Wallsend, July 2023 – Helix Arts commissioned me to create two future-focused storytelling walks for a very lively group of 55 – 80 year-olds keen to find out what living in Wallsend will be like in 25 years’ time.
These walks are part of Helix’s Here to There Creative Walks programme sponsored by Sport England and Arts Council England.
Walk 1: Swans Energy Park
Are there more people employed now on the Tyne than ever before?
We met at Segedunum and walked down to the old Swan Hunter Shipyard site, now owned by North Tyneside Council and Shepherd Offshore.
Looking down from the balcony and conference rooms of the Swans Enterprise Centre we learned how the biggest wind farm in the world, sited on Dogger Bank, is being built in the Wallsend yards. We heard how new technology businesses specialising in remote controlled subsea exploration equipment, sustainable energy and shipping design have set up on the site. We shared stories and personal experiences of working in the yards in the past, and what it will be like in the future.
Walk 2: Baltic Mill and Newcastle Quayside
Upcoming, on 26th July 2023. We’ll be walking along the Quayside Art Trail, starting and finishing at the Baltic, where we’ll view the Chris Killip exhibition of Wallsend photography and build on our stories over a cup of tea or coffee. Find out morw or sign up here: https://www.helixarts.com/work/here-to-there/
Ann Winter Story 