Hills Are Alive is the culmination of Norfolk Street Arts' (NSA) first heritage programme funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Collectively, NSA worked with Jay Sykes Media and Art Matters Now to produce a digital exhibition inspired by and involving the local community. Throughout 2021 and the beginning of 2022, NSA was involved in regenerating the former Hills Bookshop. We worked with a multigenerational group to collect stories and memories of the high street in its former glory, as well as their hopes for the future of the high street and the new Hills site.
Featured in the exhibition are a selection of personal notes collected from the participants and artistic interpretations of their thoughts on the former bookshop.
Throughout the project, Norfolk Street Arts worked with multiple people, many of whom attended excursions along the high street and the Local History Library at ETR to access, explore and engage with the rich local culture, history and heritage on offer, whilst learning about the history of the high street.
Through the project, Norfolk Street Arts addressed the potential of what could be situated on the local community’s doorstep. In doing so, NSA has supported a number of small independent high street traders and start-ups which are now based in Hills. By encouraging people to explore new retail spaces in the city, NSA has promoted social and cultural interventions on the high street. These thoughts from the community were then interpreted into audio pieces and a digital exhibition, creating a legacy for the former bookshop as the space takes on new life.
Thanks to our project partners: Jay Sykes Media, Art Matters Now, The Local History Library at ETR and Sunderland Culture.
This project has been funded by the National lottery Heritage Fund
Words by
Caroline Comer
Kelly Dent
Hester Dowling
Jo Howell
Glenda Young
Risaria Langley
Anne Loadman
Ryan Ka-Pow
Mirabel Lavelle
Melanie Shee
Jay Sykes
James Whitman
and Roisin Zerhouni
Read by
Maryam Almhameed
Hester Dowling
Jo Howell
Daniel Richardson
Jay Sykes
and James Whitman
Facilitated and produced by
Jay Sykes
Digital Exhibition by
Art Matters Now
Hills Are Alive is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and managed by Norfolk Street Arts CIC. Norfolk Street Arts is a not for profit aimed at developing artists and independent spaces in Sunderland using culture and heritage as a vehicle for change.