INSPIRED BY LINDISFARNE GOSPELS 2022

The most spectacular illuminated manuscript to survive from Anglo-Saxon England, the Lindisfarne Gospels, will go on display at Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle in the autumn. To coincide with this exhibition, a series of arts and heritage events is taking place in towns and cities across the region throughout the year.

On loan from The British Library, the book recounts the four gospels that tell the story of Jesus and his teachings. Created in Lindisfarne on Holy Island – some time between the death of the Northumbrian monk St Cuthbert in 687, for whom it was written, and that of its original scribe Eadfrith in c722 – it represents the golden age of design and craftsmanship in Northumbria.

The programme of events draws inspiration from different aspects of the manuscript, and has opened with an exhibition at the Oriental Museum in Durham, which looks at Japanese woodblock prints and how they illustrated tales of samurai, travellers and heroes in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Another project opening in March is Glass Exchange, led by the National Glass Centre in Sunderland. It sees installations by four contemporary artists appear in Sunderland city centre, and at Sunderland Minster and Durham Cathedral. Meanwhile, from 16th–18th April, light will be projected onto the cathedral, alongside music and drama performances, lectures and more.

Between March and October, local artist Bethan Maddocks will display her magical, large- scale paper- cut works at various venues. Also in autumn, the Festival of Flame will see patterns and shapes of the Gospels’ ‘carpet’ pages created in fire using hundreds of tea lights, at Hexham Abbey and other Northumberland locations. Find out about more events at lindisfarnegospels2022.com

Tea lights illuminate Hexham Abbey. BELOW Artist Bethan Maddocks will be presenting a stunning series of new works; the celebration will see the return of the ‘Crown of Light’ projection onto Durham Cathedral.