Blog by Emily Taylor, Sunderland arc

Nile Street in Sunniside was buzzing with people last night when artists and musicians opened their doors to the public as part of the North East Festival of Architecture.

Over 200 people came down to soak up the atmosphere, it was a fantastic night. Urban Design expert Rob Slinger presented a really interesting talk on the emergence of creative clusters in regeneration areas and Nile Street is a prime example of just that.

Afterwards everyone spilled out to hear music from local bands ‘Night of Sevens’ and ‘The Generals’ and they were treated to a DJ, BBQ and exhibition at Studio Q. Infinite Arts and Ged McCormack Architects invited people into their ‘Inside Out’ installation at 17 Nile Street and Creative Cohesion held a preview of their new studio, showcasing Sunderland glass, cityscape photography and poetry. Local artist Dawn Lehrer also launched her book ‘Site Verify’, which documents a community art project that took place in Sunniside last year, focusing on the theme of regeneration.

It has definitely encouraged us to hold more events like this in the future. Thanks for everyone for their support, especially the Nile Street residents (particularly the Valet Master) and all the team at Northern Architecture.