The AmberSide Collection is an archive of 20,000 photographs, 10,000 slides and 14TB of digital assets that document working-class culture and industrial heritage in the North East. It includes works of renowned photographers such as Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen, Tish Murtha, Marketa Luscakova, Mik Critchlow, Newsha Tavakolian and Chris Killip.

The collection is housed in Newcastle’s Side Gallery, which closed in 2023 due to financial difficulties. The project aims to develop a new business model and income streams to save the collection for future generations.

This initiative safeguards our identity and history, ensuring that future generations can embrace and learn from our cultural legacy.

Laura Laffler, Managing Director, at Amber Film & Photography Collective

Over 12 months, new partnerships with working photographers and the North East arts community will be explored to open the collection to a wider audience. The Collective aim to host exhibitions and events, as well as creating a publicly accessible catalogue featuring the unique films and photographs.

It is hoped that this work will lead the organisation on a path to reopen the Side Gallery in the future. 

Laura Laffler, Managing Director, at Amber Film & Photography Collective said: "We are excited to announce the launch of this programme, which aims to revitalise Amber for long-term sustainability. 

By making the AmberSide Collection accessible to the public, we are not only preserving our significant industrial heritage, but also offering a source of pride and inspiration for the people of the North East. This initiative safeguards our identity and history, ensuring that future generations can embrace and learn from our cultural legacy."