Pecha Kucha returns to Newcastle on 15 May. Speakers will include names from design, art, fashion, music, and photography.

The format of the evening involves 10-12 speakers each talking about 20 slides for 20 seconds per slide. There is no brief and images can be as obscure or as sane as the speaker chooses. The objective is to inspire through unconventional methods.

Tickets are on sale now, priced £6/£8, from Electrik Sheep, 20 Pink Lane, Newcastle, 0191 261 4444. Or contact Beckie at Dott 07.

English Heritage has invited 15 of the most original and experimental film directors, artists, actresses and designers to bring Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens to life with a series of cutting edge art installations.

From 5 May - 30 September Belsay's vast empty rooms and landscaped grounds will be transformed with electrifying works of fashion, sculpture, music, design, poetry and video in this specially commission exhibition.

Picture House is curated by Judith King and includes three commissions curated by Juha Huuskonen for Dott 07.

Alzheimer 100 is working together with people with dementia, carers and service providers to design solutions to some of the challenges of living with dementia.

People were asked to contribute their experiences, thoughts and ideas via videos, photographs and journals so that they can be shared at a series of workshops.

This week the group met at Culture Lab to form design teams and start tackling some of the key challenges. Each team includes designers, project producers, people with dementia and carers so the project is inclusive from the start.

Welcome is a new design project exploring our thoughts, ideas and experiences on what makes us feel welcome, what makes a place welcoming and how we make others feel welcome.

The aim is to actively engage us all in creating and presenting a series of images (drawn, photographed or filmed), written statements and short films that express and explore the way we welcome people to the north east and the places that make us feel welcome and/or unwelcome and why.

Designers from across the country are heading to the North East of England to go back to school.

National and local designers have offered their expertise to help Year 8 students develop design briefs further for the next stage of the ECO Design Challenge.

Twenty schools from across the region have made it through to round two.
Students have until July to fine tune their briefs.

The best ideas and prototypes will be on show at the Dott 07 Festival in October.

On Thursday 3 May the Explorers Club will be taken for a special pre-public opening visit of the stunning Picture House exhibition with dinner and presentations by some of the artists at the site and all for just £10.

On Sunday 6 May Explorers have the opportunity to visit Mapping the Necklace at Old Durham Gardens. There we will meet Necklace Mappers already at work. Explorers will then have the chance to do a team mapping exercise of their own.

To clinch the last few remaining places for either event, ring or email Beckie 0191 245 4687.