Petition supporting the National Glass Centre

Following the announcement in January 2023 that the iconic National Glass Centre (NGC) in Sunderland cannot continue in its present venue because it needs expensive remedial structural work, campaigners have been working to get support to keep the NGC in its current riverside location.

The University of Sunderland has owned the NGC since 2010 and wants to find an alternative venue – or venues – for the NGC. The Northern Gallery of Contemporary Art (NGCA) and the University’s glass and ceramics academic programmes are also housed on the site.

Current courses are continuing as usual and the University stated in January that it hoped to transfer to a new location – or locations – within three years.

Campaigner Caroline Basing is an MA graduate of the University, who has a studio space at the NGC. She states, “The NGC offers so many different levels of experiences in glass for so many different people, from exhibitions to public engagement, such as bauble making, to making facilities for international artists. While some efforts are being made by Sunderland Council and Sunderland Culture to split and relocate some parts of the organisation, no guarantees have been made to retain any of the many and varied functions of the NGC. Its loss will collapse the whole creative ecosystem that surrounds it, causing economic, educational, cultural and societal damage, not just to the local area, but also the creative industries based on making in glass.”

A petition to raise awareness and keep the NGC and its facilities in the present building has now reached almost 32,000 signatures. Anyone interested in finding out more and signing the petition can follow this link.