Now is the time to illuminate the truth of Sunderland’s creativity, cultural identity and heritage. This City of Culture bid is not about us trying to stretch ourselves into becoming something or someone different to what we are, it is about us uncovering and illuminating the truth of who we are and always have been.
Sunderland has been responsible for one of the world’s most incredible cultural, creative, progressive and artistic movements.
“From the foundations laid by Benedict (Biscop) came a tradition of learning and artistic achievement that influenced the whole of northwestern Europe.” – Encyclopaedia Britannica
This foundation of learning and artistic achievement – in visual, literary and musical arts – was so magnificent in its beauty and powerful in its influence that it spread all over Europe in a time without any sort of communication devices. It was all kicked off in Sunderland by Medieval makem Benedict Biscop at St. Peter’s right next to the National Glass Centre by the River Wear’s edge.
It’s time we kick off a magnificent culture again. We cannot continue to rely on mass media to tell us who we are and tell the world who it thinks we are, right now is our time – spotlighted by the City of Culture Bid, to reclaim our creative identity and power as a city. The people of Sunderland are brimming with creativity who continue to produce art/refine their craft day after day in the most hyper creative and unstoppable way.
However, over the years this creativity has became stifled in many people, and so people have disconnected with their own inherent creativity. Everyone in this city and beyond is creative; believe me I have spent my own personal time hunting out people’s creativity across the city, and in every case when given an honest chance, it’s always there. People are often reluctant to recognise their own creativity or to see how they are already being creative in their everyday lives.
But once we look a little deeper we always find untapped talent, skills and beautiful art that people are producing – from people MCing, DJing and producing North East Style Makina (our local made music), to making incredible garden sculptures from discarded objects in their back yards, to knitting beautiful clothes for incoming babies – the list of creations is endless.
Many people are too ready to dismiss Sunderland and disregard anything progressive we embark upon – we have to do better and be open to what new and beautiful things may come. If we did the great things that we achieved in the industrial age, now armed with smartphones and modern tech there is no reason we can’t do it all again – bigger and brighter than before.
All we need is willingness from our people to engage themselves and to get to know their own creative brilliance (trust me it’s there). Agreed that at times we may be rough around the edges, but our rough is jam packed with diamonds and it’s time that we got to polishing our diamonds up.
– Sophie Lisa Beresford, Artist
