We are delighted to announce that Sunderland Culture has been awarded a £5m grant from the DCMS Cultural Development Fund, towards establishing Glassworks: Sunderland; a new £7.5m world-class facility for people to create in glass.
Glassworks: Sunderland will be a nationally-significant centre of excellence for glassmaking, connecting Sunderland’s 1,350 years of glassmaking heritage and the city’s creative future. This transformational project will ensure the future of glass as a visual artform and secure the heritage skills for contemporary practice.
Sunderland Culture will collaborate with partners including the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) along with Sunderland City Council and the University of Sunderland on the development of Glassworks: Sunderland.
Glassworks: Sunderland will be located in the Sunniside area of Sunderland city centre, where the city council is leading regeneration plans to boost the creative economy.
The new facility will build on the city’s position as a leading international centre of excellence for glassmaking, while unlocking economic growth for the city, contributing to the regeneration of Sunniside, and securing important heritage skills for the future.
The significant £5m grant towards the £7.5m project will come from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) Cultural Development Fund, which is administered by Arts Council England.