Creative Central NCL has unveiled new murals in Newcastle city centre, extending its vision of using public art to celebrate creativity, culture, and community.
Launched in partnership with Newcastle Arts Centre, Project North East, NE1, and Newcastle City Council, the Forth Lane Urban Gallery first opened in October 2024. The project remains centred on the theme Pleasure Garden, honouring the lane’s heritage as a route leading to The Forth — once a popular destination for recreation and social gatherings.
The new Forth Lane works feature artists Bex Masters, Bethan Harris, and MarkOne87, who collaborated with residents of Tyneside Foyer, alongside a mural by Josie Brookes created with students from Newcastle College.
Just around the corner, Pink Lane is now home to the first of several planned artworks, including new hand-painted murals by ALECLDN (Alec Saunders) and Millie Avis, inspired by local venues and the area’s vibrant, independent spirit.
Together, these works add new energy to Newcastle’s city centre, reinforcing its position as a place where creativity and heritage meet on every street corner.
Bex Masters, a gilder and oil painter, has created Kundalini, a mural exploring reflection and renewal through ideas of feminine energy and transformation. Bex said: “Inspired by my multicultural upbringing and heritage, this mural explores the concept of a Pleasure Garden through the eyes and hands of a person of colour.”
Bethan Harris, an artist known for her expressive use of colour, brings her intuitive mark-making and emotional connection with landscape to the lane. Bethan said: “My inspiration began with the landscapes of Northumberland, which have always been a source of creativity for me. There’s a raw, untamed beauty there that speaks to a more instinctive, sensory connection with nature.”
Returning artist MarkOne87 collaborated with residents of Tyneside Foyer to produce a new piece exploring the, sometimes lost, natural human tendency to connect with nature and the importance of green spaces as a haven, while Josie Brookes, working with students from Newcastle College, guided a collaborative design process celebrating young artists’ voices and the importance of shared creative spaces.
Over on Pink Lane ALECLDN and Millie Avis have created murals that act as creative wayfinding, connecting cultural venues such as Newcastle Arts Centre, The Black Swan, Tyne Theatre & Opera House and NX through playful, small-scale designs.
The pieces appear across facades, gates and shopfronts as part of wider plans to introduce more public art and creative interventions in the area throughout the coming months.
Cllr Abdul Samad, Cabinet Member for Culture, Music and Arts at Newcastle City Council, said: “It’s fantastic to see artists continuing to shape and enrich our city centre. Projects like this bring people together and show the value of art and creativity in making Newcastle’s public spaces welcoming and distinctive.”
The Forth Lane and Pink Lane commissions form part of Creative Central NCL, a five-year project funded by the North East Combined Authority, Newcastle City Council and part funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, investing £1.7 million to support artists and creative businesses in central Newcastle.