- Work Hard
- 17th Jul 2026
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Meet the North Shields charity that won the chance to shape Sycamore Gap’s legacy
A North Shields charity has just won one of the biggest arts commissions in the country, and it’s all in memory of a tree that mattered to millions.
Helix Arts, working alongside George King Architects, has been announced as the winner of the National Trust’s Sycamore Gap wood commission, chosen through a national public vote and a final decision by an expert judging panel.
WHY THIS COMMISSION MEANS SO MUCH
The Sycamore Gap tree stood in a dip along Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland for more than 100 years before it was illegally felled in September 2023. Its loss hit people far beyond the North East, and the National Trust wanted whatever came next to reflect the widespread feelings the feeling evoked. Six proposals made the shortlist. Helix Arts and George King Architects’ idea, called The People’s Tree, came out on top with both the public and the judges.
Cheryl Gavin, director of Helix Arts, told HLN it wasn’t the outcome she expected. She said:
“Absolutely ‘chuffed to bits’ sums it up. It means so much to us as a local charity. I know many people might think, ‘Oh, of course the North East charity got it’, but it was a global vote with a really diverse judging panel and such strong contenders, so it was a surprise to win amongst such other talent!”
WHAT THE PEOPLE’S TREE ACTUALLY INVOLVES
Rather than a single memorial, The People’s Tree is built around participation. People across the UK will be invited to record their own reflections on trees and nature, part of a strand the team calls Pause, Listen and Reconnect. Those recordings will sit alongside something more unusual: a digital soundtrack made by scanning the felled tree’s rings, turning each year of its life into sound.
Cheryl explained the thinking:
“We want the tree to sing its song. We’ll do this by scanning rings from its trunk, each ring telling the story of a year of the tree’s life. The scan will be used to create a digital soundscape by a sound artist, which will become the backdrop for people’s stories about the tree.”
The stories and soundscape will tour as exhibitions and workshops to the north, south, east and west of the country, and sections of the original wood will be used to co-create artworks with local artists and communities. It’ll all culminate in a sound sculpture sited somewhere accessible along Hadrian’s Wall, complete with a time capsule holding some of the tree’s wood and the living archive of stories.
HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
Helix Arts is launching the project on 26th September at its North Shields base, timed close to the third anniversary of the felling on 27th September 2023. From there, community workshops will run at towns and villages near Hadrian’s Wall through autumn 2026 to spring 2027, alongside a schools programme and a youth residential near the Gap itself.
You don’t need to live anywhere near Northumberland to take part. You can share your stories digitally too. Cheryl said:
“Whether you are right on or near the wall or at the Whispering Wall, Barossa Valley, South Australia, you can share your memories and stories and be part of this amazing project!”
Helix Arts is also on the lookout for partner organisations along the wall who already work with local groups, especially people who might not otherwise get the chance can to take part can be included from the start.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
The project now moves into development, with Helix Arts and George King Architects working closely with the National Trust and communities along Hadrian’s Wall to settle the sound sculpture’s final design. Cheryl said the team wants people to feel part of something whether they live in the North East or elsewhere in the world. She said:
““I hope people feel like they are part of the ongoing legacy of the Sycamore Gap because it’s such an important international marker in everyone’s story.””
The completed artwork is expected to be released by September 2027.
Follow Helix Arts’ socials for details on the North Shields launch event, the digital upload site, and how to get involved in workshops near you.
Helix Arts, 54a Saville Street, North Shields, NE30 1NT
Photography: Tynesight Photography
Rachael Ellis
Head of Content
After gaining a first in her BA Media and Journalism degree at Northumbria University, Rachael worked at Newcastle’s leading regional newspaper with her stories being picked up in national and global newspapers. She spent two very successful years giving a voice to those communities across the North East who otherwise…
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