Vince Rea, who has died aged 87, was the founder and director of the Bede gallery in Jarrow, Tyneside, through which he made an important contribution to contemporary art and to Jarrow. The gallery became nationally known through its significant British and international art exhibitions, publications, projects and commissions.
Converted from a former nuclear bunker in Springwell Park, the gallery opened in 1970, and proved excellent for showing artworks. Vince and I met when I was appointed Northern Arts’ visual arts officer in 1974.
Visiting the Bede was a rich experience. You never knew what to expect. Local schools were involved in projects; artists extended exhibitions with related exterior wall murals or sculptural roof installations – Two Dockyard Cranes, Neon Tower and even a representation of Van Gogh’s Bridge at Arles. An artists’ exchange was set up with Jarrow’s twinned town Wuppertal, in Germany.
Vince began collecting artefacts related to Jarrow’s social and industrial past, which were put on display. This history featured in exhibitions such as Palmers Shipyard, about the yard which closed in 1933, The 50th Anniversary of the Jarrow March, 1936 and The Gibbeting of William Jobling, 1832, on Jarrow Slake. Art of the Invisible, 1977, investigated the birth of abstract art.
The River Tyne exhibition was toured to social clubs and community centres. During 1978, Vince photographed street and social life, documenting people and place. Similarly, he commissioned Chris Killip to photograph Jarrow in 1996.
The Bede gallery closed in 1996, and its collection was donated to Tyne & Wear Museums Service. Vince then established the Viking gallery and studios in Jarrow. It was active and engaged, but struggled with no local authority financial support, and closed around 2003.
Born in Jarrow, to Doris (nee Riseborough), a factory worker, and Antonio Rea, a seaman from Italy, Vince attended St Bede’s Roman Catholic school in the town. He joined the merchant navy, before undertaking national service. In the early 60s, Vince worked in marketing while also exhibiting his own paintings. Remarkably, this led to him converting the former nuclear bunker into the Bede gallery.
Vince met Wilhelmina Nee, known as Willa, a local girl, in the mid-1950s, and they married in 1961. She became a dedicated co-worker. Willa died in 2022 and Vince’s older brother, Tony, died in 2009. He is survived by his younger sister, Rita.
