About Gerard Purvis
Gerard is the Director of Harbour Paintworks CIC, who aim to inspire young creatives of Sunderland and the wider North East through access to tools and opportunities to help them grow.
Harbour want to connect the community of like-minded, talented people, already creating in Sunderland, as well as supporting emerging creatives in developing creative practice. Their studio is based downstairs at Port Independent, the café where we host of our ArtyParti events.
You can follow Harbour Paintworks on Instagram - @Harbour.Printworks
Gerard Purvis, Director of Harbour Printworks, supporting the 'Sunniside Renaissance' project.
Print & Pride
Harbour's most recent event series is 'Print & Pride' - a collection of events providing a safe space for young queer and LGBTQ+ people to come together and forge connections, whilst exploring a range of activities whilst making connections. Print & Pride covered a range of practices, including zine-making, poetry, tote-bag designing, audio drama, and graffiti.
Roman Queer Frontier
Running throughout 2025, Harbour's recent workshop series Roman Queer Frontier explored the Roman period through a queer lens, exploring the Roma conquest and the Celtic North East in relation to gender identity.
The series included expert-led history talks and site visits, all culminating in the publication of an in-house zine. Roman Queer Frontier was made possible thanks to funding from English Heritage Community Connections fund.
Hear Gerard Purvis discuss Harbour Paintwork's on this episode of the ArtyParti Podcast, recorded at the Sunderland Lit & Phil.
