Stories from the Shore is an intergenerational drop-in workshop series that invites participants to explore storytelling through drawing, colour, words and imagination. Commissioned by The Cultural Spring for Summer Street Fest in July 2026, the event was a celebration of Sunderland. Building on previous commissions with Sunderland museums and Libraries that allow people of all ages to access art and poetry for free. The project is inspired by Sunderland’s coastline, beaches, summer memories and community life, participants are encouraged to create personal responses to stimulus using a range of accessible art materials. Using stones, shells, tote bags and paper-based materials participants create artworks that combine oil pastel, paint, symbols and short pieces of writing. The artwork produced formed part of a collective display celebrating the Northern shoreline and the city of Sunderland. Materials were provided free of charge and creations were taken home by participants to remember the event.

This commission celebrated both individual creativity and shared storytelling facilitating conversations between Sunderland residents of different ages and backgrounds.