Post Industrial
Richard Grassick
Photographic
A photographic project documenting the lives of four East Durham ex-miners and their families between 1998 and 2004, contrasted with post-industrial experiences in Bremerhaven, Germany.
Amberside Collection
The AmberSide Collection is a vast body of documentary photography and film dedicated to preserving the working-class experience. Featuring over 20,000 photographs and 100 films, it captures social and industrial life in the North East of England and beyond, with contributions from both local and internationally renowned photographers and filmmakers.
Founded in 1968 by Murray Martin, the Amber Film & Photography Collective set out to create a lasting record of working-class culture. The collection includes works documenting key aspects of everyday life, social struggles, and industrial change. It also features historic projects such as The Building of the Tyne Bridge and the photography of Jimmy Forsyth.
Side’s values are rooted in a concern for working-class, marginalised, or threatened lives and landscapes, both in the UK and abroad. Housed at Side and safeguarded by the AmberSide Trust, the collection remains a vital cultural resource, ensuring that the social history of the North East and wider working-class communities is preserved for future generations.
Punch & Judy (1972/73)
Amber Films
Film and Video
Unfinished Projects
An unfinished 1970s film capturing the last Punch & Judy performer on Blackpool Beach, reflecting Amber’s early interest in working-class culture and vanishing traditions.
Quayside (1979)
Amber Films
Film and Video
A short film by Amber Films that documents Newcastle's Quayside at a time when it faced the threat of redevelopment.
Ramar Goodbye
Richard Grassick
Photographic
A photographic record of the final weeks of work at Ramar clothing factory in Crook, County Durham, taken by Richard Grassick before its closure in 1991.
River Project
Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen
Photographic
Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen’s photographs of the River Tyne’s industrial landscape formed part of Amber’s first major group collaboration - a touring exhibition that led to the founding of Side.
Russell Lee Collection
Russell Lee
Photographic
Photographs from the Farm Security Administration (FSA) work in the 1930s and the American Mining Communities project in the 1940s.
Sadler Story (1985)
Amber Current Affairs Unit
Film and Video
A documentary portrait of Tyneside socialist Jack Sadler - a lifelong pacifist, imprisoned as a conscientious objector in World Wars I and II.
Scotswood Road
Jimmy Forsyth
Photographic
A working class, Newcastle community, increasingly facing demolitions and redevelopment, documented in the 1950s and early 60s by a photographer who was part of the community.
Visual Culture
Slide sets of original photography & copied imagery, an extraordinary library originally developed in the 1970s & 80s for higher education: a rich and surprising celebration of C19th & C20th iconography.
Licensing & Usage Requests
Photographic exhibitions, videos, clips, trailers and each month's featured film are free. For personal use Amber's feature dramas, feature documentaries and film shorts are available as pay per view. See details of our Educational Screening Licence or contact us.