Ahead of Under Development at Newcastle Contemporary Art, the photographer reflects on the relationships behind her pictures, returning to a changed neighbourhood and why the work must speak to our lives now

At 84 Plymouth Grove, a novelist’s home opens onto a much bigger story: of faith, friendship, women’s independence and a city learning to think about itself. On a tour with director Sally Jastrzebski-Lloyd, we discover why Elizabeth Gaskell’s House deserves a place on your Manchester itinerary—and why its questions remain so close to our own

As a new exhibition brings Tyneside and East London into conversation, curator Ellen Stone asks what redevelopment looks like from the lives it changes. Drawing on the AmberSide and Four Corners collections, Underdevelopment is a story of homes, resistance and belonging - and of an archive finding new ways to serve its communities

After a summer tragedy brought grief and harsh scrutiny to Teesside, Middlesbrough’s Fun Palace offered a different encounter with the town. Through shared skills, local stories and invitations to return, its Makers showed how cultural participation can create the conditions for trust and belonging

A free talk on women’s printmaking and an exchange bringing together 27 artists will open at Jackal this October. In North Northumberland, the history of who gets seen meets the practical business of making art accessible today

From teenage poetry readers in Hull to novels passed between friends, working-class reading takes many forms. A new edition of The Bee asks whether the debate about Britain’s reading crisis is overlooking the people already turning the pages

From grazing infrastructure to a family ice cream business in Lofthouse, more than 250 projects have received Farming in Protected Landscapes support in Nidderdale. Now, farmers and community organisations are being encouraged to bring forward their ideas — even before they have worked out all the details

A medieval visionary meets a contemporary Northern artist in Ecstasy of the Virtues. Coming to Leeds and Barrow, Nwando Ebizie’s new opera brings together music, movement and sensory experience, with accessibility woven into its creation

At Manchester Central Library, Queer Up North founders Gavin Barlow and Tanja Farman revisit the festival they built together. As its first decade becomes a digital archive, their conversation opens a bigger question: how does a city remember the people who changed its cultural life - and support those coming next?

At Hill Top, young tenant farmers Amy Dixon and Dan Fletcher are building a future among Herdwick sheep, uncertain agricultural policy and the legacy of Beatrix Potter. Their partnership with the National Trust reveals why sustaining the Lake District means supporting the people who live and work on its land.

At Leeds Arts University, David Steans has built a gallery inside a gallery from paper, scraps and institutional unease. MagNorth meets the artist and curator Dr Marianna Tsionki to ask what a university gallery can make possible - for artists, students and a city

Neil Tennant, Susanna Clarke and Christopher Eccleston will help draw audiences to Durham this October. But behind the names is a larger ambition: to rebuild human connection, open up the world of books and ensure northern talent no longer has to leave the region to find opportunity