Preview: Friday 14th November // 6pm – 8pm

Exhibition: 18th November – 11th December 2025

Opening times: Tuesday – Thursday // 11am – 4.30pm, extended evening openings (11am-7pm) on Tuesday 18th November and Tuesday 2nd December 2025.

Songs of Solidarity and Strength is an exhibition of original songs and animation about life in the community of Shieldfield.

Songs of Solidarity and Strength was co-created by Bronwen Davies-Jones, Gareth Davies-Jones, Lily Mae Kroese, and people who live, work and play in Shieldfield.

The story so far

Part one

Early in 2025, SAW and local community members began a songwriting and music project with songwriters Gareth Davies-Jones and Bronwen Davies-Jones. The project was open to anyone – whether musical or not – who wanted to share their experience of life in Shieldfield and/or how they came to be in Shieldfield through song.

Gareth and Bronwen worked with participants to forge observations and responses into lyrics, songs and creative soundscapes. The group took walks in the area to capture and record Shieldfield sights and sounds, and discussed the history and heritage of this small corner of Newcastle. Over six workshops, stories of those who live, work or play in Shieldfield were transformed into rhythm and melody; four songs were written and then, with the guidance of Dee Dowling from Ginger Music, were professionally recorded. Gareth and Bronwen also visited our local primary school, Christ Church CE Primary to write a song with children as part of the after school ‘Wednesday Club’.

We are very grateful to Community Foundation, Tyne & Wear and Northumberland for funding part one of the project with a grant from the Newcastle Cultural Investment Fund.

Part two

Thanks to additional funding from two other trusts, a second part of this project was able to take place.

Participants expressed that the song writing process was deeply meaningful, satisfying and powerful for them, and they said ‘we want people to hear this’, desiring that the council and others may be able to listen and better understand the issues those in Shieldfield are facing.

We expanded on the work with the local primary school. This is a vital element of the project as the children reflect the diversity of Shieldfield (there are 25 different languages spoken amongst the school’s pupils). Writing songs about their lives in the area encourages a sense of unity and belonging.

We are also developing animations for the songs produced this year through animation workshops. Participants are working with artist Lily-Mae Kroese to create a visual backdrop to the songs.

After the exhibition, Gareth and Bronwen will be returning to prepare both the adult and children’s groups for performances and lead them in four key performances.

CDs and Prints

Fancy getting your hands on a Songs of Solidarity and Strength CD, or an art print of the animations?

We’ve launched a fundraising appeal to keep our creative projects going. It costs around £150,000 a year to run SAW, with most of our income coming from one-off grants. Our long-term financial future isn’t certain – but our commitment to creativity and community is.

By donating to our Crowdfunder, you will be directly supporting our work, as well as getting some perks from us to say thank you!

Donate now at by visiting our Crowdfunder page.