Creative Hull is a weekend long celebration of the creativity and culture that Hull has to offer, taking place from the 16 -18 July 2021.

Occupying disused shops and buildings, outdoor spaces, existing venues and taking place digitally, Creative Hull is a moment to celebrate our city’s culture and the role it can play as we emerge from this last year – responding to the changes brought and shaping a new optimistic future.

Originally planned for 2020, we’ve worked hard to make sure we can go ahead in a considered and socially distanced way – and we’re really excited to be able to bring some much-needed joy to the city this summer!

What to expect

We’re currently working with other local organisations to shape the programme, though we can already expect it to feature Hull-based theatre company Middle Child, exhibitions at Humber Street Gallery including In My Room by artists Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings, and Pride in Hull will be hosting a pop-up hangout safe space.

And that’s just for starters, as we’ll have even more exciting details to share in the coming months!

How Hull is getting involved 

We invited local artists, community groups and cultural organisations already planning activities of all shapes and sizes to take place during 16-25 July 2021 to complete an online form and be included in the Creative Hull campaign and its listings. Thank you for your submissions, we can’t wait to share the full programme! If you weren’t able to submit your details before the deadline but still want to be involved, tag us (@AbsCultured) on social media and use the hashtag #CreativeHull when talking about your activity. We’ll do our best to share your posts and spread the word. 

Absolutely Cultured is providing seed funding of up to £1,000 for local artists or collectives who have an existing or new project they want to try out as part of the programme. In addition, there’s also a selection of local artists commissioned to create shop window designs as part of a series which will be featured across the city-centre. Applications for these opportunities are now closed and we’ll be sharing more news about these projects soon. 

We’ll be working with local artists in Gipsyville and Peel Street on community-based projects and there will be a number of activities for schools and colleges and for people to get involved across the city – whether that be from home or attending in person. 

Everyone is invited to “get creative”, do something fun and discover something new through arts and culture!