On 11th May, over 400 people packed into historic Hexham Abbey for the region’s annual celebration of the best of North East creativity. The evening didn’t disappoint – showcasing an array of performances and presentations which left nobody in any doubt of our collective credentials to showcase world class culture, with Sunderland scooping an armful of awards.
A record 1400 nominations were received this year; a clear testimony to the momentum of great things happening day in day out in the North East. University of Sunderland glass and ceramics graduate Dan Gough produced all the distinctive trophies, with designs based on his forthcoming sculpture installation at Cheeseburn in Northumberland. Dan was selected as the winner of the 2016 Gillian Dickinson North East Young Sculptor of The Year award and has spent 9 months producing his work at National Glass Centre. In May 2017 he will be unveiling Scurry, an extraordinary installation of the 2,000 red and grey ceramic squirrels sited within the Victorian Walled Garden at Cheeseburn.
Sunderland-based artist Sophie Lisa Beresford scooped Visual Artist of the Year for Mackem Geordie Magick at Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art and Arts Centre Washington. A University of Sunderland graduate, and already a winner of a Newcomer of the Year Culture Award, Sophie’s own ‘magick’ is her ability to find beauty and wonder in seemingly every day things and mundane places. Her work is tribal, mystical, gritty and stunning in equal measure and her name quickly becoming known globally. Sophie was our very own City of Culture superhero and we’re proud to have her supporting the bid.
Sunderland Cultural Partnership took the prestigious Best Arts and Business Partnership Award for Sunderland 10×10, which paired ten artists with Sunderland-based businesses to produce ground breaking thinking, proving that creative, disruptive innovation can produce fresh ideas and exciting results for mutual benefit to both artist and business.
Asunder – another Sunderland Cultural Partnership project – was winner of Best Event Sunderland against stiff competition from Cultural Spring’s Inventors with Dominic Wilcox and Great Night Out. Asunder was co-commissioned with 1418 NOW; the official cultural commemoration programme for the First World War, telling the story of the north east at the time of the Battle of the Somme through Esther Johnson’s moving film, and soundtrack by Sunderland band Field Music and Newcastle’s Warm Digits, which was creatively produced by St Etienne’s Bob Stanley and performed live with Royal Northern Sinfonia at Sunderland Empire. If you missed it, keep an eye for local screenings at http://asunder1916.uk.
Finally, Performance of the Year went to Unfolding Theatre’s Putting the Band Back Together; following a rousing live performance during the event. A Cultural Spring R&D commission, it first appeared at Summer Streets Festival, Southwick in 2016 and went on to tour the UK, including a much acclaimed stint at Edinburgh Fringe. The show includes Sunderland musician and Summer Streets Director Ross Millard with Maria Crocker and Alex Elliott; each show featuring a House Band of former players, in a stirring, riotous and moving show inspired by the late North East actor Mark Lloyd who put his band back together after a diagnosis of terminal cancer.
Huge congratulations to all the winners and all those shortlisted. The support for Sunderland and our bid to become UK City of Culture for 2021 was clear and palpable across the whole evening and the whole event further testimony of how much we have to offer as a city and region.
Helen Connify, Sunderland Cultural Partnership Coordinator
