NEPN (North East Photography Network), an initiative of the University of Sunderland, UK, has an established reputation in the social practice of photography. This diverse field of practice includes interrogation and repurposing of existing vernacular photography archives, co-creation of new photographic outputs in heritage and public contexts and production of new photographic stories that impact or influence public perceptions.
This paper explores a recent project led by NEPN with photographic artist Julian Germain, Sunderland ‘73: The People’s Visual History, which celebrates under-represented aspects of material and intangible heritage relating to Sunderland’s 1973 Football Association Cup run and win. This occasion is one of the most significant events in the history of Sunderland, reaching beyond the usual football boundaries and affecting the whole community in an outpouring of civic pride and pure joy.

The project amassed a photographic archive of at-risk vernacular material, and outputs to date include a photography book, new photographic portraiture, multi-media artworks, oral histories, mobile exhibitions, heritage skills workshops, reminiscence resources for use in schools and care-homes.

The paper includes discussion of the concepts of co-production and collaboration, the mobilisation of ‘progressive nostalgia’ (Smith and Campbell) and its relationship to heritage and outlines some of the benefits for the project’s many communities of interest - partners, participants, and wider publics. It concludes with reflection on complex relationship between heritage, archive and artwork, and the challenges of ensuring ongoing and relevant access to the project’s outputs.