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SUNDERLAND TO SHINE BRIGHT

18/01/2010

Press release by Sunderland City Council

Sunderland will be shining brighter than ever as it launches SHINE 2010, the Urban Garden arts festival, which will transform the city centre this month. 

This ten day (22 - 31 January) family festival will add artwork and animation to everyday buildings and spaces across Sunderland.

The free festival, which launches on Friday 22nd January at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, will see illuminated walkabout street theatre and the switch on of the light installations from 4.30pm.

Throughout the festival dramatic evening lighting installations will be located around Sunderland city centre and giant art will be projected onto buildings and pavements. Coffee shops nearby the event will stay open late during the festival to allow visitors to grab a hot drink whilst taking in the light installations across the city centre.

From the moment people arrive at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens from Borough Road, they will immediately see, artist, Andrew Richardson’s Wallflowers projection. Richardson’s work takes inspiration from William Morris’ floral wallpaper designs and will transform the outside of the museum with moving images of plants and flowers.

On entering the Winter Gardens visitors will be taken on magical journey of light and sound that will reveal the secret world of the Winter Gardens at night.

Colour, spirals and LEDs will fill the dome roof and glisten in the evening sky. The structure of the glass dome itself will be illuminated from the exterior and will be visible from miles around, acting as a beacon and drawing people to the light.

In addition, artist, Suzie Brown of Urban Bird, has produced coloured pillars of light which will lead visitors from Sunderland Museum entrance into the Winter Gardens. There is even a chance for visitors to take home part of the urban garden inspired lampshade and bag collection which will be available from the Tourist Information Centre, Fawcett Street.

Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art will play host to north east artist, Giuseppe Davies’ ‘Vie’ an interactive wall of light and sound that constantly adapts as new visitors enter the room. Vie uses which allows us to control the flow and movement of the light, letting us explore the space in a playful and intuitive way.

The City Library and Arts Centre windows showcase pieces by fine art and design students from the University of Sunderland. 25-year-old, Neil Armstrong, will be amongst those exhibiting his work, which explores how areas are affected when people leave and nature is left to takeover.

The festival also offers visitors the chance to become part of The Hive at Sunniside Gardens, as the pavement becomes a canvas and people’s movements are tracked and translated into the sound and imagery of the piece.

Daniel Brown, one of the world’s leading digital designers will project his Tropic of Sunderland animation onto Wilkinson’s façade on Fawcett Street.

Digital artists SDNA will bring giant insect projections to the streets of Sunderland with their Cinetaxis Collection. The inspiration for the title of this artwork is derived from research into phototaxis, which is insects automatic reaction to light sources, as well a desire to explore the same in human ‘attraction to light', both real and metaphorical.

The Place on Athenaeum Street will illuminate Kathryn Hodgkinson’s In This Day and That Age glass commission, which commemorates the history and character of Sunniside.

Cllr Wilson at Sunderland City Council said: “It is fantastic that Sunderland is offering visitors the chance to see everyday buildings from across the city in a new light and be transformed by art. We don’t commission art for art’s sake – we want our art to enhance Sunderland’s reputation as a great place to live, work and visit – we believe this festival does just that.

“We want art to involve and form part of the community and have commissioned four undergraduate fine art students from the University of Sunderland to produce pieces centered around the urban garden theme, which will be displayed in the ground floor windows of the City Library & Arts Centre.”

There are tours of the artwork and family workshops throughout the festival. The festival begins with a launch event on Friday 22nd January at 6pm at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens and the artworks are illuminated between4.30pm - 8pm each evening.

The festival is completely free but tickets are required for the Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens exhibition.

For further information, individual exhibition and event times people can visit www.sunderlandevents.co.uk or contact Sunderland Tourist Information Centre on or at  
 

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