North of the Tyne, Under the Stars

“Settle yourself comfortably, allow your mind to drift idly, for I am about to tell you a story of a place you might know, West of the Sea, East of the Lakes, South of Scotia and North of the Tyne...”

Pinwheel was commissioned by the North of Tyne Combined Authority to devise a major project which would engage audiences region-wide and tell a story about this diverse area. While residents were extremely proud of their locality, they didn’t have a connection to the “North of the Tyne” as a whole, so we set out to change that by creating a new mythology for the area!

We created the tale of the Story-Weaver, a mysterious visitor on a quest across the region, seeking connections, fables, facts and legends and drawing together the threads which hold this place together. The Story-Weaver appeared in six parks across the breadth of the region, projected onto a huge gauze screen, telling the tale of her travels and entreating people to come to Newcastle to see what she had spun from the tales she had been told.

Under this narrative we commissioned six new, epic video and sound works inspired by the idiosyncrasies, landscape and heritage of the area. The pieces were created for the stunning architecture of Newcastle University campus, Newcastle Civic Centre and the Great North Museum. Over four nights in March 2022, this free event brought magic and wonder to a captivated audience of 40,000.  

We also delivered workshops in 12 schools where children created constellation maps and wrote corresponding myths inspired by the areas they lived in.