A half-term trip to the North-East, and a chance for a quick visit to the newly re-opened Side Gallery in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Their ‘Childhoods’ exhibition mixes work from the Amber archives (including Liisa-Sirkka Kontinnen and Chris Killip), newer projects from the North-East, plus contemporary work around the world, such as Kai Wiedenhöfer’s Syrian Collateral, to explore the experiences and lives of children in difficult circumstances. I found the whole show engrossing and, ultimately, quite heartbreaking.

It’s great to see the Side Gallery back, and in premises that their work deserves. Every town should have a Side Gallery-equivalent; we might understand this country a little better if they did.