SUNDERLAND CULTURE COMMISSION FOR THE TALL SHIPS RACE 2018

​I was commissioned, in collaboration with artist Sian O'keefe and curator Vincent Todd, by Sunderland Culture to produce an Open Access Community event as part of the Tall Ships Arts Programming in July 2018. This project was supported by the Great Place Scheme and was sited in the historically significant Huchinson's Building. The building was in the early stages of its rescue and refurbishment at this time and the commission was the first to take place in the space. Following this commission the space at Mackie's Corner continued to be used as a cultural and contemporary arts space.

Mackie's Hatters

The shop at Mackie's Corner had originally been a milliners. It is reported that crowds would flock to the windows to see the hats being made inside. This was the inspiration for the hat making performance that I undertook in the window at intervals during the 4 day event. Each hat I created was a unique sculptural piece depicting elements of Sunderland's maritime history. Visitors were encouraged to come into the shop by team members in decorated bola hats as well as by our window displays which were based upon Victorian era costume. Each costume had been hand crafted utilising a mixture of found objects, fabrics and paper. I recycled Sunderland Echo newspapers, black and white images from Sunderland's Victorian past as well as found fabrics to create a cascade of rolled roses which adorned my sculptural costume.

Click It!

Visitors were invited to 'Click It!' in the Selfie Booth, whilst playing dress up with a range of fun and funky headgear

Stick It!

Everyone enjoyed participating in 'Stick It!' - a large scale mural which could be decorated with brightly coloured stickers

Pin It!

The 'Pin It' notice board was a popular choice fr sharing memories of Mackie's Corner as well as experiences of the Tall Ships Event
Making Mackies - Behind the Scenes 
Press relating to the project here
More about the EMC collective here
More about the Hutchinson's Building development here