Leebo in front of Rap is the Word , DRA Tracks 1988, Photo Credit Morn One TPG.

Live Like Legends: Celebrating Four Decades of Hull’s Street Art and Graffiti Scene

  • New Summer exhibition at Humber Street Gallery showcases Hull’s vibrant street art and graffiti scene; 
  • The exhibition brings together artists from multiple generations who have shaped the cultural movement over the past forty years; 
  • The show will extend beyond the gallery with city-wide workshops and three additional exhibitions across Hull; 
  • Exhibition Dates: 19 July – 22 September 2024. Launch Event: 18 July, 6-9pm.

Humber Street Gallery is proud to present Live Like Legends, an exhibition celebrating Hull’s vibrant street art and graffiti scene. Spanning two floors, the show explores the joys and complexities of this unique form of public expression, which has had a striking presence in Hull since the early 1980s. 

Live Like Legends showcases newly commissioned artworks from several generations of artists who have significantly shaped this cultural movement over the past forty years. The exhibition includes an immersive, multimedia installation of curated mementos, photography, and previously unseen archive footage. It explores the crossover between the street art scene and other aspects of street and youth culture, alongside society more broadly. 

In addition to the exhibition at Humber Street Gallery, funding from Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants programme has been secured to deliver further work across Hull in August and September 2024. 

A wide range of community engagement will include city-wide art workshops, demonstrations, artist talks and guided walks. Three additional exhibitions will also take place in alternative venues across the city: 

  • A residency and exhibition at Ground will delve into the region’s long history of street art and its role in social change.  
  • An open-call exhibition at Brew will provide opportunities for younger artists who have not previously exhibited their work.  
  • A third satellite exhibition will highlight the international connections that Hull’s Street artists have developed and ambitious projects they have initiated. 

Live Like Legends brings together a community of artists to celebrate and examine an artform which has been defined by its existence outside of gallery walls. The exhibition reveals the conditions that enabled street art to flourish in a post-industrial Hull, becoming part of a global cultural phenomenon taking hold in major cities like New York and Paris. 

No matter your circumstances – Live Like Legends.