visit in Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s city center. Admire oil paintings and watercolors by British artists from the 1700s to 1900s at Laing Art Gallery. The collection of the Hatton Gallery covers the 14th to 20th centuries, including pieces by Francis Bacon and Wyndham Lewis.
