[2] It opened in 1977 as Side Gallery and Cinema[3] with a remit to show humanist photography "both by and commissioned by the group along with work it found inspirational".

[3] Side Gallery closed on 9 April 2023 after the loss of its Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation status and funding in November 2022, combined with rising energy bills.

[9] The inaugural exhibition was titled Documents in the North East and showed the work of four documentary photographers: Robert Hamilton Carling, James Henry Cleet, Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen and Graham Smith.

[11][12][13] Side Gallery closed on 9 April 2023 after a reduction in Arts Council England funding, combined with rising energy bills.

[14][15] The gallery's collection includes "an extensive documentary record of the region"[1] as well as work by Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen,[19] Russell Lee, Lewis Hine,[1] and Susan Meiselas.