20,000 people sign petition to save Sunderland's National Glass Centre after closure announcement

The #SaveTheNGC petition was set up after the shock news earlier this year that owners of the building are planning to relocate the venue due to a multimillion-pound bill for structural issues, which is believed to include roof leaks, corrosion and broken glazing.

It’s just 25 years since the £17million National Glass Centre was opened by King Charles III, when he was Prince of Wales, on the banks of the Wear, honouring centuries of glass-making tradition on Wearside whilst also keeping the art form alive for future generations.

Over the years, it’s become a landmark building housing exhibitions, daily glass-making demonstrations from skilled artists, a shop, cafe, workshops and so much more, whilst also being an important teaching facility for the university’s glass and ceramics academic programmes.

As well as being a much-loved venue on Wearside, it’s one of the city’s major tourist attractions, with around 200,000 people visiting a year, and has been a city focal point that’s hosted international conferences, television broadcasts and welcomed world leaders, including Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Gordon Brown.

So, like many, city artist Jo Howell and fellow campaigners were devastated to hear that Sunderland will lose the beacon of heritage and creativity in its current form with owners University of Sunderland, who took on the building in 2010, announcing they are searching for a new home because of £45million worth of repair costs.

Jo, who is coordinating the #SaveTheNGC campaign on Change.Org, said: “One thing that’s shone out to me is the amount of demand and love for the venue and all the things that it offers.

"We’re hoping we’ll garner enough support to get a seat at the table to talk about the future of glassblowing in Sunderland and, hopefully, the building.”

As well as being an important home for glass-making, The National Glass Centre houses the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art (NGCA), the longest-running gallery of its kind outside of London, which had to move from Fawcett Street in 2018 due to the closure of the library. Over the years, it’s hosted important exhibitions including Sir Antony Gormley’s much-acclaimed Field for the British Isles.

Since the Glass Centre’s closure announcement, discussions have been held about relocating facilities, with some potentially moving to the new Culture House which is being built in Keel Square, although city leaders ruled out a complete relocation at a full council meeting, with questions posed on whether it would detract from the cultural and community offering already planned for the new facility.

In the meantime, The National Glass Centre remains open in its current form, a stone’s throw from St Peter’s Church, where French glaziers created Britain’s first stained glass in AD674.

University bosses hope the relocation will be concluded within three years with the Glass Centre operating as normal until then.

Photographic artist Jo, whose partner Phil Vickery is an award-winning glass artist who hires furnaces at the centre, said questions need to be answered about the future of this cornerstone of culture in the city.

"The National Glass Centre is so important on so many levels. As an artist in Sunderland myself, I’ve always aspired to work with the National Glass Centre and to show with the Glass Centre and the NGCA.

"They are our two national organisations, without them what are the artists aspiring to? Where are we going to show our work, where are we going to take people to have meetings to show off the city.”

When asked about any updates to the closure announcement, the University of Sunderland said discussions are still taking place about potential relocation sites.

A spokesman for the University of Sunderland said: “The university has always been clear that the search for a new home, or homes, is an opportunity for the National Glass Centre’s work to reach new audiences in a financially secure and sustainable manner, rather than just seeking to recreate the status quo. Such future-facing work had already begun with staff even before the building issues made clear that a move was necessary.

"We remain in active and positive discussions with key partners, including Sunderland City Council, about future site options.

"On the future of the current NGC building and site, no decisions have yet been made.”

:: You can sign the Change.Org petition at savethengc.art.blog/2023/04/13/we_need_your_help/

Reflecting on the history of glass-making in Sunderland

Sunderland is, of course, a natural home for the National Glass Centre.

The French craftsmen who visited in the 7th Century passed on the skill to locals, making Sunderland one of the earliest centres of glass-making in the country, and by the 19th century it was a booming industry.

Along with shipbuilding and coal mining, glass-making played a huge role in the city’s industrial heritage and was fuelled by the availability of cheap coal and high-quality imported sand, the two key raw materials needed for large-scale glass production.

Some of the biggest factories included Turnbull's Cornhill Flint Glassworks at Southwick, open from 1865 to 1953, which operated for decades, as well as Wear Flint Glass Works, known from 1921 as James A. Jobling and Co Ltd.

The latter made the iconic Pyrex brand which, thanks to its heat-resistant properties, became a staple item in kitchens across the world after being sold in its millions. Every single piece of Pyrex back then, many of which is now a collector’s item, was made right here in Sunderland.

Although the closure of Pyrex manufacturers Arc Glass in 2007 brought to a close Wearside’s long history of commercial glass production, the National Glass Centre is keeping the art of glass alive.

Built on the site of the former Thompsons shipyard on the banks of the River Wear, the £17million venue opened its doors in 1998 housing Britain’s biggest ever exhibition of modern glass, three galleries and famous glass roof – although the latter has been closed to the public for a number of years.

As well as a permanent exhibition which honours Sunderland’s glass-making history, the venue has regularly-changing exhibitions.