“TRY AND take some time out. I think sometimes when we’re working so much and we’re so focused on something, and putting so much energy into it, we can sometimes lose perspective and burn our brains out.” That is the message multi-platinum singer and Chancellor of the University of […]
Arts & Creative Industries
LGBTQ+ History Month: how Covid has impacted the drag community
TO celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month, we spoke to inspirational drag artist Lucy Phurr from Pallion, Sunderland, on how the pandemic has affected their livelihood, what the LGBTQ+ community means to them and how we can further support them in their career. LUCY Phurr, 24, has been a drag artist since […]
Vera author backs project to recruit reading coaches across the North East
AWARD-WINNING crime writer Ann Cleeves is helping fund a new scheme, which looks at the link between health and losing yourself in a good book. The project, which she will talk about in a free online lecture at the University of Sunderland next month, builds on evidence that proves […]
Futureheads frontman launches ‘future music stars’ programme at UoS
A PIONEERING music programme which will nurture, develop, and produce the music artists – and perhaps the chart-toppers – of the future is set to launch at the University of Sunderland. The BA (Hons) Modern Music Industries course will be led by some of the North East’s most prolific musicians. The […]
“I was on the phone to Margaret Atwood while having a Covid test!”
WHAT do Margaret Atwood, Dame Emma Thompson and Lily Cole all have in common? They are all set to take part in a global literary event organised by a University of Sunderland academic. Dr Alex Lockwood has helped organise the get-together as part of Lost Species Day, to bring global […]
Lockdown entrepreneur plans to revolutionise TV and film production
WHILE many of us began adjusting to life under lockdown earlier this year, Masters student Neville Glean used the time to put his business plan into action. After several years working as a digital imaging technician and video editor for a London-based media company, on brands such as Vodafone, BMW, IHG and McLaren, Neville decided he wanted to branch out on his own – but needed […]
UoS culture leader criticises MP’s ‘clumsy’ north-south cliche
A CONSERVATIVE MP who until very recently was a junior minister for the Northern Powerhouse project has caused outrage by clumsily suggesting that culture in the south is all about ballet and opera – but in the north it’s just about football. Jake Berry, MP for Darwen and Rossendale […]
If you do love to be beside the seaside… we want you to tell us!
BUDDING wordsmiths with a passion for our coastline are being invited to enter a competition that celebrates the sea. Sea Sunderland, organised by the University of Sunderland, will promote the Seaburn area by producing seven recorded ‘flash fictions’ to be showcased in December. Six of the ‘flashes’ will be […]
Authors unite in campaign for bookshops over lockdown
DUE to the recent lockdown that was announced last weekend by the Prime Minister, businesses have once again been forced to close. Countless businesses have been affected by the recent announcement but in the middle of them all is bookshops, and with Christmas on its way this lockdown could have […]
Government advice to retrain left photographer and film-maker feeling ‘unwanted’
The past week has seen a storm of controversy around apparent Government ‘contempt’ for the UK’s arts and creative industries (A&CI). First, Chancellor Rishi Sunak provoked anger with comments which, while mis-reported, created the perception that ministers saw careers in A&CI as somehow ‘disposable’. But then came a government advert […]