What was the ice rink?

Durham ice rink was a community hub, home to the hugely successful Durham Wasps ice hockey team. Both of which are sadly lost, along with much of the history, with very few records telling the story. Located on The Sands, where the passport office currently stands, it was the vision of local entrepreneur ‘Icy’ Smith that saw the rink open in the 1940’s. It found success with the Canadian pilots stationed nearby during the war, and went on to create one of the most famous names in ice hockey; The Durham Wasps. The story ended with the team being bought out, moved to Newcastle and the rink closing shortly after.

What will the project be?

We will conduct interviews as part of a consultation for a large scale public mural. The record of the process, from the inception to the painting of the mural will be made into a short documentary. We hope to gather donated or loaned artefacts along the way, with an exhibition in April at Durham Sixth Form Centre’s Dead Dog Gallery. In short: a Documentary, exhibition and a mural.

Why do we need a project like this?

We want to understand why the ice rink was important to so many people, what we lost and what we can do for future generations? We want to inform both our practise of providing support for arts and culture in Durham, and to help people explore the recent history of our shared community spaces.

Durham is home to many left behind areas and huge levels of inequality. Coundon, just 10 miles away from the city centre, 20 minutes by car has 54.1% of children living in relative poverty. With huge levels of inequality between neighbouring city areas Old Elvet/Whinney Hill and Sherburn Road with 3.1% percent and 45.1% of children in relative poverty respectively. We want to explore what the city centre means to people in County Durham, and what it needs to be going forward.

Why should CYAN_CIC organise this?

Born and raised in Durham, we have family members who went to games, played hockey and grew up hearing stories about the ice rink. We want to learn more about the place we live and the people we know.

How is the project funded?

So far, it isn’t! We’re applying for funding and seeking collaborators. We have use of Durham Sixth Form’s gallery space as part of their artist in residence project, of which the project organiser Lewis (@durhamspraypaints) is a participant in.

What stage is the project at?

We’ve just released our trailer to show the community and potential funders just how special this story is. We’re about to announce the next steps as we plan our exhibition in April. We’re looking for personal stories and objects to display on loan. The exhibition will help us put the case to potential supporters that there should be a permanent exhibition of ice rink history in Durham.