An Eye for Talent: the Future Walls Talent Development Programme

Future Walls mural – Sunniside, Sunderland. Photograph by Alice Shelley

A central part of AoPP’s practice is to include local talent within the programme of works we carry out in every city or town we work with as part of our engagement process. 

By engaging with the community through hands-on workshops in schools, colleges and local groups, we facilitate the uncovering of voices and prominent themes which are important to those participants and to the authenticity of the project. This allows us to hone-in on giving agency to those important voices through our Talent Development programme. Sometimes this features artists and creatives who already have a strong presence amongst the community and are already cultural leaders in that part of the world - or even further afield. Often, we include new-comers to the cultural scene who are looking for an opportunity to make their first palpable mark on the scene. On many more occasions, the participants can be individuals who have never seen themselves as having the artistic skills to ever consider taking part in such a creative project; or even know how to begin to express themselves. 

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An Eye for Talent – Interview with Alice Shelley, Photographer, Future Walls Programme, Sunderland

During our recent work launching Future Walls - a flagship city-centre regeneration programme for Sunderland BID, we had the pleasure of working with a few talented local people and offering them an opportunity to take part in the project and develop their skills and experience. We spoke to them to find out more about their respective journeys and how they came to work with Art of Protest Projects. 

Alice Shelley, photographer, Future Walls, Sunderland.

Q. Alice, what made you identify with being a photographer?

“I first got into photography when I was a child and would use my father’s beautiful old 35mm camera and we would spend time developing the film. I then became a graphic designer but realised that my real passion was for photography. It’s only when I lost my parents in quick succession that I realised how important it is to capture all of those magical moments in life - a photographic collection is like a library of celebration and fantastic historical moments. Every day is a gift and that is why I am a photographer: to capture beauty as it is unfolding is wonderful.”

Q. How did you come to be involved with Future Walls?

“I learnt of AoPP through a childhood friend (Gemma and her partner Amanda) while they were visiting Sunderland. I met them for a coffee and before they came I just happened to see The Postman (a Future Walls featured artist) putting up the Alice and Wonderland artwork on the old Joplings Building in the centre of town and wanted to know more. When they told me of the exciting street art they had been putting around the city, how they had been visiting local schools and festivals. I was like an excited kid thinking this is incredible for the city and this sounded amazing, and I said I would love to get involved. The rest as they say is history…”

[Evelyn – Sunderland Resident. Photograph by Alice Shelley]

Q. What were your favourite pieces of work from the Future Walls you shot and why? 

“My favourite was the portrait of Evelyn - a passer-by, who asked about the artwork being painted on Blandford Street while on her morning shop with her husband. Her eyes were a mix of blue/hazel and she seemed to match the paint going on in the background beautifully. It was also about the interaction of the artwork and how positive the feedback was from her as a local. You could see her beaming as we painted her town brighter and that clearly means everything to the people. They need to see more of this - a kind of rainbow from investment. My favourite photos were generally capturing people as they interacted with the mural going about their day-to-day life. You can tell it means so much to the people of Sunderland to see the pride and investment coming back to the place they call home. Pride and community, is a massive thing in Sunderland.”

Q What do you think you’ve gained from your Future Walls experience?

“I think I finally realised whilst photographing alongside the Future Walls project that week, is what I really love about photography: it’s the documentary / journalistic style of capturing people in real life.

In the future, I would love to work on other exciting projects with local businesses and to get more involved with the Artists and Culture-makers of this city. I absolutely loved working with AoPP - what an incredible passionate and creative group of people who are helping to light up everyone’s day in Sunderland. I would love to get more involved in exciting projects like this - helping to capture magical moments in people’s lives.

It’s been a real pleasure to work on this and to meet some wonderful local people. Thank you for bringing me along to capture this wonderful project - it really re-lit a fire in me!”

See more of Alice’s Future Walls commission on instagram @Future.walls or @aliceshelley_photography