Show Real, Kara Chin

For her most ambitious solo exhibition to date, artist Kara Chin will transform Humber Street Gallery into a ‘blue screen’ studio, where sculptures resemble props from a CGI* movie set.

Taking inspiration from the sets of Hollywood’s live action films, such as Disney’s live action film sets, which combine computer generated characters with real actors, Chin is interested in exploring the boundaries between the natural and the artificial worlds that we are increasingly moving between.

Working across sculpture, moving image and animation, the artist has had a long standing interest in artificial intelligence and the way that humans and machine interact, and for this exhibition of new works, Chin will be combining the sophisticated technology of open source CGI imagery and voice sampling with more rudimentary collections of domestic objects to create intriguing and often humorous artworks.

The Stacks: Bodies of Work

The Stacks: Bodies of Work exhibition is the culmination of a six-month arts and research residency project with visual-media artist, Matt Fratson.

Books and items buried deep in the archives of Hull Libraries will be the focus of a new exhibition delving into the city’s rich history, highlighting hidden reference collections of Hull Libraries and examining hidden archives of literature, records, surveys and maps.

There will also be exhibits at Bransholme Library and Greenwood Library from Monday 22 November until Monday 13 December.

 

Ferens Favourites

Since summer 2019 we’ve been asking visitors and school groups which artworks in the Ferens collections are their favourites. They told us how they make them feel, what they like about them and what they mean to them. The result is an exhibition that has given children, young people and adults in our city a voice which has not only shaped the exhibition, but how we see the Ferens Art Gallery’s collection.

The exhibition is a chance to see favourite works from the collection, like Rosa Bonheur’s The Lions at Home, Joseph Noel Paton’s The Man With The Muck Rake and Peter Wilson’s Believe Me, I Know Best, with text labels and drawings by the people of Hull.

Free entry * Last entry 30 minutes before closing time.

Hull Model Railway Show

The 41st Model Railway Show is back for 2021 at Walton Street Leisure Centre.

Hull Minature Railway Society are hosting the show which includes working layouts and modelling demonstrations.

Free off street parking available in two car parks, plus plenty of room for parking locally. See maps below. (please note that the organisers have no control over the parking facilities and will not be supervising the car park). All vehicles will therefore be parked at the owner’s risk.

 

Northern Lights – The Winter Show

Exhibition of works by Sarah Louise Hawkins and Sara Moorhouse.

Sarah Louise Hawkins is interested in shape, colour, light and space, and how they interact with one another. Her work includes sculptural pieces, paintings and drawings and are made in minimalist, optical and abstract styles. Her works is inspired by the shapes and lines that can be found in the surrounding world.

Sara Moorhouse’s work explores the ways in which spaces within landscape appear altered depending on the ever-changing colours of season, weather, time and farming.

Autumn HIP Club Exhibition

The HIP club members are having an exhibition at the HIP gallery from Wednesday 6th October 2021 to Tuesday 30th November 2021.

There are 20 members exhibiting with a total of 35 images.

The Hull Independent Photography (HIP) club is run by the Creative and Cultural Organization and is a club for adults (16+). It meets every Tuesday (7pm to 9pm).  The club is all inclusive by gender, age and ability (from beginners to experienced photographers) and it aims to show how to take good photographs.

In Conversation as Collective Strategy

In Conversation as Collective Strategy uses Space 2 to connect and support Hull-based collective work through the act of film-making. Platforming the work of community education, campaign, and transformative justice organising that exists in the city.

Humber Street Gallery has commissioned two new films, produced by community-focused film collective Other Cinemas in collaboration with local groups Black Heritage Collective and An Untold Story Voices, which open a dialogue to explore themes of resistance and platforming grassroots solidarity and struggle. These films will be shown alongside additional material compiled by both local collectives, as well as historical works from the Cinenova collection; a non-profit organisation dedicated to distributing videos made by women.

The exhibition uses film to think through our histories, connected sense of place and politics; of race, class, gender, care, and losses experienced as a community.

This is a chance to reconsider the role that “conversation” plays in our collective future.

In Conversation as Collective Strategy has been organised by guest curator Louise Shelley in collaboration with Humber Street Gallery.

70 Objeks & Tings

70 Objeks & Tings is both an exhibition and a book that tells the stories of the Windrush Generation in their own words, and celebrates the amazing contributions they have made, and continue to make, to life in Britain, all across the UK. Museumand, The National Caribbean Heritage Museum, launched the on-line version of their book, 70 Objeks & Tings – Celebrating 70 Years of Caribbeans in the UK, on Windrush Day in 2020. A year on, they have launched the hardback version and their exhibition of the same name, to bring each page to life.

The book and the exhibition have been written and curated to share the precious stories of 184 Caribbean elders through 70 everyday objects and experiences familiar to both Caribbean life and British life.

We hope 70 Objeks & Tings will help visitors to the Streetlife Museum explore aspects of Caribbean culture they may not have discovered before, and give members of the Windrush Generation the chance to reminisce.

Free, drop-in.

Creel | Sea Change at 87 Gallery

SEA CHANGE

noun

a profound or notable transformation.

In some ways, Hull is a place defined by its relationship to the sea. It is a place grounded by a body of water- always pulling out, always coming back in again. This water has a remarkable tendency to shape, renew, de-stabilise and re-invent the land it surrounds.

Sea Change is an exhibition which brings together the work of five artists, all with connections to Hull. It asks the questions: To what extent do our collective geographies and histories inform who we are? Are such things traceable in our habits, choices and creative agencies? And how – if at all – do the places we come from shape, inform and contribute to our sense of self?

Flesh ‘n’ Blood, Jasleen Kaur

This new body of work by Jasleen Kaur for Humber Street Gallery began with the encounter of a text written by a member of the artists family; a charmed item acting as a point of connection to missing relatives.

The artist explores our relationship with visceral emotions such as grief and ecstatic healing, and unpicks the intricate and interconnected relationships with women who have shaped her. In this series of predominantly sculptural works, play and making become tools for memory and to create a new language for understanding the body and feelings.

Traditional practices and objects that facilitate healing are remixed. Works are ingested, processed by the gut beyond the gallery walls and excreted. The exhibition is a chance to engage with the body and senses, and to digest the work – quite literally.

Festival of Archaeology

Join us on the last day of the Festival of Archaeology with a celebration of the archaeology in Hull.  There will be guided tours, exhibitions, and talks.   In our closing event Executive Director of the CBA, Neil Redfern will be hosting an “In Conversation with…. Professor Carenza Lewis” local communities are invited to send in their questions which we will ask on the day to festival@archaeologyuk.org.

This showcase is only possible because of the amazing people in the following organisations:- Hull Culture and Leisure, Hull City Council, Whitefriargate High Street Heritage Action Zone, Humber Field Archaeology, Museum of London, Archaeology, Oxford Archaeology, Petruaria Revisited, Hull Minster

Plan your day around our programme of events

MUSEUM GARDENS:

During the day there will be Wandering Medieval Characters along the high street, and a high street trail. There will also be an official opening and guided tour of the new medieval galleries at Hull and East Riding Museum (this is by invitation only)

Displays

Archaeology of South Blockhouse,

CitiZan: Display  of Coastal & Intertidal zone project with Pop-up foreshore

Fjordr Ltd: Dr Antony Firth, Display on R.38 Zeppelin Crash

Bookable tours (book at the event)

11:00                 Archaeology of the Museums Quarter  (30 minutes)

11:00                 Imagery, Imagination and Interpretation  (45 minutes)

12:00                 Archaeology of the Museums Quarter (30 minutes)

12:30                 Imagery, Imagination and Interpretation (45 minutes)

13:00                 Archaeology of the Museums Quarter  (30 minutes)

14:00                 Imagery, Imagination and Interpretation (45 minutes)

14:00                 Archaeology of the Museums Quarter (30 minutes)

EVENT MARQUEE (in Museum Gardens)

(Max Capacity 50 people)  no booking required first come first served basis.

11:30           Petruaria Uncovered Presentation

12:00          Fjordr Ltd: Dr Antony Firth, Presentation on R.38 Zeppelin Crash

12:30           CitiZan and you! Video footage of CitiZan Projects and Q&A with the team

BOOKING REQUIRED FOR THE AFTERNOON EVENTS : Book via https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/164299063923(link is external)

13:15          ‘Welcome’ by Neil Redfern and Cllr Haroldo Hererra-Richmond

13:30          In Conversation with Time Team’s Professor Carenza Lewis

13:55          Archaeology Achievement Awards Launch

TRINITY SQUARE:

Displays

Discoveries from Trinity Burial Ground

Archaeology of the Minster

Petruaria Revisited – excavation information and handling activity

11-3                 Call our Bluff – Object (or laminated photo) ID with Finds Specialist

11-3                 Funny Bones – Craft Activity

11-3                ‘My-seum’ Activity – members of the public create their own museum (drawing activity)

Tour – book on the day, tours are every half hour

12:00-2.30     Guided Chantry Chapel Visits to view the recently discovered medieval church foundations (max 10 people)

BEVERLEY GATE: No booking required

11-3​          Whitefriargate High Street Heritage Action Zone

11-3          ​East Riding Archaeology Society (ERAS) and Whitefriargate HSHAZ will have information stalls and display of artefacts in Gazeebo’s. ERAS will also be using a batter resonator on the grassed area next to Beverley Gate.

12-3          ​Brief 10 minute presentations throughout the afternoon on the history of Beverley Gate, also on the work of ERAS.

Image: Michaela, 2020, Acrylic by Karen Winship

Ferens Open 2021

The annual Open Exhibition at the Ferens Art Gallery has celebrated the creativity of local amateur and professional artists since 1967. Each year the Open Exhibition provides an exciting opportunity for artists to display and sell artwork.

Visitors can expect to see a fascinating array of artwork including impressive paintings, sculptures, photography, ceramics, and textiles, most of which are up for sale.

The exhibition is FREE – booking required

Pride In Our City

Pride in our City explores Hull’s LGBTQ+ history and documents people’s experiences of being part of LGBTQ+ communities in the city.

Through direct work with local communities, the exhibition reveals new narratives whilst encouraging you to get thinking and chatting about identity, gender, and sexuality.

Discover real conversations and new interpretations to enable you to experience the collections through a queer lens.

Monday – Saturday 10am-4.30pm Sunday 11am-4pm Last entry 30 minutes before closing time

To The Water – Exhibition

Through paintings, photographs and museum objects our new exhibition at Beverley Art Gallery explores our experiences of waterways and the sea.

Booking not required.

This is also available to view online. Please visit Museums Online

In My Room

As a new body of work, In My Room develops the artists’ enquiry into the politics, histories and aesthetics of queer spaces and culture. This enquiry builds on their travels across the UK whilst making ‘UK Gay Bar Directory (UKGBD)’ 2016, a vast project documenting the systematic closure of LGBTQIA+ dedicated social spaces. To Quinlan and Hastings, it became apparent through this research that the gay scene caters predominantly to white gay men. This prompted them to consider how this scene strengthens the historic male access to capital and power within the urban landscape. 

Wishing to explore the question of access further in their new film, Quinlan and Hastings went location scouting in Birmingham’s gay village, only to find that in fact many of the bars and clubs have recently closed or will close in the next few months, due to the area being rapidly redeveloped as luxury residential accommodation in anticipation of the new high-speed rail line. This gave the film – and Quinlan and Hastings’ ongoing wider archival project – a new urgency to capture these historical LGBTQA+ spaces at a time of immense change, thereby highlighting the impact of gentrification upon the cultural substructures of a city and its gay communities.   

In conjunction with the archival impulse of the film, Quinlan and Hastings have used dance and the performing body as a way to think through and investigate the ways in which male interaction and power are consolidated, particularly in relation to male sex culture. The film is set in three different locations: Bar Jester and the Core club in Birmingham and Shoeburyness Fort in Southend-on-Sea. Recently closed, Bar Jester had been open since the 1970s, transitioning from a men-only venue in the 1980s to a women-upstairs men-downstairs layout, and then into a mixed venue. The Core club is a members-only, men-only venue which hosts monthly club nights: it will close in the coming months. The third location, Shoeburyness Fort, was used by the British School of Gunnery as a training and experimental base for the army since 1859, then re-armed during World War 2 as part of the coastal defence, but now in disuse. Another form of a male-only environment at that time, the imposing, yet desolate Fort is flanked by the Thames Estuary one side, and by a recently built housing development on the other. 

Within these three locations, the camera focuses on the strict routine of the line dancing format which is performed by the dancers without any emotional connection to the music or communication with each other. In contrast, a specially choreographed shadow dance (a derivative of the line dance) allows for a much more charged mirroring of the dancers’ bodies, whose interaction becomes intensely intimate and at times, almost violent. The film suggests a subconscious reproduction of power in public space through codes, gestures and behaviour. Wall rubbings of the stone relief that fronted the Bar Jester appear as a repeating motif throughout the film. These unique works are also presented on paper in the exhibition. A ghostly record of an iconic LGBTQIA+ venue at the moment of its passing, the Jester takes on a life of its own as a folkloric and governing character.  

Quinlan and Hastings have also created a major new fresco painting, bringing this specialist, ancient technique into contemporary practice by engaging with the public and architectural nature of the medium. Depicting a high street populated by pedestrians, this quotidian imagery considers the role urban architecture plays in the formation of identities, and reflects on the ways in which movement is informed by a culture of male dominance. At a time of extreme and ongoing austerity, heightened surveillance and the privatisation of public spaces, the street is an increasingly contested and political zone.  

Swell – Exhibition

Camilla Bliss (b. 1989) is an artist who primarily works in sculpture. Although her ideas can be crystallised through digital manipulation, her work places importance on handmade processes and qualities. In this way, she utilises a wide range of materials such as ceramics, metalwork, glass, wood, textiles and 3D printing. Through her varied practice she draws inspiration from historical craftmanship and motifs to communicate ideas about the modern world. Bliss does this through the use of a personal language of symbols which can be interpreted differently by each person who encounters it. Playful decisions around colour, material and form allow Bliss to make specific cultural connections, whilst taking the viewer on a personal and potentially ambiguous journey.

SWELL is a new body of work that Bliss has created especially for her exhibition at 87 Gallery. Drawing on nautical communication methods, the works reference the sculptural quality of navigation buoys and the colours found in international maritime signal flags. Bliss uses these sources as metaphor for the fluid way in which we navigate life. The sculptures become almost bodily, referring to how we are constantly changing, evolving and dissolving as individuals.