Being both a student and public friendly venue, the Star and Shadow offers gig nights such as their monthly event Doxology that seeks to highlight grassroots musicians, often including bands from both Newcastle and Northumbria University, film screenings for affordable prices, exhibitions, workshops, and more.
Starting up in the early 2000s with screenings and events at the Side Cinema, Waygood Gallery and Bookville from 2001 to 2005, what we now know as the Star and Shadow began as a meeting of likeminded people interested in creative, communal and queer spaces that are often not given in the North East.
In 2006 they briefly redeveloped a building in the Ouseburn area, however after 10 years, when their landlord sold the building, they had to leave. Moving on to 2015, after receiving a loan from the City Council, they bought a former derelict furniture warehouse, which we now know is on Warwick Street, and opened their doors officially in 2018 after three years of community led fundraising.
...access to culture and art that is often placed at unaffordable prices...
Offering a state of the art cinema room with an 80 person capacity and a 16mm and 35mm state of the art film projection that is both accessible and affordable, the Star and Shadow offers both students and the general public, access to culture and art that is often placed at unaffordable prices within this day and age.
The cinema itself presents frequent screenings of everything from independent short films that highlight often unseen art in the mainstream light, to reruns of both modern and classic films at a fairly cheap price that is paid on an optional and choice based price list. Inputting this ethos of equality and community, and what has been demonstrated as a ‘flat’ hierarchy business model, championing community over profit, the Star and Shadow, offers a space for everyone, no matter who they are.