The Tyne and Wear Metro’s iconic network of tunnels is featuring in a four-day arts festival in an exhibit showcasing hidden parts of Newcastle city centre which are inaccessible to the public.
A team from the arts-led cultural production agency Curated Place have filmed and photographed parts of the Metro system that the public never get to see, including tunnels, voids and air vents.
And these iconic images have gone on display at the NOVUM Festival, which is being held at Newcastle Civic Centre 8-11 August.
The images include the escalator voids at Monument Metro station, the tunnels at St James Metro station and the Prudhoe Street Metro vent shaft next to Eldon Square bus station.
Huw Lewis, Customer Services Director at Nexus, said: It’s fantastic for Metro to be featured at the NOVUM Festival.
“There are many iconic parts of the network which are hidden from the public view and these have been brought to life through film and photography.
“These include areas like our city centre tunnels deep beneath the centre of Newcastle, and the many hidden Metro air vents and escalator voids across the city’s Metro stations.
“I’ve no doubt that visitors to the NOVUM Festival are going to really enjoy this exhibit. The team at Curated Place who came to photograph all of these spaces did a great job, as did our own teams who helped to arrange access to these unseen areas of the Metro system.”
The NOVUN Festival is showcasing local, national, and international talent, transforming Newcastle Civic Centre and its surrounding gardens into a cultural playground, where audiences can make, explore and engage with art, music, performances and installations.
NOVUM has been created through a partnership between Newcastle City Council, North of Tyne Combined Authority, UK Government, Levelling Up, Newcastle University, Northumbria University, Arts Council England, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, Generator, Nexus, Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums and The Great North Museum: Hancock.
The festival site is expanding with events also taking place at the Great North Museum, creating even more opportunities for all ages to get involved.
Audiences can come along and get stuck in to creating, exploring and engaging with art, music, dance as performances and installations come to life across the four-day festival.
Find out more about the NOVUM Festival.