Final exhibition at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens for two years remembers loved ones through birdsong
This month is your last chance to visit for two years.
A moving exhibition which invites people to remember a loved one through birdsong takes flight in Sunderland this weekend.
Internationally-acclaimed artist Scott Hessels brings his Memorial Birdsongs installation to Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens from Friday, August 21 to Saturday, August 29, making it the final exhibition before the venue closes for two years for a major £13.6m redevelopment.
The immersive artwork invites visitors to remember someone they have lost by choosing a bird and its song from a collection of 200 field recordings and original paintings by Chinese artist Li Changan.
The chosen birdsong is then added to the installation, creating a growing communal soundscape dedicated to loved ones who are no longer here.
Visitors use their phones to explore the collection and select the bird that best represents the person they wish to remember.
The chosen song is played through one of 50 speakers distributed throughout the garden, transforming the Museum’s Winter Gardens into an evolving choir of birdsong from around the world.
Visitors can also receive a digital memento featuring the artwork, song and name of the person being remembered.
Scott, an American artist and designer whose work combines technology, sound, moving image and public participation, created Memorial Birdsongs as a shared space for remembrance, connection and healing.
The work has previously been presented internationally, including at in Hong Kong and France.
Speaking before arriving in Sunderland to help install Memorial Birdsongs, Scott said: “The original inspiration for the artwork was the Aids Memorial Quilt which is in San Francisco Cathedral.
“The gay games were coming to Hong Kong, where I was working and I was asked to produce a show around the Quilt coming to Asia for the first time. Citizens were asked to leave a name and a message to a loved one they’d lost.
“However, it became apparent there was an issue with some of the rhetoric and language in the messages being left.
“So, I started to think about how to hate-proof some sort of memorial – as we know even cemeteries have been attacked by hate. I wanted to create a healing community, an inclusive experience that was completely hate proof, and Memorial Birdsong was my answer.”
Although based in the U.S., Hong Kong and Portugal, Scott is no stranger to the north east, having completed a residency in Newcastle in 2014.
“I have friends in the area and I’m looking forward to catching-up with them – while Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens is a perfect setting for Memorial Birdsongs. It’s a beautiful, enclosed space which fits the project wonderfully.
“Although it’s a reflective installation about loss and grief, I’ve found kids love it too, and there’s an element of joy to the process. It’s about sharing grief in a shared space and knowing you’re not alone.
“The installation has also been used as a messaging service! When it was installed in France, a mother was using it to have conversations with her daughter in Ukraine, so it’s also a messaging system of love.”
New chapter for old favourite
This month is your final chance to visit Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens for around two years.
As has been previously announced, the city centre attraction is entering a new chapter with a £13.6m transformation to boost its offering and take it into the future.
The building will close on Saturday, August 29, 2026 and will not reopen until late 2028 once the major works are complete.
During that time, however, there will be outreach programmes around the city.
The four-year redevelopment will transform the museum with :
*New ground floor galleries that showcase Sunderland's stories, people and rich heritage.
*A new entrance connecting the museum to Mowbray Park and a new community learning facility, The Growing Space, alongside improvements to the museum collections, interpretation, and visitor experience.
*Essential repairs and upgrades to the historic building, helping to secure its future for generations to come.