Sunderland Arts and Culture Trail set to launch this weekend to increase city centre footfall and trade

Artists Dale Hardy and Su Devine are joined by Sunderland BID CEO Sharon Appleby to discuss the launch of the Sunderland Arts and Culture Trail.

Transcript

00:00...

00:04Okay, Sunderland Arts and Culture Trail is an exciting project, which brings together

00:09a collaboration between local businesses and local artists to develop new audiences

00:14and drive them forward to each business.

00:16And so what's the art trail going to entail then?

00:19Well the art trail entails over forty venues, and over sixty artists are showing in those venues.

00:24Not only that, we've got events happening throughout the city as well.

00:28We've got Sunderland Ballet coming to dance here in Sunnyside Gardens,

00:31we've got spoken word events, we've got poetry, we've got singers,

00:35as well as, of course, the fabulous art that you'll be able to see around the Thrill.

00:39And Sharon, why were bits so key to get involved?

00:42Well, art and culture are such a massive part of regeneration in any city

00:46and we're at such a pivotal point in the transformation of Sunderland

00:50that we just feel it's really important to be able to,

00:53as Dale said, reach new audiences.

00:55And actually, for businesses, it just drives footfall,

00:58it drives vibrancy into an area

01:00and it helps people explore places they potentially haven't been before.

01:04Hoping it's an annual event?

01:06Absolutely.