Pop up art day ready to fill the streets of village in a celebration of community

On Tuesday, Sunderland Road in Horden will be transformed in the middle of the night by a pop up arts event for one day only.

Residents will wake to find the street filled with a series of unique art installations.

Since September, artists Sally Southern and Nicola Lynch have been working across East Durham primarily with people aged 55-plus to capture the magic of everyday life.

The project, titled “If These Walls Could Talk” is part of the East Durham Creates initiative, which is funded by Arts Council England as part of their Creative People and

Places programme.

If These Walls Could Talk has already engaged local people in a broad range of settings including care homes and community centres and has involved groups ranging from Tai Chi to Rag Rugging.

The final work will be displayed in unusual and surprising settings along an art trail. It will feature a mixture of text, audio and imagery inspired by the stories collected from across the former mining community and include original pieces of furniture and crafts created by those involved.

The trail starts at Horden Labour Club and will be on display from 8am to 10pm with people welcome throughout.

The event includes arts activities taking place at the Ark, bingo at the Labour Club, free refreshments and entertainment as well as free accessible transport for those unable to walk the route themselves.

Volunteers will be on hand to provide information and maps for those wanting to walk the trail.

Malcolm Falow, chief executive officer of East Durham Trust, which manages the East Durham Creates project, said: “This is an amazing experience for our Community as a whole, as well as giving local people an unique opportunity to experience high quality art.

"This is a great way of putting Horden on the map for all the right reasons.”

For more information contact East Durham Creates on (0191) 569 3511.