Illuminated Tales

For three nights in February, The Story will be open late for visitors to explore the exhibitions and grounds of County Durham’s new home for the archives and collections. Light installations, projections and a fire garden will illuminate the building and grounds and the event will showcase a number of new commissions:

– Hannah Kelly’s ‘Travelling Tales’ installation will use pictures of stories (real and imagined) created by people from across the county.

– Chris McQuillan’s large-scale projections will playfully animate the etchings on the new wall as a reminder of just some of the rich tapestry of the county’s history.

– Bravura’s simple but beautiful fire garden will draw an analogy from the roots of a tree to the roots of our county as captured and remembered in the archives and collections.

– Community-led experimental designs will be projected on to the Georgian building.

There will be existing work too, including ‘Illuminated Sheep’, a flock of 30 life-sized model sheep created originally in response to the visit of the Lindisfarne Gospels to the region in 2022. The work of artist Deepa Mann-Kler, in collaboration with composer Cathal Murphy and Queen’s Hall Arts in Hexham, the work speaks to the Gospels as an ‘illuminated’ (highly decorated) manuscript and points to the numerous biblical references to the ‘Good Shepherd’ and the ‘lost sheep’

Visitors will also be able to explore exhibitions and research areas inside The Story, and enjoy a range of hot and cold food and drink.

Visitor Information

Please arrive at the time indicated on your confirmation email, late arrivals may not be admitted. Last entry is 20:00 and the event closes at 21:00.

There will be no parking on site. Free parking will be available at Howlands Park and Ride car park, with an optional free shuttle bus provided.

For blue badge parking, we have a limited number of bays available on site. Please indicate when booking if you require a blue badge space.

Entry will be via the rear entrance on ‘The Drive’ – please not this is not The Story’s driveway entrance, so please follow signs for South College and Jon Snow College.

Some of the paths on-site are narrow, so please note assistance dogs may need to be on a short leash. The route is wheelchair and pushchair accessible, but if possible please don’t bring double width buggies.

We will have 15 blue badge spaces available per evening – these will only be available after 19:00 on Friday 21 February.