CITY OF KITTIWAKES

City of Kittiwakes was a heritage, arts and environmentally-focused participatory project as part of Newcastle Puppetry Festival 2024. Two weeks of free-to-access community workshops at the John Marley Centre in Scotswood culminated in a parade to 5,000 people on Northumberland Street to open the 5th edition of the festival. The project involved over 200 North East of England residents to create the puppets, costumes and art pieces in the parade, alongside a team of professional artists. The project was inspired by iconic seabird the kittiwake, which nests under the Tyne Bridge - the largest inland colony of kittiwakes in the world. The kittiwake represents migration, sanctuary and is a symbol of North East England's diverse fauna and natural environments.

Participants wrote phrases inspired by the kittiwake, which were integrated as feathers on the giant kittiwake puppet. Some of these phrases were also turned into the banners in the parade. Composer Jayne Dent / Me Lost Me worked with West End Refugee Service members to write a new folk song inspired by the kittiwake - you can hear some of this new song 'Still Bright Bird' in the soundtrack to this video.

Following the parade, some of the puppets, costumes and art pieces were displayed at the Great North Museum: Hancock for two weeks. The project also facilitated four Guided Heritage Walks on the Quayside with historian David Silk, and five conservation workshops and events with Wild Intrigue and Natural History Society of Northumbria.

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