Crowds turned out in St. Thomas Street in Sunderland city centre to mark the completion of our public realm project in Sunniside.
It was a great evening, which coincided with the opening of a fantastic new studio in Nile Street – Creative Cohesion, which is now home to a network of glass makers and fine artists from the area.
As well as improvements to pavements in Sunniside, there is stunning new street lighting and outdoor seating. A short film inspired by Sunderland’s connection to Alice in Wonderland and featuring local dance groups and businesses was projected onto the the BT Exchange building in St. Thomas Street. It will run every hour of every evening during the winter months so make sure you go and take a look.
Produced by digital artists SDNA it stars dancers from Sunniside based Kathleen Davis Dance School and Theatre Restaurant as well as members of Sunderland Martial Arts. Glass objects from the Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens and images of welders from industrial Marine crane builders Liebherr also feature.
Joining SDNA at the launch were Sunderland street furniture designer Charlie Davidson, internationally renowned sound artist Bill Fontana and architectural urban design practice Kapok.
We are very proud of the improvements and that Sunniside has attracted prestigious, international artists to come and work in what is becoming a vibrant and creative area.
It is helping to make the area a really attractive place to spend time in. It is becoming much more part of the city centre.
