New gallery tour aims to connect visitors to nature
A group of Newcastle University staff and students has developed a new self-guided tour of the collection displays at the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle.
8 July 2026
Including works by Paul Gauguin, Norman Cornish, Isa Thompson, and John Martin, ‘Looking with Nature’ invites visitors to the Laing to uncover ecological themes and issues in the selected work from the Gallery’s collection.
The group was brought together by a shared concern for nature, and led by Dr Olga Smith, a Newcastle University Academic Track (NUAcT) Fellow. Participants, including Dr Clare Hickman, Reader in Environmental and Medical History and history PGR student Charlotte White, come from several Schools within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) and each wrote a short text inspired by a particular work or object in the collection.
Find out more information about the tour and the works examined by Clare and Charlotte here: https://www.northeastmuseums.org.uk/laing/looking-with-nature-self-guided-ecological-tour-of-the-collection
Image: The Breton Shepherdess by Paul Gauguin (1886) courtesy of The Laing Art Gallery
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I have enjoyed being a part of this project because it pushed me to think about the connections between art and environmental history and allowed me to use my research skills to improve public engagement with the collections at the Laing.