Culture And Memory

A Treasury of Tyneside Tales

‘A Treasury of Tyneside Tales’ will explore Newcastle's hidden past by bringing together older age, and 11–18 year old residents, from 5 Newcastle Wards to share city folklore. Moving Parts Arts will work with 100 Newcastle residents over 7 months to discover remembered Tyneside folklore; assisted by history/storytelling experts & including visits to Great North Museum archives to unearth heritage. They will create 100 handmade ‘crankies’ (19th century storytelling device) to share these stories, to be filmed and exhibited at the Great North Museum Newcastle alongside their flagship Treasure exhibition. We will create the ‘World’s Biggest Crankie’, displaying a new project-inspired musical story, alongside our participant crankies, at Great North Museum during Newcastle Puppetry Festival 2026. The project will bring generations together to remember and learn Newcastle folklore, keeping traditions alive. It will bring ‘Crankies’, as a unique traditional storytelling tool, to 1,200 audiences and 10,000 museum visitors.