Awakening Ceremony, Kara Chin. Courtesy of the artist, 2021. © Kara Chin

Humber Street Gallery line up vibrant new programme to kick off 2022

  • Two newly-commissioned exhibitions by artists Kara Chin and Ashley Holmes;
  • Dancers Emily Gray and Jamal Sterrett and theatre company Middle Child among upcoming performances at the venue;
  • HSG Open Call 2022 is now open for submissions and works will go on display in the New Year;
  • Previously sold-out Sound Bath experience returns along with more Yoga @ Humber Street Gallery from January.

Humber Street Gallery, which is managed and run by Absolutely Cultured, has today announced its programme for January 2022 through to April.

The programme launching in the New Year includes two new exhibitions commissioned by Absolutely Cultured as well as supporting activity, performances, events and a new season of HSG Open Call.

From Wednesday 19 January, Humber Street Gallery is delighted to present Show Real, artist Kara Chin’s most ambitious solo exhibition to date. Space 1 will be transformed 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.

Trust Melody by Ashley Holmes is an ambitious new installation made up of audio, textiles, sculpture and moving image works, which will open in Space 2 from 26 January. It continues the artist’s ongoing work and research on the collection and presentation of music and sound. At the centre of Trust Melody is a multi-channel sound installation made up of abstracted field recordings, music and vocals produced by Holmes between 2019 and 2021. It explores cultural memory and the potential of music to act as an alternative form of storytelling.

The work attempts to make connections between sound, place, technology and race. It does this by delving into genres of Black music, tracing relationships between Black social life and the natural world as a way to map and understand historical and site-specific cultural contexts.

Supporting these exhibitions are opportunities to hear from the artists themselves and explore the themes of the shows; following a free-to-attend launch party on 27 January where both artists will be present, the venue will host an In Conversation event with Kara Chin. Those interested in video games, films and interactive environments can join global super brand, research and curatorial project Haunted Machines for an online session, as they take you on a guided tour of the world of computer graphics and simulation.

Thursday Lates returns with new commissions relating to the themes of exhibitions on display in the venue, with a dance double bill on 17 February featuring Emily Gray and Jamal Sterrett. There will also be a special extended Thursday Lates from 24-26 March in the form of an Out Loud Scratch Night; a chance for Hull writers to see and hear their scripts performed by professional actors in front of a friendly audience for the first time, produced by Middle Child and Silent Uproar.

Humber Street Gallery is also extremely excited to share the return of its HSG Open Call project, encouraging local artists, printmakers and designers to submit pre-existing limited editions and original artworks to be displayed for free on the walls of our vibrant ground floor café and bar space. Any artist or creative who lives or works in Hull, East Yorkshire or North Lincolnshire can submit artwork. HSG Open Call 2022 is open now for submissions and the deadline is 20 December 2021. Find out more about this opportunity here: https://www.absolutelycultured.co.uk/whats-on/events/hsg-open-call/

Following a sold-out Sound Bath experience in October, more opportunities have been scheduled once a month from January through March. A chance to reduce stress be gently guided into a state of meditation. Yoga @ Humber Street Gallery also returns every Wednesday, 6-7pm from 12 January for 12 weeks.

Tickets for all Humber Street Gallery activity can be found on their website and on Eventbrite: https://www.absolutelycultured.co.uk/humberstreetgallery.

Ticket details for Out Loud Scratch Night will follow in the coming months.