A Year of Transformation

Dear Friends, 

It feels exciting to be writing to you at a moment of regeneration for Side. After a long stretch of rebuilding, and rethinking, I am finally able to share where we are heading and how much your support has made possible. Side has always been a home for documentary work rooted in working class lives, and this next chapter takes that spirit forward with new energy. 

When Side closed its building in 2023, the response was overwhelming. #SaveSide grew faster than any of us expected. People shared memories, sent messages and stepped in to keep the organisation alive. Your support covered basic costs we could not avoid, ensured the AmberSide Collection continued to be cared for responsibly, and brought us the time we needed to secure grants from Arts Council England, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, The National Archives, Community Foundation and to commence the next phase of our education programme funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Quite simply, Side would not still exist without you. 

That time allowed us to deliver Transforming Amber, our National Lottery Heritage Fund programme. It rebuilt the organisation from  the inside out. We catalogued the AmberSide collection into a new accessible digital content management system, launched a new website, opened up access for schools and communities, shared our work nationally, and supported people to make and show their own work. It was a year of consolidation, allowing Side to move forward with focus and purpose. This project has now come to an end and we move forward into 2026 stronger and more resilient. 

What comes next is grounded in our renewed commitment to our region. The North East has always been our centre of gravity. Its communities, photographers, cultural life and irreplaceable heritage continue to shape who we are. From our home here, we are expanding our cross-region remit that lets us support more people while staying rooted in the place that made us. At the same time we remain committed to linking the North East to the rest of the world through documentary projects and sharing working class solidarity across borders. 

After consultation and expert guidance from across the arts and heritage sector, from December 2025, Side will no longer be a solely gallery based model and will not be reopening our Quayside location. Instead we have become a vibrant and multi-faceted organisation: working with high-profile exhibition partners and local community and heritage centres, building digital access, continuing our established education programme, and supporting incredible creativity in lens-based documentary arts. 

The AmberSide Collection remains protected. Our mission stays the same. The way we reach people will only grow wider.  

We will be sharing more big announcements about new partnerships and our plans in the new year. For now I want to say thank you to you all. Thank you for keeping Side alive, for believing in what we do, and for standing with us as we shape what comes next. 

With Care, 
Laura Laffler

Managing Director
Amber Film & Photography