Stepney Western brings the Wild West to Byker

A Newcastle-based artist is reimagining the city’s past and present through a Western-inspired lens in a new exhibition set to open at Newcastle Contemporary Art. 

Stepney Western, created by local filmmaker Harry Lawson, blends documentary filmmaking with archival photography to explore the unique culture of young inner-city horse riders from Stepney Bank Stables, in Ouseburn.

At the heart of the exhibition is an experimental documentary that incorporates footage shot by riders on their iPhones, as well as material from the North East Film Archive, Henry’s own footage and fragments from the 2004 CBBC series The Stables. 

The film, featuring an original soundtrack by local musicians Jayne Dent and Richard Dawson, presents an intergenerational portrait of the Byker community.

Alongside the film, Stepney Western showcases archival photography from acclaimed photographers including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Chris Killip and Tish Murtha. 

The images, drawn from the collections of AmberSide and the Ouseburn Trust, provide a fresh perspective on Newcastle’s social and industrial history.

Running from March 15 to April 27, the exhibition will host free workshops, inviting young people to create film posters and engage with the themes of the project. 

A limited-edition publication, inspired by the Byker Phoenix community magazine of the 1970s and 1980s, will accompany the exhibition, featuring new writing and original articles.

Supported by the BFI Doc Society Fund, Stepney Western will also extend beyond the gallery, with a large-scale public artwork at Byker Metro Station, and an abridged version of the exhibition will be presented at a local arts festival showcase later in the year.

To find out more, see the Newcastle Contemporary Art website here.

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