Frequently asked questions

Side has been through a lot recently! Funding cuts, our doors closing, the Amber Collective retiring - there is plenty to catch up on.

To keep things clear, we have pulled together a short FAQ that answers the questions we hear most often, including: who is managing Side now, what happened to the #SaveSide donations, how the AmberSide Collection is protected, and what comes next for exhibitions, education, and community work.

We hope it leaves you informed, reassured, and excited for what comes next. Thank you for your continued support.

1. Who’s running Side now that the Amber Collective has retired?

In 2024 the original Amber Collective officially retired and put their buildings up for sale.

Since 2010, Side has been run by the Amber Film and Photography Collective CIC as a social enterprise. In 2023 the CIC appointed a Non-Executive Board to function as independent accountability.

As part of our "Transforming Amber" project we appointed a Managing Director who reports to the Non-executive board, as well as the AmberSide Trust CIO. 

In 2025, a refreshed AmberSide Trust will take over the operational, financial and management responsibilities for Side.

2. Who owns the AmberSide Collection? Would it ever be sold?

The AmberSide Collection is owned by the AmberSide Collection Trust (Charity #: 1160761):

• Preserve and conserve the archive

• Ensure its public accessibility

• Protect Amber’s legacy as original partners approached retirement

On 12 June 2023, formal ownership of the Collection transferred from the original Amber Partners and Amber Film & Photography Collective to the Trust - securing its future as a permanent public asset.

The Collection will not be sold. It is protected by an asset lock, and all usage must:

1. Respect the rights of contributing artists

2. Honour agreements made with those documented

3. Recognise communities whose participation made the work possible

4. Acknowledge third-party rights where relevant

3. Why did Side close, and when are you reopening?

Since 1977, Side Gallery has been a vital space for powerful humanist documentary photography. Unfortunately, due to critical funding cuts and the cost of living crisis, Side had to close in April 2023.

Thanks to your support via the #SaveSide campaign, we secured vital redevelopment funding and are now actively planning a vibrant future with partnerships and projects for Side, alongside a range of other strategic initiatives.

4. What did you do with the #SaveSide donations?

Even when closed, Side Gallery faces daily operating expenses such as:

• Insurance

• Rent

• Energy standing charges

• Maintenance costs

Your donations went to venue overhead costs and fundraising: such as securing funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council, The National Archives, Community Foundation and Paul Hamlyn Foundation. 

The application and funding process is lengthy and demanding, and your support gave us the time and stability needed to develop a viable plan. Without your help, we would not just have lost our space, but all our staff, and the ongoing care of the AmberSide Collection.  

5. What’s the "Transforming Amber" project? How’s it going?

Over the past year, we’ve been working on a major project "Transforming Amber: Building a Resilient Future" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund - looking closely at how Side operates and what the future could look like. It focuses on:

• Business Transformation: Building a business plan better adapted to the realities of the UK arts, culture, heritage and charity funding landscape

• Accessibility: Our updated website, inclusion of images in national projects, and bringing our collection out of the archive and into galleries and communities

• Community Engagement: Enhancing our work with schools and local groups

• Preservation: Digitising and cataloguing the archive to new professional standards

• Income Diversification: Finding ways to create new sustainable revenue models

At its heart, this project has been about our future and ensuring stories of working-class communities remain alive and visible through Side.

6. What is current fundraising for?

It’s a challenging time for arts fundraising. The Arts Council has delayed its next multi-year funding round, and announced in the first week of August that they are temporarily closed for all grant programmes,  intensifying competition across the board. 

We are currently fundraising to:

• Keep Side projects accessible to the widest possible audience

• Support in-person, high-quality documentary exhibitions with new partners

• Safeguard the AmberSide Collection as a living archive

• Implement governance and business model improvements

• Continue our Primary Source Education programmes

This work is urgently needed to protect not only Side’s legacy but the community voices and stories at its heart.

Through Side’s revitalised identity, we aim to be an indispensable cultural and community resource for generations to come.

7. How can I support Side?

Every donation, no matter how small, will make a huge difference in helping us continue our mission to share stories that matter from the North East and beyond. All fundraising goes to the AmberSide Trust (registered charity number: 1160760) to help fund Side’s ongoing community work, finance the continued care of the UNESCO-registered AmberSide Collection, enable future exhibitions and partnerships, and guarantee continued public access to documentary photography.

There are several ways to support Side:

Launching soon:

8. I’m a photographer, how can I get involved with Side?

Keep an eye on our social media and sign up to our newsletter as this is where we announce our open calls, and events (such as portfolio reviews).

We're also excited to share MySide - a rolling open call where we invite everyone to share their life and community through documentary photography. Every three months we’ll set a new theme, and you can find details on what we're looking for here:

 9. Why is the AmberSide Collection still important today?

The Collection represents a crucial social and cultural record of life in working-class and marginalised communities across the UK. It remains:

• A living, growing educational and cultural resource

• A space where voices and experiences continue to be documented and shared

• A tool for challenging inequalities and celebrating community identity

10. What kind of projects will Side be showing in the future?

Side is the UK’s only arts organisation devoted to documentary film and photography centred on working-class life, and this will never change. As we navigate this strange time in the arts, Side will continue to focus on:

• Humanist documentary photography

• Projects rooted in the real, the political, and the personal

• Collaborations with local and international artists

• Exhibitions and initiatives that reflect, engage, and empower

Our programme will be shaped by the values that have always defined Side: solidarity, authenticity, and community.