The colourful “Beach and Shipyards” art installation – a stained glass art work – is back in pride of place at Monkseaton Tyne and Wear Metro station following an extensive restoration to take it back to its former glory.
Cate Watkinson and Rita Griskonyte carefully cleaned and repaired the installation which is back bookending the historic canopy at the station. The work was undertaken at the Sunderland National Glass Centre.
In total £575,000 has been spent on refurbishing the Metro station with the canopy dating back to 1915 and needing some TLC to take it back to its former condition.
Sarah McManus, Head of Renewals at Nexus, said: “he stained glass artwork at Monkseaton Metro station is one of the most striking pieces of public art on the network, so we are delighted to have it restored to its former glory.
“We’ve invested over £500,000 into the station’s historic canopy so the structure is strengthened here for many years to come, and the historic canopy is back to looking its best at a station which is a key gateway into our region’s amazing coastline.
“It’s amazing that Mike Davis’s former student Cate Watkinson has had the opportunity to restore his work and what an amazing job it is. ‘Beaches and Shipyards’ played a big part in the first few years of our art on transport programme in the early 1980s, not long after Metro first opened. It’s truly fantastic to see this unique piece of art looking as good as new again.”
The artwork was originally unveiled in 1983 and was designed by Mike Davis. It features two pieces: “Beach” which is executed in a bold and colourful style was designed from a school’s competition won by Rosalind Hurst whilst “Shipyards” is a more abstract treatment of the River Tyne’s heritage.
- Monkeseaton Station has also recently been fitted with a defibrillator as part of the National Defibrillator Network following fundraising by the Wellfield Defibrillator Group. Other defibrillators are fitted at Monument and Haymarket Metro stations and all of the new trains will also be fitted with one on board.