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Home to some of Sunderland’s most cherished cultural venues and activities

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Glass Tableware Taster Session
Glass artifacts - a bowl with two tone blue patternation, a plate with green and yellow colours, and a selection of glass pictures - are placed on a grey surface.

Adult Workshops and Activities

Glass Tableware Taster Session

19 Jan – 29 Jun 2026

16+

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National Glass Centre

Monumental
Free
A hillside photograph taken through a a powerful lightbox to give the impression of moonscape-esque white mottled terrain and an ink black sky.

Exhibitions

Monumental

Showing in the Sunderland Creatives Gallery

19 Jan – 14 Feb 2026
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National Glass Centre

Going Back Brockens: Monuments and Rhetoric After the Miners' Strike
Free
A painting of a large monument silhouette in shadow. The monument is surrounded by bushes and foliage. The sky is a deep blue sky with a hazy sun.

Exhibitions

Going Back Brockens: Monuments and Rhetoric After the Miners' Strike

19 – 31 Jan 2026
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Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens

Sleepy Trail
An illustration of a woman with flowing hair sleep on a moon. The sky is deep blue with white twinkling stars.

Children and Young People's Activities

Sleepy Trail

19 – 31 Jan 2026

Ages 3+

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Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens

One Voice Community Choir

Adult Workshops and Activities

One Voice Community Choir

Tuesdays, 5:30pm-7pm
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Arts Centre Washington

Teenage Craft Club
Free

Children and Young People's Activities

Teenage Craft Club

Tuesdays (Fortnightly), 6pm-7:30pm

11-19

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Arts Centre Washington

Morning Watercolours
A hand holds a brush into blue watercolour paint in a white painting tray that has a variety of other colours in it.

Adult Workshops and Activities

Morning Watercolours

Wednesdays, 9:30am-12:30pm
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Arts Centre Washington

The B#'s Community Choir

Adult Workshops and Activities

The B#'s Community Choir

Wednesdays, 10am-11:30am
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Arts Centre Washington

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Two people are at a table. A bright light shines from under the table surface. One person uses a red pencil to draw on a small piece of paper. The other person leans their head on their hand and watches the drawing. A red tablet is held on a stand above the work. Small, colourful shapes are scattered on the table.

Highlights: Disability Arts Exhibition 2026

Submit your work to be a part of Highlights: Disability Arts Exhibition 2026. This exhibition celebrates creativity, imagination, and expression of deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent artists aged 16–25.

We want to highlight the diversity of talent and provide an opportunity for young disabled and neurodiverse artists to be seen and celebrated in a supportive environment. Every submitted work will have the opportunity to be shown digitally, providing a platform for all artists to showcase their abilities.

Deadline Friday 23 January, 4pm

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Our Venues

Arts Centre Washington

Arts Centre Washington

National Glass Centre
A modern art gallery with white walls and gray floors displays colorful glass sculptures. In the front, tall blue and clear glass tubes stand upright on a white platform. Behind them, two people walk past white shelves holding more glass art pieces in blue, red, and orange colors. The ceiling has track lighting and the space feels bright and open.

National Glass Centre

Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art

Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art

Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens
A large green palm tree and other tall green trees in a glass and metal building.

Sunderland Museum 
& Winter Gardens

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Culture Start

Find out about our exciting programme bringing free creative and cultural activities to children and young people across the city.

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Learn & Create

Children & Families
A person pulls a funny face while holding onto a wooden machine that looks like a large telescope. Two children stand in front of them laughing.

Children and families

Enjoy creative fun with all the family!

Children & Families
Young People
A young person sits at a table in front of a laptop while another young person stands behind them playing an acoustic guitar. Both look at the computer with concentration.

Young people

Explore opportunities to ignite and nurture your creative future.

Young People
Adults
Two people take a selfie pulling faces in front of a painting. The painting is the ‘Screaming Pope’ by Francis Bacon.

Adults

Come together to try new things and connect with others.

Adults
Schools & Education
A group of school children and two adults walk around a small field of grass that is decorated with colourful, pattern origami sculptures on wire that are stuck into the grass.

Schools & Education

Explore how we can work with your school.

Schools & Education
SEND
An adult and child lie on sports mats on the floor of a gym. They are positioned across from each other with their arms outstretched towards one another.

SEND

Inclusive learning opportunities for young people.

SEND

News

Help shape the plans for Glassworks: Sunderland

Help shape the plans for Glassworks: Sunderland

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Get closer to Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens' collections thanks to the Museum Renewal Fund
A person wearing gloves and a white shirt carefully handles a preserved bird specimen from a green storage crate lined with tissue paper. The scene appears to take place in a museum or archive setting, suggesting the handling of natural history collections.

Get closer to Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens' collections thanks to the Museum Renewal Fund

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Celebrating the impact of UKSPF in Sunderland

Celebrating the impact of UKSPF in Sunderland

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Young people lean over a canvas painted with a yellow and blue gradient, writing on it with pens.

Make a donation

We want more people to enjoy and experience creativity and culture. Your donation can make a real difference to our work.

Select an amount to donate (one-off)