Factory Nights is a series of inspiring working sessions for any visual artists, photographers, writers, curators, poets, musicians, filmmakers and any other creatives!

Factory Nights is not a discussion event, seminar or workshop.

Factory Nights are an innovative approach to commissioning art work and inspiring collaboration, with unique opportunities for attendees to apply for bursaries to produce a piece of work responding to the space.

Call for Artists and Creatives:
Factory Night @ Roker Seafront, Spottee’s Cave and Roker Watch House
On Saturday 28^th January, 2.30-5pm
Funded by Sunderland Council, with thanks to Sunderland Volunteer Life Brigade

This Factory Night will begin at Spottee’s Cave, given the name from the legend of a foreign sailor who was shipwrecked on the coast and given the nickname because of the spotty shirt he wore. Old stories say he lured ships onto the rocks, others say his cave was a place of evil.  It is thought that spotty died deep within the bowels of his cave and still remains there. The cave show great potential for interventions, events and art work and from here we will walk out onto the seafront and Roker Park which has a rich history and was declared a Conservation Area in 1995 in recognition of its architectural and historic interest. The geology of Roker seafront dates back some 238 million years to when the famous 'cannonball' rocks first started forming.

A masterplan for Roker's lower promenade, known as Marine Walk, was adopted in 2010 to guide the regeneration of this unique area and links to asuccessful bid to the Commission of Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) Sea Change fund to regenerate the area. We will view the recently completed Marine Walk events space by CABE as part of this major master plan for the Seafront.

From there we will visit The Roker Watch House which opened in 1906 as the headquarters of the then Roker Volunteer Life Brigade. It was built with a look out from which the Brigadesmen kept watch over the harbour, beaches and piers to the north of the river; this is now used by SVLB Coastwatch. The Watch House, as well as being the headquarters of Roker Volunteer Life Brigade, contains a huge amount of information and artefacts from the Brigade’s 130 year history including model ships, knots and navigating equipment.
Those who wish to stay on can then join us at the Smugglers Pub for drinks and networking.


How to Apply
Please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , including the following information:

• 150 words on your current practice, medium or interests.
• A paragraph on why you would like to attend
• Attach 2-3 pieces/images of recent relevant works at low resolution / or weblinks

Rednile require this information and process in order to select a balanced mix of creative people on the night from a range of experiences and disciplines. The deadline is Tuesday 17^th January, 5pm . Places are limited to 25 and are open to anyone in the UK. Successful artists will be notified by end of Thursday 19^th January.

Call for Films / Video work: We are looking for relevant film/video work to show during this Factory Night which relates to the themes/locations mentioned above. Maybe you have some archive footage of the Sunderland Seafront, traditional seaside holiday, footage of an event which took place in Roker or maybe you have produced film work inspired by regeneration, seaside holidays, urban legends or sea folklore? Please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Factory Nights Unique Opportunities:  Creative response to the Sea Change Master Plan and Marine Walk Development

Supported by Sunderland City Council, attendees of this Factory Night have an exciting opportunity to apply for a bursary between £1k-£3k to produce a new piece of work showcased or delivered in the Marine Walk area such as a film, performance, sculpture, installation, publication etc. Details of application process will be given at the event.

Factory Nights are free and informal sessions that simply provide an opportunity for creative people to come together in an interesting venue and supportive environment to make work or initiate ideas. Attendees are encouraged to bring to the sessions something they have been working on as a starting point to networking/collaborating and to develop new ideas inspired by the space and other attendees. Factory Nights is an innovative approach to commissioning art work and inspiring collaboration. Each Factory Night session is completely different depending on the mix of attendees and the venue. They are experimental and spontaneous, often responding to tip offs from locals as to where interesting buildings or sites may lie. People who attend are encouraged to get out of it what they need whether that is new contacts, making work, ideas, skill sharing or feedback on current work.

Further Information
This Factory Night is possible through funding from Sunderland City Council and the support of Sunderland Volunteer Life Brigade.   Factory Nights 2011-2012 is funded by: Arts Council England, British Council, Staffordshire University, Multistory, Middlesbrough Council, Redcar and Cleveland Council and Stoke on Trent Council.

NEW! Visit our FACTORY OUTLET on Etsy to buy limited edition Factory Nights commissioned artwork
Click here for more information on Factory Nights 2011-12
Click here to view the Factory Nights 2009-10 publication
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