Over the last few years, I’ve spent a lot of time in Hartlepool, where my wife and I have a modest property. And I’ve learned to anticipate the reaction when I tell people this. There’s usually a pause, a polite nod, and then (if they’re feeling brave) a carefully worded question about “what it’s like?” What they really mean is: why would you choose to buy there?
I won’t sugar-coat it: this small coastal town in north-east England, sandwiched between Middlesbrough and Sunderland, has a reputation and not always a flattering one. It’s a place that regularly appears in deprivation indices, where boarded-up windows are not uncommon, and which is not exactly famed for its cultural amenities.
But there’s so much more to Hartlepool than the headlines suggest. There’s a glorious park at its heart. A smart marina lined with yachts and café tables that wouldn’t look out of place in Brighton. And just beyond that, beaches so wide and wild they could double as film sets for some wistful coming-of-age drama.
Plus lately, there’s been a real shift; the kind you can actually feel. Last Saturday, stepping into Hartlepool Art Gallery, I realised just how much the place has changed—and how quickly. The creative energy here isn’t just simmering; it’s starting to boil.
Global event
This isn’t where you’d expect to find one of the UK’s biggest international art festivals. Yet here it was: the Northern Festival of Illustration, now in its sixth edition, filling the grand Victorian gallery with world-class work from illustrators spanning five continents. Not in London. Not in Manchester. Right here in Hartlepool.
This year’s theme is ‘Stories of Home’, and the exhibition features over 70 works exploring belonging, identity and displacement. And the lineup is genuinely impressive.
There’s Supermundane (aka Rob Lowe), whose bold geometric prints radiate colour and wit; Jonny Hannah, whose nostalgic, jazz-inflected work feels like a love letter to mid-century design; Bee Illustrates, whose deeply personal digital illustrations explore queer identity and mental health with raw honest; and Mikey Please, the BAFTA-winning co-director of Aardman’s Robin Robin.
Jonny Hannah
Mikey Please
Bee Illustrates
Supermundane aka Rob Lowe
The exhibition also features shortlisted entries from The Northern Illustration Prize, organised in partnership with the Association of Illustrators (AOI), which this year attracted over 1,700 submissions from across the globe, including students from CalArts and other major animation schools.
And this was just one element of the Festival, which was founded by The Northern School of Art in 2015. It’s since grown from a modest local event into a biennial celebration that now spans eight weeks and multiple venues across the town, including Hartlepool Art Gallery, The Northern Studios and Hartlepool Theatre.
There’s a Maker’s Market, where local artists and designers sell prints, zines and handcrafted goods. There are animation screenings sponsored by the beloved Bristol-based studio Aardman Animation.