Sunderland ’73: The People’s Visual History, Julian Germain

NEPN and Northern Centre of Photography at the University of Sunderland have been awarded funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery Players, which will bring together partners and participants from across the city to celebrate the city’s love of football and our photographic heritage.

The project will celebrate under-represented aspects of heritage relating to Sunderland’s 1973 FA Cup run, win and jubilation on Wearside afterwards. This occasion is one of the most significant events in the history of Sunderland, reaching beyond the usual football boundaries and affecting the whole community in an outpouring of civic pride and pure joy.

Through a series of events and wider call for participation, the team will collect visual material – photographs, hand-made and personalised memorabilia – that reflects upon the personal experiences and emotions of Sunderland supporters of the Cup winning era, so that those experiences may be shared with younger fans and documented for the benefit of future generations.

An evolving exhibition will tour various community and public setting during Spring/Summer 2023, at which members of the public are invited to bring along their personal or inherited materials to be rephotographed. The exhibition stand is being collaboratively produced with volunteers at The Workshop, Back on the Map in the east end of the city.
A book, published in partnership with A Love Supreme will be available by Autumn 2023, with free copies circulated to schools, care homes and libraries.

Oral testimonies will also be captured by Jay Sykes Media, which alongside imagery, will create digital storytelling works.

The project is open to all – not just those lucky enough to have experienced the ’73 Cup win.

“Snapshot photographs as well as other creative endeavours such as home-made banners, scarves or scrapbooks seldom get published or exhibited so they very rarely get seen, but they offer a valuable and distinctive viewpoint from the more familiar images produced by the press, as well as fantastic images and objects that capture the emotions and experiences of the time. Perhaps you have a picture of yourself during that cup run, maybe at Notts County in the third round or at Hillsbrough in the semi-final against Arsenal, or maybe your family was gathered around the neighbours colour telly to watch the final? Or, it could just be you or your mum or grandad, proudly wearing a replica Sunderland shirt, or waving a banner or scarf at the victory parade?”  Julian Germain, 2023.