Streetlife Museum

Celebrate Windrush Day

Remember Windrush and learn about Caribbean culture and the Caribbean contribution to Britain with members of Hull’s Caribbean community

In association with the Wilberforce Institute, families are invited join members of Hull’s Caribbean community to remember Windrush. Learn about Caribbean culture and the Caribbean contribution to Britain through map making, crafts and storytelling.

Drop-in.

Cold Junction

 

Luis Bustamante, a Chilean photographer, arrived in Hull with his wife Carmen in December 1974 as political refugees. Their son, Sebastian Bustamante, is a British-Chilean artist, curator, and researcher.

On 11 September 1973, General Augusto Pinochet overthrew Chile’s socialist president, Salvador Allende. The Pinochet regime’s campaign of terror against Allende’s supporters included kidnapping, arbitrary arrests, torture, and executions. In response, international solidarity efforts, including the Humberside branch of the Chile Solidarity Campaign, helped relocate 30 Chilean exiles to Hull, including Luis and Carmen.

While studying at the University of Hull, Luis captured the essence of his new surroundings through photography. “The camera had two purposes: it was a connection with a new life and a shield that enabled me to look at it,” he explained. His images offer a vivid portrayal of everyday life in mid-1970s Hull, a time of significant social and political change.

To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Chilean refugees arriving in Hull, “Cold Junction” merges Luis’s historical photographs with Sebastian’s ongoing project “El Otoño.” This project, incorporating objects, photographs, and video, delves into Sebastian’s identity as a second-generation exile, honouring those who disappeared, those who stayed, those who left, and those striving for a better future in Chile.

Launch: Friday 14th June 6pm – 8pm

Exhibition Tour: Byland’s Super Saga

Byland’s Super Saga is the first institutional solo show by Hull born artist Jack Pell. The exhibition draws upon the magic of everyday life across history, and is born out of Pell’s personal experience growing up in Hull as a working-class person and all the vibrant complexities that come with that.

Hull is often described as a city shaped by water. The artworks in Byland’s Super Saga take the regions waterways – the drains, the canals and the estuary – as metaphors to explore its key themes. It weaves together the recognisable, everyday aspects of a city with that which is bizarre and magical.

The exhibition is an attempt to highlight and examine the social history, folklore, industrial heritage and natural landscape of Hull and the East Riding in an imaginative way; as well as celebrate modern and unlikely aspects of popular culture such as fantasy and science-fiction, fairground art, car customisation, scarecrows and model building.

From reimagined replicas of some of Hull’s cast iron bridges including Wilmington and Sculcoates, to puppets named Wyke and Grim, who take on the characterised personas of Hull and Grimsby respectively, Byland’s Super Saga presents a creative interpretation of Hull unseen before.

Join us for a guided tour of this exciting exhibition!

 

 

Humber Street Gallery

Living Coast Exhibition

When the land has gone, but a place lives on through its people, we can still make maps – with their memories.

Living Coast is an installation of photography, fine art, spoken word, text, sound, music and video. It has been created through a six-month collaboration between creative artists and environmental scientists from the University of Hull, and current or former members of the local communities in Easington, Kilnsea and Spurn.

This multi-arts installation documents a social and environmental history of place, as well as the human cultures of the South Holderness coastline. It contains verbatim interviews, newly written music, field recordings, photography, physical theatre videography, new poetic writing, and the display of historical artefacts.

Will you heed the call of the coast? Where a storied past meets an uncertain future in a delicate dance of remembrance and possibility?

Come and hear both land and sea as they whisper their tales through the echoes of memory.

In a place where the pulse of the present beats in harmony with the rhythms of the past.

Hull Grammar School (600 years) Exhibition

Five Hull Old Grammarians have created an exhibition outlining the six centuries history of the school and its contribution to the city.

Viewable at Wilberforce House from 10th June until 22nd September, and at Hull History Centre in 2025.

Senior Tigers Memorabilia & Heritage Day

Come and view a treasure trove of Hull City AFC memorabilia and bring your unique and historical items to add to one of the largest collections of Hull City memorabilia ever assembled.

Light refreshments will be available in the Raich Carter Suite.

Model Railway Show

Hull Miniature Railway Society present a fascinating array of working layouts, along with demonstrations, ‘have a go’ layouts for children and trade stands.

Still Life – Summer Exhibition 2024

The new exhibition offers a new way of seeing the Still – Life. Esther Cawley, Painter, and Lesley Doe, Ceramicist, have collaborated to offer us this concept both within the real state, and captured on the canvass. They have created new works inspired by the ephemerality this genre, rendered in porcelain, alongside a series of painted compositions of Lesley’s new collection of transformed objects.

A mutual admiration of their creative practices led to new works:

“Lesley’s palette has been a source of inspiration, and enabled play in paint with muted complimentary colours, attempting a gentle and harmonious outcome.” Says Esther.

“I am thrilled that Esther took up my offer to use my work as subjects for her painting. I have long admired her paintings and it has been wonderful to collaborate with her for this exhibition, particularly to have the opportunity to see my pieces through her eyes.” Says Lesley.

Seen & Unseen Exhibition

Seen and Unseen is a contemporary figurative art exhibition that explores the themes of race, identity, gender and diversity, nature and climate change, through the works of outstanding artists.

The exhibition Seen and Unseen, aims to promote artists that haven’t yet been fully recognised for their achievements, and questions who has ‘not been allowed in’ to the artworld.

This exhibition showcases the work of two pioneering artists, Desmond Haughton and Nahem Shoa, who for over 35 years have made identity and the human condition their themes. They have been shining a light on a part of British society, which the establishment and art world did not see. The surface of their work belies how politically loaded the message behind these works. Through their work Shoa and Haughton have made the invisible visible in all its beauty and complexity.

The exhibition will include works from the Ferens’ collection, bringing out stories through new interpretations by juxtaposing them with loans of work by important women and artists of colour. This exhibition aims to celebrate the best of British contemporary figurative art in its rich variety of styles, but unifying all these artists is a desire to explore new possibilities in art for the 21st century. This exhibition will tell new stories about our place in society today, help give a voice to the next generation, and make them feel relevant to British culture.

Lionesses of Hull Exhibition

Explore the rich history of women’s football in Hull through the lives of Carol Thomas and Flo Bilton.

Lionesses of Hull is an exhibition which will explore the life in football of Carol Thomas, England defender from 1974 – 1985 and captain from 1976 – 1985. It will also touch on the life and work of Flo Bilton, also from Hull, co-founder of the Womens Football League who set up the Reckitt & Colman team that Carol played for early in her career.

As part of this project we are commissioning a film featuring interviews with different generations of women’s footballers in the local area about how they got into it, why they play and their experiences.

Byland’s Super Saga, Jack Pell

Byland’s Super Saga is the first institutional solo show by Hull born artist Jack Pell. The exhibition draws upon the magic of everyday life across history, and is born out of Pell’s personal experience growing up in Hull as a working-class person and all the vibrant complexities that come with that.

Hull is often described as a city shaped by water. The artworks in Byland’s Super Saga take the regions waterways – the drains, the canals and the estuary – as metaphors to explore its key themes. It weaves together the recognisable, everyday aspects of a city with that which is bizarre and magical.

The exhibition is an attempt to highlight and examine the social history, folklore, industrial heritage and natural landscape of Hull and the East Riding in an imaginative way; as well as celebrate modern and unlikely aspects of popular culture such as fantasy and science-fiction, fairground art, car customisation, scarecrows and model building.

From reimagined replicas of some of Hull’s cast iron bridges including Wilmington and Sculcoates, to puppets named Wyke and Grim, who take on the characterised personas of Hull and Grimsby respectively, Byland’s Super Saga presents a creative interpretation of Hull unseen before.

Woman Life Freedom

Natasha Monfared is a Hull-based artist who predominantly works in sculpture. Driven by her Iranian heritage, Monfared addresses political and cultural conflicts in Iran. Her work profiles the consistent resistance of Iranian women against oppressive laws such as the compulsory veil and the ban on attending stadiums. Acting as a voice for these women who lack freedom of speech, Monfared raises awareness of a fleeting moment of protest caught in the media.

Most recently Monfared has been reflecting on protests which were sparked by the death of Iranian-Kurdish woman Mahsa Jina Amini, who was in police custody at the time for failing to adequately cover her hair. This new body of work acknowledges the life-changing injuries suffered by those who have been attacked by the authorities while protesting. 138 enlarged air rifle pellets line the walls of the gallery, each one representing a man, woman or child who has been blinded through targeted firing. They recognise the individual resistance of each person who has fought against decades of injustice and inequality. The stained-glass windows draw on designs found in Iranian temples, the beauty of their light effects encourages contemplation, and hope for a more compassionate future for Iran.

The History of Hull Grammar School

HULL GRAMMAR SCHOOL 1330 to Present Day

Who started the Hull Grammar School?

Why have a school?

Where was it sited?

What famous people attended the school?

What was taught in the early days?

Who built the school in Trinity Square?

What happened to the school after leaving Trinity Square?

What was the social impact of the Grammar School in the city and beyond?

Does the school still exist and where is it?

The exhibition explores all of the above questions.

The exhibition has been created by students of Tranby School, Anlaby and a group of Hull Old Grammarians.

At The Edge

Back by popular demand, local photographic artist Steve Morantz returns with a new display of vivid, evocative snapshots of the changing sights, seas and sand of Hornsea and the surrounding East Yorkshire Coast.

Following a superb exhibition in 2023, we are excited to be welcoming back Steve for a second season of impressionistic artistic photographs of this most Easterly coastline of Yorkshire.

The exhibition can be viewed in the Stable Block’s south courtyard near the Stables Kitchen and toilets, and is free to visit. The exhibition has the same opening hours as Burton Constable’s grounds and parkland.

Abstracting The East Riding

Experiencing the landscape is Helen Rowland’s starting point for creating but her paintings are essentially abstract. Helen’s work is a visual response to the multi-sensory experiences imprinted in her memory: sounds of birds and nature, wind on skin, marks in the land.

Phenomenal artworks result, playing with colour shifts, saturated and desaturated colours. Expressive marks and energetic lines celebrate the freedom and joy that can be drawn from the beautiful landscapes of East Yorkshire, with abstract landscapes and seascapes inspired by Helen’s experience of running in open spaces and walking along the East Yorkshire coast.

For paintings that are colourful, joyous and energetic – look no further.