Tributes left by Newcastle United supporters for Kevin Keegan have gone on display at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, after thousands of fans left messages, shirts and scarves at St James' Park. The display ran on 31 October and 1 November, bringing a wave of football feeling into the gallery.

More than 52,000 supporters are reported to have taken part in the tributes, which filled the area outside the stadium. BALTIC selected a group of the offerings for display, including a 17.5-metre banner made by the supporters' group Wor Flags, whose large-scale displays have become a familiar sight at Newcastle home games.

Keegan, a former Newcastle player and manager, is one of the most loved figures in the club's history, associated with the side's most thrilling eras and with a style of football that won admirers far beyond Tyneside. The scale of the response shows how deeply he is woven into the identity of the city and its supporters.

The display is a rare meeting of football culture and contemporary art, and a reminder that a gallery on the Gateshead quayside can speak to the life of the region around it. For the weekend it was on show, BALTIC held objects that began as spontaneous gestures of affection and became, briefly, an exhibition in their own right. Wor Flags, the supporters' group behind the banner, has become known for the large displays it creates for home games, turning the stands at St James' Park into a canvas. The group's work is a reminder that football support is itself a creative act, made by thousands of people working together.