MANIFESTO

'You should get to know your town just like I know mine...'

Sunderland is often overlooked. Unneccesarily living in the shadow of another smaller City, many people have forgotten over time that (in living memory) Sunderland was once one of the largest, most productive and famous industrial towns in the world. Unfortunately over the years it has often been the residents and those who run Sunderland who are guilty of following the trend of shunning our City over the years and opting to visit and celebrate other areas. Sunderland's unique features should be emphasised instead of changing to emulate other cities.

Currently - Sunderland is not perfect by any means, but is a city on the up. It is certainly no worse off than any other post industrial Northern Town or City. To me, a large part of Sunderland's charm is down to the fact that so many reminders and echoes of the past still exist, often unseen and rarely documented. What also makes Sunderland so appealing is the self effacing and down-to-earth attitude of the Sunderland people.

This is Sunderland is my attempt to gently edge Sunderland into the limelight and to reveal some of its character. For all it's imperfections and often unjustified bad press, I'm proud of my hometown and hopefully this shows in the photos.

Andy Martin - March 2009.