Welcome
For a free day out with a difference, visit National Glass Centre and Northen Gallery for Contemporary Art.
Discover the history of pioneering glass making in Sunderland and enjoy world class exhibitions and experiences at National Glass Centre. You and your family will love our sensational glass blowing demonstrations and our hands-on creative activities.
Head to the ground floor and you can visit Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art. The gallery
Group Visits
has been bringing art from around the world to Sunderland and revealing the depth of talent in the North East for 50 years.
Complete your visit to the centre with a bite to eat or a coffee in The Glass Yard Café, or browse handmade jewellery, studio glass, and a range of unique gifts and homeware in our shop.
Groups are always welcome at National Glass Centre. On arrival you will be greeted by our Visitor Services team who will give you an overview of National Glass Centre, Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, and our current exhibitions. You’ll then visit our galleries, our Hot Glass Studio to experience a live glass blowing demonstration, our shop and café. Private glass blowing demonstrations are available on request. Advance notice of your group visit is always appreciated.
Cover image: Come As You Really Are, Hetain Patel. Courtesy of the artist and Artangel.
Free Glass Making Demonstrations
Watch our expert glass making team craft stunning pieces before your eyes in our amazing glass blowing demonstrations. For further information, please visit nationalglasscentre.com.
Glass Blowing:
Daily 12:00, 13:45 and 15:00 (30 mins)
Drop In Learning Space
Pop into our colourful learning space and play, draw or create using a range of materials and activities. Alternatively, just hang out and enjoy the view.
Adventure Backpacks
Explore National Glass Centre with our Adventure Backpacks which are full of fun investigatory activities including a set of activity cards. We also have individually tailored SEND Adventure Backpacks for visitors with additional needs. The Backpacks are free to use, suitable for ages 4+ and available at Reception.
Kids Activity Trails and Colouring in Sheets
Pick up one of our free kids’ activity trails which will guide you around the building or enjoy our range of colouring in sheets. Our activities change regularly to different themes and are a great way to entertain the kids.
EXHIBITIONS
National Glass Centre Gallery
Menagerie
Runs until 31 May
A menagerie is a collection of wild animals kept in captivity for exhibition. Inspired by that concept, we’ve transformed our gallery spaces into our very own menagerie.
The definition of wild is flexible for this selection of animals and creatures created by artists working in glass and ceramics. For example, Zoe Whiteside’s ceramic elephant and bears characterises the beauty of these marvellous creatures, while Emma Woffenden and John
Moran introduce very different concepts into their depictions of animals in glass. Some of the earliest examples of art feature representations of animals and this exhibition brings us up to date.
Collection Gallery
Bernard Lloyd Collection
Runs until 7 September
An updated presentation of selected works from the Bernard Lloyd Collection celebrating international styles and glass making techniques.
Sunderland Creatives Gallery
Nature’s Tangled Web
An exhibition of work by Mike Collier, accompanied by Tom Jordan and Jane Young 10 May – 13 September
Nature’s Tangled Web features work by Mike Collier dating back to the 2010s that is previously unseen in the North East.
Image: Zoe Whiteside, Elephant In The Room, 2023.
Image: Colin Reid, Untitled, 1985. Photo: David Williams
Image: Mike Collier, The Birkdale Nightingale, 2015
Research Gallery
Anne Vibeke Mou: Revolutions per Minute Runs
until 14 June
Anne Vibeke Mou works with the ingredients of glass and considers how glass relates to people and place. This exhibition presents a new body of work developed in response to research visits to archaeological sites in Israel and Palestine, and through time spent with the Inuvialuit community in the Northwest Territories of Canada.
National Glass Centre Gallery Artist Designer Maker: Glass and Ceramics BA (Hons)
7 – 14 June
For one week, graduating B.A. (Hons) students from Sunderland University take over the National Glass Centre to present their final show. The work displayed is the culmination of three years of study based at National Glass Centre.
We wish the class of 2025 all the very best for the future.
For additional information on all National Glass Centre exhibitions click here
Image: Anne Vibeke Mou, Revolutions Per Minute, Courtesy of the Artist. Photography: John McKenzie
Image: Suzanne Smith, The Alchemy of Fungi, 2024. Courtesy of the Artist. Photography: David Williams
EXHIBITIONS
National Glass Centre Gallery, Balcony Gallery, Research Gallery
Three Artists: Zac Weinberg, Joanna Manousis and Anthony Amoako-Attah
28 June 2025 - 11 January 2026
Zac Weinberg, Joanna Manousis and Anthony Amoako-Attah are artists who are based at National Glass Centre where they create their internationally acknowledged work. This exhibition offers a chance to see three individual
shows in one building, including Zac’s ingenious constructions, Joanna’s work bringing together mirrored and cast glass, and Anthony’s practice inspired by traditional Ghanaian textile design.
Images, left to right: Anthony Amoako-Attah, Independence Day, 2024. Photography: Anthony Amoako-Attah. Courtesy of the Artist
Zac Weinberg, Untitled, 2025, Photography: Zac Weinberg. Courtesy of the Artist
Joanna Manousis, Mirror Palette: Phase 2, 2022-2024. Courtesy of the Artist
For additional information on all National Glass Centre exhibitions click here
National Glass Centre Ground Floor
Echoes of Light: Exhibition of Engraved Glass by Northern Members of The Guild of Glass Engravers
22 July – 6 September
The exhibition features a diverse selection of glass, including vases, bowls, case-coloured glass, and goblets, along with decorative and figurative engraving. The displayed works, many of which will be available to purchase, highlight a variety of engraving methods, including surface, intaglio, wheel and stipple engraving.
The exhibition will also be an opportunity for those new to glass engraving to learn about and appreciate the artistic abilities of the engravers and stimulate interest in this wonderful medium amongst a wider audience.
Collection Space
The Caravan Gallery
Sunderland Pride of Place Project: Ten Years On 22 March – 10 May
In March 2015, The Caravan Gallery brought their weird and wonderful photographs celebrating everyday life in Britain to Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art.
Over a hundred colour photographs full of humour, joy and social commentary were exhibited in the exhibition Extra(ordinary) Photographs of Britain. Ten years on we are revisiting this unique project with a new exhibition of the material generated in Sunderland in 2015.
For additional information on all Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art exhibitions click here
Image: The Caravan Gallery, The Cavern, 2015. Courtesy of the artists.
EXHIBITIONS
Collection Space
NHS Darkroom with Johannah Churchill: Come As You Really Are
17 May – 5 July
Newcastle Hospitals Charity and Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art have teamed up with renowned photographer Johannah Churchill for 2025’s edition of Newcastle Hospitals Charity’s NHS Darkroom.
NHS Darkroom is an ongoing project with Sunderlandbased photographer, lecturer and former nurse Johannah Churchill, supported by University of Sunderland, where staff from Newcastle Hospitals are invited to develop their skills and experience in photography.
Johannah Churchill,
and Abbas
Main Gallery Ro Robertson: The Ribs Begin to Rise
26 July – 6 December
The Ribs Begin to Rise is the first institutional solo show by contemporary artist Ro Robertson presenting a new series of sculptural works alongside large-scale drawings and a video installation.
Staged on the banks of the River Wear, The Ribs Begin to Rise takes inspiration from its location drawing on the mouth of the River Wear, Sunderland Docks, Hendon Paper Works, the ropeworks and the 700 female shipbuilders who lived and worked in Sunderland. The exhibition draws on Robertson’s family working-class history and the materials key to these industries which came to define their upbringing and the region.
Image: Ro Robertson, Psi, 2024 (detail), gouache, graphite and ink on paper, 113 x 127 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Maximillian William.
Images:
Yann, 2024, photograph
Khushnood, Theatre, 2024, photograph. Courtesy of the artists.
Main Gallery
Hetain Patel: Come As You Really Are
Runs until 5 July
From makers and modifiers to crafters and collectors, Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, alongside award-winning artist and Spider-Man enthusiast Hetain Patel and Artangel, London, present Come As You Really Are.
Beginning as a nationwide call-out inviting members of the public to share the creative activity they dedicate their spare time to, Come As You Really Are features hundreds of unique hand-crafted objects
and collections submitted from across the North East of England standing shoulder to shoulder with existing artworks and a new film commission by Patel.
Come As You Really Are showcases a variety of hobbies that demonstrates an individual’s freedom of expression and ingenuity, and in doing so broadens our perception of who gets to be called creative and where the impulse to create stems from.
Image: Hetain Patel, Come As You Really Are brand identity, 2024. Courtesy of the artist and Artangel, London
Half term
Glass Painting
Monday 26 May
10:00 and 12:00
Approx Session Length 45 mins
Age 4+ / £5 / Booking essential
Clay Tiles
Tuesday 27 May
10:00 and 14:00
Approx Session Length 1 hour
Age 4+ / £12 / Booking essential
Glass Fusing
Wednesday 28 May
10:00
Approx Session Length 1 hour
Age 6+ / £12 / Booking essential
T-shirt printing
Thursday 29 May 10:00
Approx Session Length 1 hour
30 mins
Age 5+ / £10 / Booking essential
Glass Painting
Friday 30 May
10:00 and 12:00
Approx Session Length 45 mins
Age 4+ / £5 / Booking essential
For information on all our family workshops, click here or visit nationalglasscentre.com
Summer Workshops
Ceramics - Coiled Pots
Mondays 28 July, 4, 11, 18, 25 August 10:00
Approx Session Length 1 hour
Age 6+ / £12
Booking essential
Glass Fusing
Tuesdays 29 July, 5, 12, 19, 26 August 10:00
Approx Session Length 1 hour
Age 6+ / £12
Booking essential
Printing, Pattern and Textiles
Thursdays 31 July, 7, 14, 21, 28 August 10:00
Approx Session Length 1 hour 30 mins
Age 6+ / £12
Booking essential
Glass Painting
Fridays 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 August 10:00 and 12:00
Approx Session Length 45 mins
Age 4+ / £5 / Booking essential
Collaborative collage
Inspired by Ro Robertson, help us create a huge collaborative collage over the summer in the Learning Gallery space. Join in and add your creation to our large scale seascape.
Friday 1 - Saturday 30 August 10:00 - 17:00
Free / Drop-in
What’s on for Adults
All courses are suitable for ages 16+ unless otherwise specified.
Five-Week
Kiln Formed Glass Course
Thursdays 1 May, 12 June, 17 July, 28 August
10:00 - 13:30 / £150
Five-Week Glass Tableware Club
Saturdays 3 May, 14 June, 19 July, 30 August
13:00 - 16:30 / £150
Glass Tableware Taster Session
Saturday 7 June, Monday 14 July, Saturday 23 August 13:00 - 17:00 / £50
Chainmaille Bracelet Making
Saturdays 10 May, 7 June, 28 June, 9 August, 6 September
12:00 - 14:00 / £30
Introducing Fused Glass
Saturdays 28 June, 12 July, 27 September 10:00 - 16:00 / £80
Stained Glass for Beginners
Saturdays 7 June, 12 July, 2 August
10:00 - 14:00 / £50
Flameworked Marbles
Fridays 9 May, 23 May, 20 June, 11 July, 25 July, 29 August, 5 September, 26 September 10:00 - 16:00 / £80
Flameworked Beads
Saturdays 24 May, 21 June, 26 July, 30 August, 27 September Time 10:00 - 16:00 £80
Flameworked Pendants
Saturdays 10 May, 6
September 10:00 - 16:00 / £80
Two-Day Flameworking Skills
Friday 13 & Saturday 14 June, Friday 1 & Saturday 2 August 10:00 - 16:00 / £160
Stained Glass and Copper Foil Botanicals
Saturdays 21 June, 19 July, 16 August 10:00 - 16:00 / £75
Glass Chain Link
Saturday 12 July
Time 10:00 - 16:00 / £80
Introduction to Ceramics: One-Day Introduction to Throwing Technique
Saturdays 31 May, 28 June, 2 August 10:00 - 16:00 / £60
One-Day Introduction to Ceramics: Handbuilding
Saturdays 7 June, 5 July, 30 August 10:00 - 16:00 / £60
More courses and workshops to be announced. Sign up to our mailing list to receive the latest information about events and activities.
Sign up here
Hot Glass Studio Sale
Saturday 23 August and Monday 25 August, 10:00-17:00
National Glass Centre Shop
Come on down to our Studio Glass Sale for the opportunity to purchase a unique piece of Studio Glass made right here in National Glass Centre’s Hot Glass Studio. You will be able to choose from a wide array of glass including one off pieces and slight seconds. All available at a bargain price.
Craft Fair
Saturday 22 November, 10:00-17:00
Come along to our Craft Fair and celebrate the beautiful handmade crafts that the North East has to offer.
The fair will be packed with stalls from local and regional crafters. It’s the perfect opportunity to buy a unique handmade gift or to treat yourself to something special.
The Glass Yard
Open for breakfast and lunch, The Glass Yard is the perfect place to get together with family, friends and loved ones.
Follow on social media to keep up to date with offers and daily specials:
theglassyardcafe @theglassyardcafe
National Glass Centre and Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art are part of the Sunderland Culture family, which delivers an exciting programme across some of the city’s key cultural venues including Arts Centre Washington and Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, as well as a programme of cultural engagement and events with communities across the city. Highlights across our other venues include...
Visit: Travel, Contact, and Connect
Parking: We have car parking on site. Car park charges apply: Free for under 20 minutes, 60p per hour or £3 all day. Blue Badge holders may park for free. For a more detailed map and directions, please visit sunderlandculture.org.uk/visit-ngc
Our building is fully accessible in all areas. For more info, please visit: sunderlandculture.org.uk/access
Liberty Way, Sunderland, SR6 0GL
e: info@nationalglasscentre.com
t: General enquiries: 0191 515 5555
t: Booking Line: 0191 568 9700
nationalglasscentre.com northerngalleryforcontemporary art.org.uk
Opening times:
Monday – Saturday, 10:00 – 17:00
Last admission – 16:45
FREE ENTRY
Getting here: Follow the brown road signs for National Glass Centre or type SR6 0GL into your sat nav.
Nearest Metro station: St Peters
Bus: The Connect 702 bus service now stops at Liberty Way
We are a cycle friendly venue. The Coast to Coast (C2C) route from Cumbria to Sunderland runs past National Glass Centre’s riverside entrance.
Sign up for our newsletter
For the latest news, information and more, sign up for our mailing list at sunderlandculture.org.uk/signup
nationalglasscentresunderland ngc_glasscentre
nationalglasscentre
nationalglasscentre northerngalleryfor contemporaryart ngcasunderland ngcasunderland1
This has been printed using soya-based inks on FSC-certified, fully recyclable paper, with support for the World Land Trust to ensure sustainable, eco-friendly practices.
