thanks for your support. On Wednesday, 25th March, Sunderland City Council will debate a motion which could help to pause demolition and save the National Glass Centre. If you still feel strongly about this, please could you write to your local councillors and MP to express your concerns. This will help the campaign enormously. If you live in Sunderland, consider attending the council meeting in person (4pm at City Hall, Sunderland) to show the strength of public feeling.
It has now officially been a year since the public meeting in June 2023 when we managed to pull together an A team of people to fight to save the National Glass Centre and all it embodies. I just want to take a moment to thank every single one of you for your ongoing hard work, hope and solidarity. I definitely would not have gotten this far without you all!
Tonight at the meeting we will look at the business plan, talk about Summer Streets, and update everyone about the letter writing campaign.
Next in-person meeting: Tuesday 2nd July 2024 6.30pm to 8pm
At our new venue:
Redby Community Centre, Fulwell Rd, Roker, Sunderland SR6 9QU
10am set up 7.30pm take down we will need some hands to help man the tent and raise awareness for the cause including getting lots of petitions signed!
Dive into the history of glass ships in bottles – the changing identity of a post-industrial northern city as told through the eyes of Japanese glass artist Ayako Tani, who is preserving the endangered art of sculpting the hand-crafted glass ships which once put Sunderland on the map.
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We need you – Save the National Glass Centre
We have put a call out for more people to get involved with the campaign. If you really want to save the National Glass Centre we are going to need more commitment, and people to help. Please share with those who you think can help!
Dive into the history of glass ships in bottles – the changing identity of a post-industrial northern city as told through the eyes of Japanese glass artist Ayako Tani, who is preserving the endangered art of sculpting the hand-crafted glass ships which once put Sunderland on the map.
Following industrial decline in the 1970s and the closure of the Pyrex factory, many of Sunderland’s newly redundant scientific glassblowers turned their talents to giftware, and from the ashes of a former glassblowing empire this new booming practice emerged. But today, scientific glassblowing is considered an endangered craft, and with Sunderland’s own National Glass Centre now facing imminent closure, the art of glass is once again under strain.
After arriving from Tokyo in 2006 to Sunderland, a city famous for its all-but-lost legacies of shipbuilding and glassblowing, Ayako discovered a passion for documenting the history of glass ships in bottles. Vessels of Memory follows Ayako’s journey of discovery, learning from Sunderland’s now mostly retired glassworkers and engineers who once pioneered these ornamental giftware ships sold worldwide.
Ayako was inspired to research and recreate her own glass ships in bottles, and keep the memory of this once booming industry alive. Hear the deconstruction of a glass ship in bottle, as Ayako guides you through experiences that have shaped her journey exploring and learning this fragile, endangered heritage, alongside those who taught and inspired her.
Save the National Glass Centre 