See Culture House come to life as huge digital screens are switched on at Sunderland's new venue

Walk into the main atrium, a huge steel staircase spiralling up four floors, 36 large screens switching between scenes of rainforests, shards of stained glass and swooshing water and a greeting from in-house robot Orbiter and it’s hard not to be impressed with Culture House.

The multi-million pound addition has proved a real talking point in the city as it’s risen into the skyline in Keel Square over the past three years.

As well as being a visitor attraction for the city, with a whole floor dedicated to children’s and family activities, its core audience will be the people of Sunderland as it becomes the new home for City Library, housing more than 40,000 books, the local studies library, galleries, podcasting studios, an inventors lab and more.

With the opening date now announced for September 12 this year, it’s full steam ahead for putting the finishing touches to this ambitious project.

The aforementioned screens are now live, currently showing in house content, but will also be used for all manner of displays.

Final tweaks are also being made to the 360degree immersive gallery, with stock soon arriving for the carefully-curated gift shop.

Meanwhile, the Blacks Corner team are also busy kitting out the restaurant and coffee shop on the ground floor, complete with granite tabletops, rich textures and a cheese belt counter - the only one of its kind outside of London.

Culture House director Leanne Littlewood has been at the helm for three years, when Culture House was still just a CGI, and she says she’s looking forward to seeing Sunderland finally come through the doors.

As we stand in the atrium, known as the Living Room, which is one of the main artist’s impressions released to the public three years ago, Leanne said: “Sometimes with CGIs what you end up with is nowhere near the final product, but our Living Room area is exactly like those images - if not better.

“The staircase has become a real focal point, it’s functional art. We’re absolutely elated to have our opening date and we hope people love Culture House as much as we do.

“We’ve taken our time, because we want the final product to be perfect, in the quality of the aesthetic and the way the community can use this space. It’s a real asset for our local community, they are our first audience.

“And we want the community to feel a connection with the space from the day of opening.”

Storytelling is the theme that threads Culture House’s four floors and many elements together, from traditional storytelling in books and researching Sunderland’s story in the local studies library to contemporary storytelling in digital art and podcasting.

Talking of technology, Orbiter the robot is set to become a mascot for the venue.

Created by artist Brian Fox, the cheery robot (think Johnny 5 from Short Circuit) is around 7foot tall, made up of old technology like CDs and MAC keyboards and can take a picture of you in his screens (scan the QR code for a copy).

More details will be announced for the opening, but its first exhibition will be Our Home in Space, a collaboration with prestigious London venue The Barbican, followed by a whole month of activities

Bringing together artworks from around the world, Our Home in Space will explore how everything in the universe is connected and Earth’s place in it, taking people from the deep ocean to outer space.

As Culture House has come together, the team has led a series of behind-the-scenes tours over the past couple of months for a whole host of businesses and community groups.

“Overwhelmingly, the response has been that it’s brilliant, which is so lovely and heartening for all of the team that have worked on this project, to be able to bring it to Sunderland people,” said Leanne.

“We’ve also had quite a few people who said they weren’t sure whether they were going to like it or not, but as soon as they’ve walked through the door they’ve said ‘oh, flipping heck, this is going to be brilliant,’ which is exactly the reaction we want.

“So if there’s a few things you think isn’t for you, just come and see us because we’ll change your mind.”

Nominate your Local Heroes to be part of the Culture House story

Sunderland residents are being invited to nominate people who make a real difference to life in the city as part of the opening celebrations for Culture House. 

The venue is looking for up to 52 individuals from across Sunderland to take part in a unique, large-scale ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 12, 2026, ensuring local people are at the heart of this major civic milestone. 

Organisers expect to receive a huge number of nominations from across the city.

To help select the final 52 representatives, a panel of people from across Sunderland will review submissions and identify those whose stories best reflect the city’s spirit, pride and sense of community. 

Following the opening, the stories of 52 local heroes will continue to be celebrated, with one individual featured each week over the following year in Culture House Sunderland’s Local Studies space, creating a lasting record of the people who help make Sunderland special.

The team at Culture House Sunderland is looking for nominations for people who have made a positive contribution to their community or the wider city, whether through volunteering, creativity, community action, education, business, sport, culture, charity work or simply through acts of kindness and commitment that make Sunderland a better place.

Organisers are particularly keen to hear about individuals whose efforts may not always receive public recognition but who make a meaningful difference to those around them.

Residents can nominate someone by providing the name of the nominee and a short statement explaining why they should be chosen, via email to [email protected].