Skip to main content

Spotlight on...A Creative City

Hopes & Fears at Millfield Metro Station

During 2023, Young Asian Voices and Pallion Action Group worked with artist Chad McCail to develop ideas for a large-scale mural at Millfield Metro Station in Sunderland.

McCail and the groups worked together for seven weeks to explore the community’s experiences and aspirations for Sunderland, creating puppets and discussing the city’s past, present and future.

The final artwork was unveiled in Millfield in October 2023. The project was commissioned by Nexus through Sunderland Culture.

 

Two people hold up colourfully dressed puppets while someone records the scene on an mobile phone.

Creative Age

In 2023, Arts Centre Washington presented The Creative Age exhibition, a celebration of the centre’s Creative Age group, designed for people living with dementia, their carers, and those suffering from long term health conditions and social isolation.

Supported by local artists, the exhibition displayed the group’s artworks exploring a range of personal themes in arts forms from ceramics to animation.

 

A row of ceramic head sculptures sitting on a white plinth.

Proggy Pride

A free Proggy Pride Party was held at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens in September, organised by the Celebrate Different Collective – Sunderland Culture’s team of young arts leaders (18-25).

Members of the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies were invited to celebrate North East heritage by creating a large Pride flag using traditional proggy mat techniques.

Part of the New Wave series for the Heritage Open Days festival, the event was designed to be fun, inclusive, accessible and sensory-safe.

 

Two people sit and work at a proggy mat - poking different coloured ribbons through a hessian mat.

Work Experience

In 2023/24, Sunderland Culture launched several initiatives to support young people pursue arts careers. Our brand-new Creative Work Experience programme provided a unique insight into the creative and cultural workplace for young people aged 15-18. We also launched our first SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) work experience, working in collaboration with Percy Hedley College.

In partnership with the University of Sunderland’s Robson Creative Bursary Programme, we welcomed five Creative Internships and hosted two second-year medical students, providing an understanding of the impact and roles of arts and creativity on wellbeing and healthcare.

 

Two young people sit at a reception desk that has 'Welcome' written in white font along the front. The desk is inside a glass walled building.

Open Exhibition

The Washington Open 2023: Spotlight exhibition at Arts Centre Washington shone a light on the talented amateur and professional artists living and working in the region. The annual exhibition received 93 entries this year in response to the theme ‘Roots/Renewal’, across a range of mediums from textiles to sculpture.

The final exhibition featured the work of 40 local artists, with a public vote choosing the winning artist, Anita Jazmin, who will go on to have a solo exhibition of her work at the venue in 2025.

 

A colourful painting of a lighthouse against an abstract multicoloured sky on a slab of driftwood.

Bright Lights Arts Festival

The ever popular Bright Lights Youth Arts Festival returned to Arts Centre Washington with its biggest year to date, celebrating the creative young people who use the centre.

The free festival featured an exhibition curated by Celebrate Different Collective, Film Shorts Showcase organised by Washington Young Filmmakers, a performance by Sunderland College’s Performing Arts students, Curious Arts Youth Challenge Day and a showcase for Sunderland’s best emerging young musicians headlined by Tom A Smith.

 

A person performing on stage that is lit with blue lights. They're holding a microphone with their arms stretched wide and their head back.

Grace House

In September, we worked in partnership with Grace House – a Sunderland-based charity working across the North East to provide support to disabled children, young people and their families.

National Glass Centre worked alongside parents and carers to create a stunning set of glass panels to celebrate the 20th year of the charity. Designs and colours were chosen to represent neurotypical and neurodiverse people as well as transparent glass to represent invisible disabilities.

 

A group of people stand in a line against a wall, in front of one person is a child in a purple school jumper. Behind them are four glass panels decorated with colourful designs.

Creative You

Creative You at Arts Centre Washington provides opportunities for young people in Washington to get involved and to support their mental and emotional wellbeing.

During the summer, participants organised a takeover of Washington Old Hall for a Creative You Summer Festival, featuring live music from local young musicians and fre drop-in workshops like painting, sculpture, samba drumming and film screenings celebrating their creative achievements.

 

A group of young people stand beside a stone wall amongst trees with recording equipment - a boom microphone, a large video camera and headphones etc.

Sunderland Culture Annual Review 2023-24