Written by Paul Worrall
Middlesbrough gets dismissed more than it deserves. It’s a post-industrial town that has had a genuinly difficult few decades economically, and the gap between its reputation and what it actually offers culturally is wider than most people outside the North East realise. MIMA — the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art — is the most obvious example of that gap. It holds over 2,350 works of art and craft including Bridget Riley, L.S. Lowry, Bernard Leach and Lucie Rie, sits within the Plus Tate network alongside the Tate galleries themselves, and charges no admission at all. That is not a provincial collection. That is a genuinly world-class institution that happens to be in a town most people wouldn’t think to visit for art. I haven’t been myself, but researching this guide made me genuinly want to change that.
I’m Paul Worrall. I spent nearly a decade running digital marketing for ARTdiscount, one of the UK’s largest online art retailers, and I now run Discount Art Supplies — a price comparison platform used by over 36,000 UK artists every week. I’ll be honest upfront: Middlesbrough’s dedicated art supplies retail scene is thinner than its cultural ambition suggests — the town doesn’t currently have a verifiable specialist fine art materials shop I can confirm is still trading. What it does have is a world-class gallery, a good local arts-focused retail destination, a solid framing specialist, and the national chains for everyday restocking. Here’s the honest picture. If you’re planning visits to nearby cities, also check out our guide to the best art supply shops in Newcastle.
1. MIMA — Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art
MIMA is the genuinly standout reason any artist would visit Middlesbrough, and it earns more than a brief mention. The Middlesbrough Collection was built over more than a hundred years — established when Middlesbrough was one of the most economically significent industrial towns in the country — and what it accumulated over those decades is remarkable for a regional institution. Post-war British painting. Contemporary American drawing. Twentieth century British ceramics. Works by Bridget Riley, L.S. Lowry, Duncan Grant, Bernard Leach, Lucie Rie and Dorothy Hogg, all sitting in a free-to-enter gallery on Centre Square that is part of the same Plus Tate network as Tate Modern itself.
The MIMA shop stocks art-related items, artists’ editions and publications from local and national makers, with all revenue supporting MIMA’s community and artistic programmes. As the artistic heart of Teesside University’s School of Arts and Creative Industries, it runs workshops, commissions new work, and functions as a genuinly active creative institution rather than a static collection. Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am–4:30pm, Sunday 12pm–4pm, closed Mondays. Free entry.
2. Gallery TS1 — Hill Street Shopping Centre
In the heart of Middlesbrough’s Hill Street Shopping Centre, Gallery TS1 exhibits and sells quality art and crafts produced entirely by local artists — gifts, pottery, wall hangings, handmade pieces from Middlesbrough’s creative community. Not an art supplies shop in the traditonal sense, but the kind of place that shows you what local creative practice actually looks like in the town, and that supports the artists who live and work here with a genuine retail outlet for their work rather than the relentlessly online-only presence that dominates most artists’ selling today.
3. Artline Gallery — Custom Framing
Artline Gallery is a family-run business consistently praised for expert custom picture framing — a 4.2 Google rating from customers who describe genuinly excellent service, fair pricing and the kind of personal attention a local independent gives when it genuinly cares about the result. For Middlesbrough artists who want professional framing from someone who’ll take the time to get it right rather than a chain turnover operation, Artline is the trusted local choice.
4. Hobbycraft — Teesside Retail Park
The nearest Hobbycraft to Middlesbrough sits at Teesside Retail Park on Middlesbrough Road in Stockton-on-Tees — just outside the town boundary but close enough to serve as Middlesbrough’s practical everyday art and craft resource. The honest version of Hobbycraft, consistent with every city guide I write: not specialist, not deep in professional-grade range, but genuinly reliable for canvases, basic paint sets, sketchbooks, seasonal kits and everyday consumables at fair prices.
Check our Hobbycraft discount code guide before visiting.
5. The Works — Middlesbrough
The honest version of The Works, consistent with every guide I write: not specialist, not deep in range, but genuinly useful for what it is. Canvases, sketchpads, pencils, starter acrylic sets and colouring books at prices that make experimenting risk-free. Worth knowing that The Works stopped selling online nationally back in March, so the Middlesbrough store is now in-person purchase only.
Find The Works Middlesbrough →
A Note on Art Supplies in Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough’s dedicated specialist art materials provision is thinner than a town with MIMA at its centre deserves — a gap that reflects the broader economic pressures on independent retail in post-industrial towns across the North East rather than any lack of creative community. MIMA itself is the genuinly extraordinary thing here, a world-class collection in a free-to-enter building that most artists outside the region simply don’t know exists. Gallery TS1 and Artline Gallery show the local creative community is active and present. For professional-grade materials the honest recommendation is to use our live price comparison and have them delivered — Middlesbrough is well-served by next-day delivery from all major UK art retailers.
