S U N DERLA N DV I BE . COM
Drawing a fine line Kathryn Robertson is a local lass from Wearside lighting up Sunderland with striking murals that nod back to the city’s illustrious heritage. One of the North East’s leading lights when it comes to handdrawn art from the heart, Matthew Thomas checks in with Kathryn, a graduate of the University's Graphic Design programme, as she reveals all about her latest projects and how the North East holds a special place in her heart… What is the North East like for a freelance artist? I’m currently managing to make freelancing a full-time thing and I still have to pinch myself on the regular that it worked out this way. I’ve worked closely with people like Sunderland Culture and Sunderland City Council who have always been massively supportive of my practice, and they’re keen to keep creatives in the city by providing opportunity, and I think that’s what makes it a much more attractive 16
prospect to be freelancing in the North East at the moment. I can actually afford things like a small studio space and I’m not sure I could afford that elsewhere. The North East is a good place to be a freelance artist. I’m sure experiences vary, but I do feel incredibly lucky that my work and style has struck a chord with people to enable me to do it full time. I’m not sure I would have had the same types of opportunities if I’d gone to Londonstraight away. How has Sunderland affected your creativity? When I was a teenager, I didn’t appreciate Sunderland as a place very much at all. I thought being somewhere bigger and better would define me as a person, increase my creativity and enable me to do whatever I wanted to do. As I got older, I started to fall in love with Sunderland and all of it’s quirks, I realised I’d been looking in the wrong places for things, and my opinion completely changed. I also realised that I’d been inspired by the North East and all of it’s wonderfulness and daftness way more than I had realised.
Tell us a little about the creative scene in Sunderland at the minute... There’s a DIY attitude which has existed since way before my time, and it makes things more understated and interesting. We now know how fragile the arts and creative industries are, and so people here want to nurture it all and it’s very encouraging. This applies to independent businesses and venues too; we have some extremely talented artists, illustrators, photographers, designers, performers, musicians here.
