The Caravan Gallery: Sunderland Pride of Place Project - Ten Years On
Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art
Saturday 22nd March - Saturday 11 May 2025
“A lot of people write off places they don’t even know about” - Jan Williams – The Caravan Gallery
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 at Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, then based on Fawcett Street in Sunderland.
The exhibition was accompanied by a Pride of Place Project, in an empty shop unit on Fawcett Street, devised for Sunderland by photographers Jan Williams and Chris Teasdale of The Caravan Gallery. The shop unit provided a space to host events, workshops and informal conversations against a changing backdrop of locally submitted artworks, memories and interactive activities, exploring the heritage and folklore of Sunderland. This was all supported by their trademark travelling art gallery housed in a distinctive 1960s yellow caravan.
Ten years on we are revisiting this truly unique project with a new exhibition comprised of the material generated in Sunderland in 2015. The exhibition poses the questions – How has Sunderland changed in this time? What has Sunderland gained and lost? What makes you proud about Sunderland?
The Caravan Gallery is a collaboration between artists and photographers Jan Williams and Chris Teasdale to document the reality and surreality of the way we live today. It is also a mobile exhibition space that engages with people and places “normal” galleries might not easily reach. They use colour photography to create accessible but thought-provoking images which frequently celebrate overlooked and occasionally bizarre aspects of everyday life.
Photos: Colin Davison