10 Best Places to See Street Art in Newcastle
Some of the best examples of street art to be found in the city
Street art has a magical way of transforming cities, bringing a splash of colour to drab walls and buildings and enlivening urban spaces. UK Cities like London, Bristol and Glasgow have become real hubs of street art creativity that wholeheartedly embrace the movement and Newcastle is no different.
We’ve rounded up some of the most impressive examples of street art in Newcastle city centre for you to explore, from the Quayside to the Bigg Market and beyond.
Ridley Place
High above Ridley Place – that city centre home of excellent eateries – you can see a marvellous piece of street art by artist Peter Manning that has been commissioned as part of the street's recent refurbishment. Depicting a woman in an elaborate Native American headdress, the work can be seen on the upper wall of much-loved local Mexican eatery Zapatista. The striking and vibrant piece is the first of two artworks Newcastle City Council have commissioned from Peter for Ridley Place, so keep your eyes peeled for more street art coming to the area soon.
The Black Gate Wall, Side
As part of a large-scale refurbishment back in 2014, local artist John Craggs was commissioned to create an impressive mural on the wall of the former air-raid shelter that’s nestled under the Black Gate at the top of Newcastle's steepest street, the Side. Exploring the city's history, the work features various local figures, historical events and legends, depicted in a series of paintings – including fake posters – that reference everything from Thomas Bewick to the former Downbeat Club and the fascinating vampire hare of local legends.
Wesley Square, Quayside
For the past few summers, the team here at NE1 commission a fantastic mural in collaboration with Newcastle City Council to transform an unused bus lane on Newcastle's Quayside into a riot of colour with eye-catching murals. Past murals have featured designs by Dutch street artist Oflines and the North East's own Mul Draws, and in 2024 there's a brand-new mural coming from artist Andy Welland - keep your eyes peeled for the latest splash of colour on the Quayside.
Laing Art Gallery Murals
The Laing is one of the city’s finest galleries, and obviously is packed with all manner of fantastic art. But the outside isn’t without its notable art either, thanks to a selection of murals on its John Dobson Street-adjacent outer wall (right opposite Newcastle City Library). Beneath a gallery logo mural are three very different but very appealing works from the Laing's collections arranged like the paintings on the walls inside. The middle piece is a rendition of The Beach by Laura Knight, originally painted in 1909 and a fine example of the English impressionist movement of which Knight was a key figure. To its left is Isabella and The Pot Of Basil, finished in 1868 by pre-Raphaelite William Holman Hunt, while to the right is Aloft in the Loft, a 1987 work by Scottish contemporary figurative painter Adrian Wiszniewski.
Monument Metro
Not strictly a street, but we're throwing it in anyway, the mural in Monument Metro station dates back to 1986 and was created by South Shields-born artist and former coal miner Bob Olley. Located by the station's Blackett Street exit, the work depicts various local celebrities looking out through a Metro carriage window - from football legends like Paul Gascoigne and Jack Charlton to music icons like Brian Johnson, Jimmy Nail and Sting. Originally made for an exhibition by Bob at the Custom House in South Shields, then Nexus boss Mike Parker loved the piece so much he had it permanently installed at the Metro station where it's since been seen by millions of locals and visitors to the city.
Groat Market, Bigg Market
Bobzilla (Robert Page to his mum) is a remarkably prolific artist (as well as being a graphic designer and DJ) and you’ll almost certainly have seen his distinctive style all over the city and the North East as a whole. In 2022, he won a competition held by NE1 and Monument Real Estate to paint a mural on the side of the Cathedral Square building on Groat Market, beating out 15 other local artists for the coveted commission. Completed over the course of five days, the piece was part of an ongoing transformation of the Bigg Market area spearheaded by NE1 and completely transforms the building's concrete facade with its vivid, abstract design.
Forth Lane Urban Gallery, Forth Lane
The brainchild of Creative Central NCL, Forth Lane Urban Gallery is a series of eye-catching murals that run along the walls of the alleyway leading from Westgate Road to Pink Lane. The gallery features the work of six artists - Glen Malpass, Chris Fleming, Tallulah Lines, Jed Buttress, Laura Sheldon and Rebecca Purnell – each responding to the theme ‘Pleasure Garden’, a nod to the fact that the area was once home to a four-acre field used by the people of Newcastle for leisure and pleasure.
Morden Street
Earlier this year, a massive mural appeared in the city featuring Ismael ‘Ish’ Bamba - a 30-ft likeness that celebrates his contribution to the local community through his work as the figurehead and project officer for Newcastle United Foundation which aims to encourage youth involvement in football in the North East. Found on the wall opposite the Eldon Garden car park entrance, the artwork is the brainchild of arts collective Lawless Studio and replaced a mural featuring Sam Fender that the company was commissioned to create by Adidas Originals on the very same wall in 2023.
The Pattern Shop
A multi-million-pound office development might not seem the most likely site for street art but you'd be surprised. The Pattern Shop, an office space that's part of the Founders Place urban development, celebrated its recent opening with the unveiling of two striking, contemporary murals by artists David Shillinglaw and Molly Bland. David's vibrant mural, a collage of landscapes and faces, resides on the neighbouring Energy Centre, while Molly's work - a Henri Matisse-inspired piece - stretches 80 metres along a wall bordering The Pattern Shop on South Street.
Old George Alleyway
Also part of NE1's aforementioned Bigg Market improvement project are a pair of murals in the alleyway running alongside the Old George pub off the Cloth Market. Both paying homage to the Bigg Market's history and heritage, one side of the alleyway is home to a design by illustrator James Dixon (aka Lines Behind) featuring reference to the likes of locally-born business Be-Ro Flour and concert hall songwriter and Blaydon Races scribe Geordie Ridley. The other side features a work by fellow illustrator Yvette Earl depicting Bigg Market buildings both past and present with nods to much-missed Indian restaurant Rupali and the now demolished Exhibition Centre, formerly Newcastle's Town Hall that oddly enough once housed an indoor zoo (giraffes, elephants and monkeys included) in the mid-1960s.
These pieces are just a few of the many examples of street art to be found across Newcastle, and are fine additions to the many visually striking aspects of the city centre. It’s also worth finding the various pieces from French street artist Space Invader dotted around town, and there’s always a new artwork being thrown up somewhere in the city. So keep ‘em peeled and try and catch new pieces as they appear.
Main images: Dream Bigger by Oflines, Photo by Tynesight Photography
