Students to help make Spanish Civil War memorial

Artist Rob MacDonald is hoping young people in Sunderland will get involved in the project

An artist planning a monument to volunteers who fought against fascism in the Spanish Civil War has enlisted the creative support of college students and wants to involve the local community.

Rob MacDonald hopes building work will start on the artwork in Sunderland next year, though plans are yet to be formally submitted.

"The actual design, I'm hoping, will be done with the local people, with students, actually with them designing it alongside me," MacDonald said.

He is running a month-long project with Sunderland College and has invited community organisations, Sunderland Culture and Sunderland City Council to a meeting later this week.

The Spanish Civil War was fought between 1936 and 1939 between General Franco's nationalists and left-wing republicans.

About 20 people from Roker, Millfield, Southwick and other parts of Sunderland are believed to have travelled to Spain to fight against the right-wing nationalists.

The council said it was aware of "continuing interest" in commemorating Sunderland residents who volunteered for the International Brigade in the conflict.

"Until more formal notifications or permissions are put forward, the council is not in a position to comment further," it said.

'Relearning history'

According to the National Archives, about 4,000 people from Britain and Ireland are thought to have joined the civil war.

MacDonald said one of them shared the same name as him, which got him interested.

"I'm inspired by this memory, this history, and I also think, and this is probably central to it, that actually today, we've really got to relearn this history," he said.

"Because a lot of people seem to have forgotten what the dangers of fascism are."

MacDonald started the Solidarity Park project in 2016, with a "living monument" he made in Spain as a central part of it.

Four student artworks are carved in the sculpture every year, with "at least one" created by Sunderland students planned to be added in 2026.

The project is linked to a "living" monument is Spain

The monument is in Malgrat de Mar, near Barcelona, where the SS Ciudad de Barcelona, carrying about 300 international volunteers, was sunk during the conflict in 1937.

William Lower and Robert Mackie were among the Sunderland men on board.

MacDonald said he was "taken aback" by the positive response in Sunderland to plans for a related memorial in the Wearside city.

"It's like pushing at an open door. People are really keen," he said.

"I hope that continues and we get more and more people involved, because the idea is about building a community."

The campaign for the artwork was started by Valencia-born Julio Romero Johnson, who has been living in Sunderland since 2013.

The plan is to continue with workshops at the start of next year, involving the community in designing and building the artwork, and then securing a location and building it.

Faculty director for creative, digital and computing at Sunderland College, Lauren Robinson, said collaborating with the artist was a "remarkable opportunity" for the students.

"Through practical workshops, students will not only refine their technical skills in working with stone and alabaster but also gain a deeper appreciation of this important historical moment," she added.