Photographic artist Jo Howell was born in Sunderland and has been creating collaborative artworks with the population of the City since 2011. Her recent projects include Look & Inspire (2015-2017), a pinhole photography project, supported by The Cultural Spring and Sunderland City Council, through which Jo worked with residents of Sunderland and members of the Sunderland Art Studio to create an exhibition of works shown at Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens and the Artrium Gallery in Hartlepool. Other commissioned projects include working with the British Institute of Human Rights and Arcadea to explore the Human Rights Act, creating a series of three mixed-media works for display in an exhibition at The Centre for Life, Newcastle upon Tyne and The Big Picture, a project developed with fellow artists Criss Chaney and Liz Shaw which culminated in a permanent public art work for Sunderland Aquatic Centre as part of the Cultural Olympiad 2012.