Heritage.
From local HEROES to global pioneers, the north east IS PACKED WITH fascinating history.
We love telling North East stories! Whether it’s celebrating the region’s past or championing its future, we work with local groups to co-produce engaging and informative multimedia design.
We’ve made a board game about North Shields shipping magnate Sir James Knott, a video series exploring the legacy of pioneering female explorer Gertrude Bell, a participatory silent movie about the grim history of Newcastle’s iconic ‘gallowgate’, and even written a children’s book about the building of the Byker Wall.
Clients:
HERITAGE SHOWCASE:
GERTRUDE BELL
We were commissioned by the Great North Museum: Hancock to produce a series of videos for their Gertrude Bell exhibition. The exhibition was intended to raise interest in and awareness of Bell, a trailblazing female archaeologist, explorer and writer, who was raised in the North East and went on to play a significant role in the re-drawing of geopolitical boundaries in the Middle-East at the end of WW1.
After World War I, Iraq was governed by Britain and Bell helped to draw up plans for Iraqi self-rule. When the country gained its independence, the new King Faisal I appointed Bell his Director of Archaeology. Bell worked tirelessly for Iraq, setting up a museum in Baghdad and writing a law to keep half of all excavated finds in the country.
This was invaluable when it came to one of the biggest Iraqi digs of all – the ancient Sumerian city of Ur. Thanks to Bell, Iraq kept many of its best finds, displayed in the new museum.
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Videograpy, production, animation, sound design
RALPH
Working alongside Northern Architecture as part of the Byker Lives project, Roots and Wings were tasked with exploring the history of Byker through alternative mediums. We chose to write, illustrate and publish a children’s book, which would then be given away for free to families and children living in the area and sold for a limited time in Blackwells bookshop. We’ve even had copies transported to children in the Middle East.
Ralph is a playful re-imagining the story of notable architect Ralph Erskine’s ambitious plan to build a sustainable and innovative social housing complex in the East End of Newcastle, replacing the slum housing which was being demolished.
To this day the Byker Wall remains a colourful but divisive stitch in Byker’s historical tapestry. With backing from Igloo, we were able to print and publish Ralph with all profits being reinvested into further community projects! If you’d like a copy of the book, get in touch.
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Research & writing, illustration, print
SIR JAMES KNOTT
As part of a Heritage Lottery-funded project called The Knott Trail, North Shields YMCA recruited Roots and Wings to help them develop an activity pack designed to engage local young people with the life and legacy of the late North Shields shipping magnate and philanthropist, Sir James Knott.
Born in Howdon in 1855 then raised in North Shields, James Knott went from humble beginnings, leaving school at the age of 14 to work as a clerk in a Newcastle shipping office, to establishing a shipping company called The Prince Line which under his guidance expanded rapidly to become one of the largest in the world prior to the catastrophic events of WW1. On his death Sir James Knott left a significant financial legacy, which he instructed should be devoted to improving the lives of people in Tyneside, including the provision of finances for the building of North Shields YMCA itself, amongst many other charitable projects.
The Sir James Knott: Life and Legacy resource pack was intended for classrooms across the region as a group activity to complement all of the brilliant Knott-related work done by North Shields YMCA.
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Research, video production, graphic design, illustration, animation, board game design
