The project, Prima Facie: At First Sight, culminated in an exhibition at thePlace in Sunniside and is an archive of the area, concentrating mainly on the eastern area where further development is planned.

He said: “My aim was to create a historical document of Sunniside and its people, as the area is undergoing major changes and will be unrecognisable in the future. The images created for this project will almost certainly have much more significance in the years to come.

“I have photographed this area as I found it upon first glance as a way of articulating this exact time in this place. Although generations of stories wait to be told behind each face and facade I have chosen to present this work, at first sight, an archive of Sunniside in 2009.”

Paul recently picked up second place and an honourable mention at the 2009 International Photography Awards in the category of architecture. His love of photography was born through his love of travel. While spending a year in India he recorded scenes of splendor as well as poverty and disease. By showing people the world as he saw it he hoped that the images could encourage a shift in awareness in order to create change.

Through the following years his objective has remained the same but his focus has shifted to issues closer to home, aiming to document the changing social structure of the North East of England.

For more information visit www.om-shantiphotography.co.uk

Pupils at Hudson Road Primary School took inspiration from a disused shop fitters that overlooks the school and is to be knocked down as part of future regeneration plans for the Sunniside area.

They have been working with Dawn using images, recycled materials and paint to create their very own street collage in Sunniside.

She said: “The pupils have learnt about the regeneration process as it is part of their visual landscape. Their work reflects the changes of Sunniside through the use of materials and images gathered from the area to make collages.”

Dawn has worked on her own contribution to the project at Sunderland Artist Studio, where some of her previous work is on display. The culmination of the project will be an exhibition at thePlace – Sunniside’s new business and arts centre – later in the year.

Dawn has been working as an artist and a community educator for over ten years working with a wide range of people with differing education and motivational needs. She received a Master’s Degree with Distinction in creative writing from Northumbria University in 2007 which has given her the skills needed to help students and community members express their views in writing as well as visually.

Derek Hill uses industrial chemicals and oil paints to create large scale canvases that represent living, growing forms as if seen under laboratory conditions.

Derek has been co-founder and lead artist at the Art Studio in Sunderland for 22 years. The Studio is an independent organisation that offers a supportive environment with free studio space, materials and workshop-based arts learning to people who have mental health problems.

Over the years Derek has developed a method of practice that uses industrial paint and solvents along with the traditional elements associated with oil painting media.

His method of work was inspired by a lethal tropical bacteria he picked up travelling.

He said: “The infection I picked up was rare and one which almost claimed my life and has been a key source for my artistic inspiration and output ever since.”

Derek works on up to 8-10 paintings at any one time, pouring paint and solvents into and onto its surface. Each of these works contain a substance or substances, which will allow an image or shape to morph, mutate and evolve, over a period of up to 24 hours.

Students from Sunderland University worked with Lis Molzahn, Paul Brooks and Sally Schoon of Art-wave and Manchester artist Gemma Parker to celebrate the past and present of the Sunniside regeneration area.

They researched several characters who used to live in the area in the 1800s, including a 28-year-old dress maker, a widowed school mistress and a French shipbroker.

Supported by Sunniside Partnership the project merged fine art, photography, new video media, design and performance. Photographs and video footage of students and artists in full character formed part of an exhibition at thePlace in autumn 2009.

Paul Brooks, of Art-wave, said: “We have been working a lot in the Sunniside area and have been excited by how it’s changing. The characters we chose were real people who used to live here and it was interesting to bring them back into the modern day, still surrounded by the wonderful old architecture but with so many new spaces that have recently appeared.”

His photographic exhibition captured Sunderland’s music scene through the ages, from new bands performing at local gigs to the heyday of the Locarno Mecca, Sunderland’s once thriving music venue, which attracted music legends such as Led Zeplin, David Bowie and The Who, as well as top name DJs like John Peel.

Mark said: “My work presents a compilation of bands shown at many different gigs and in different lights. The layering of lots of transparent images of the same band but in different settings conveys movement and great energy which brings the images to life.

“The roots of the project really came from the Mecca. There was a huge music community in Sunderland in the 60s and 70s and now we have a new wave of local music talent emerging in the area.

“The exhibition celebrated all of this and also commemorated the legacy the Mecca has left behind.”

The films were projected onto the windows of shops and café bars in Sunniside in January 2008.

Supported by /sLab (Sunderland Digital Media Research Lab), the University of Sunderland Fine Art and Design and Sunniside Partnership, the aim of the project was to create links between art and businesses.

On Screen In Street involved businesses ranging from café bars to charities, a picture framer to offices. The event showcased work by art graduates, local artist groups and professional fine artists and designers.

The sculpture was designed by former Sunderland University lecturer Dr. Laura Johnston, who used mirror surfaces to reflect the people and environment of Sunniside. Made by Clifford Chapman Metalworks in Washington, it is based on the hull of a ship to acknowledge the presence of many ship builders and owners who lived within the terraces of Sunniside in the 19th century. The glass element also represents another important part of Sunderland’s industrial heritage.

They were designed by former Sunderland University student Kathryn Hodgkinson, who was commissioned by Sunderland City Council to transform the glass shutters into a work of art.

Each shutter contains a different reference to Sunniside and the surrounding area including architectural detail from some of its Georgian buildings. The louvres pivot individually to follow the sun as it moves through the sky and are used to shade glare into the inside of the building. Comprising over a thousand layers of imagery, the designs become more apparent as the louvres rotate throughout the day and are illuminated through the night.

Kathryn, 34, of Newcastle’s West End, said the regeneration of Sunniside was a key influence on the design as wasSunderland’s rich glass and ceramics heritage.

"The design responds to the idea and meaning of regeneration and the potential of the future. It acknowledges and commemorates the rich history and character of Sunniside," she said.
"Children’s building blocks have been used to create a playful new city clad with intricate drawings of architectural details taken from historic buildings in Sunniside. The drawings have been twisted, turned, overlaid and repeated, taking the old and creating something new.
"Hidden in the imaginary city are real moments that have been frozen in time; blossom blooming, an elderly man crossing the road, seagulls swooping."
References from the intricate and decorative architectural detail in the Sunniside area provide an insight to the splendour that the area once knew.

To complement the local architectural influences, organic imagery inspired from decorative details of local glass and ceramics also forms part of the design. Reference has been made to the willow patterns and oriental designs which often influenced glass and ceramic works in the north east. All of the design aspects have been woven into drawings and patterns.

The louvres are a contemporary reflection of Sunderland, commemorating markers of the past, exhibited on a building key to the regeneration of its future.

Kathryn Hodgkinson has practiced in glass and ceramics 3D design since 1998 and has worked previously on numerous projects using cast and etched glass, on projects ranging from museums to hospitals.