Dive into the history of 'glass ships in bottles'; the changing identity of a post-industrial northern city as told through the eyes of Japanese glass artist Ayako Tani, who is preserving the endangered art of sculpting the hand-crafted glass ships which once put Sunderland on the map.

Following industrial decline in the 1970s and the closure of the Pyrex factory, many of Sunderland's newly redundant scientific glassblowers turned their talents to giftware, and from the ashes of a former glassblowing empire this new booming practice emerged. But today, scientific glassblowing is considered an 'endangered craft', and with Sunderland’s own National Glass Centre now facing imminent closure, the art of glass once again under strain.

After arriving from Tokyo, Japan in 2006 to Sunderland, UK, a city famous for its all-but-lost legacies of shipbuilding and glassblowing, Ayako discovered a passion for documenting the history of 'glass ships in bottles'. 'Vessels of Memory' follows Ayako's journey of discovery, learning from Sunderland's now mostly retired glassworkers and engineers who once pioneered these ornamental giftware ships sold worldwide.

Ayako was inspired to research and recreate her own ‘glass ships in bottles’, and keep the memory of this once booming industry alive. Hear the deconstruction of a ‘glass ship in bottle’, as Ayako guides you through experiences that have shaped her journey exploring and learning this fragile, endangered heritage, alongside those who taught and inspired her.

Featuring the voices of Keith Clark, Catherine Forsyth, Zoë Garner, Keith Hartley, Jo Howell, Brian Jones, James Maskrey, Joseph Percy, Christine Sinclair, Ayako Tani, Andy Thompson, and Norman Veitch.

Producer: Jay Sykes
A Sister Sounds production for BBC Radio 4