This Spring, Sunderland BID will work with The Art Room Sunderland and the local community to decorate 24 panels, resulting in 12 colourful, double-sided benches. The Art Benches will be located around the city centre, adding vibrancy and colour and making the city centre more welcoming for visitors and residents. Each bench also has an attached plant pot. Our SR1 Street Ranger will work with volunteers and the local community to replant these with spring/summer blooms. This will add colour and attractiveness to the streets and help improve the environment. Once completed, the art benches provide an excellent space for the city residents to rest and are also a great talking point where community members can sit and interact with each other. The 12 benches create a trail across the city centre that encourages locals and visitors to explore the city centre in a fun and active way that generates, on average, 3,000 steps.

What we'll deliver:

• Work with the Art Room to establish a theme for the benches
• Work with the Art Room to curate workshops to decorate the benches
• Engage with the community to encourage them to get involved
• Purchase 12 new boards
• Decorate 24 panels
• Install the 12 boards into the 12 benches
• Plant the plant pots with blooms

Why it's a great idea:

The project will bring many benefits, from keeping the city vibrant and colourful to encouraging the community to come together, both in producing the benches and once they have been installed. This project also allows children who may not be able to get involved in activities at school to be involved in something creative and work as a team to achieve an end goal. We have found in past projects that any installations created by the community limit anti-social behaviour and damage to them. Each bench has a plant pot attached to it, which we will fill with colourful flowers, helping the environment and the local wildlife. The 12 benches create a trail that encourages people to explore Sunderland's city centre and keep active. The project promotes arts and culture, making the city centre more welcoming and involving the whole community.

Steps to get it done:

• Appoint the Art Room Sunderland to deliver the project
• Agree workshop dates and times
• Call out to the community to be involved
• Purchase all required equipment
• Purchase plants
• Instillation of boards
• Instillation of plants