Dominoes

3.5 km

Over 12,000 blocks

450 volunteers

Missed it? Not to worry – watch our video and enjoy the day!

Dominoes by Station House Opera was Absolutely Cultured’s first major event. Taking place on Saturday 11 August 2018, the internationally acclaimed, site-specific celebratory event, took over Hull playing with the architecture of the city on a 3.5km domino run – a moving sculpture, both playful and epic.

Using over 12,000 breezeblocks, 450 City of Culture Volunteers worked alongside Station House Opera’s Artistic Director, Julian Maynard Smith, to install the incredible structures.

The first domino was pushed at the Boat Yard; creating a chain reaction across the city, a moving sculpture that lasted 60 minutes. Over 30,000 people watched Dominoes weave its way through the city’s streets, public squares, civic buildings and private homes, climbing stairs, falling from windows and occasionally conquering a structure built from yet more blocks.

In a first for Dominoes, the route in Hull was split into two sections which were linked by a vehicle, as the first section paused in front of Burt’s Pizzeria and Gelato restaurant near the Fruit Market, as a vehicle took the block along the A63 to re-start the run at Australia houses on Great Thornton Estate. The domino run finished in Queens Gardens, where the YUM! Food and Drink Festival was taking place.

Creating a true celebration across the city centre, Dominoes transformed the rhythm of Hull for one special day, reclaiming the city’s streets for residents and the public.

Absolutely Cultured would love everyone to share pictures and videos from the day across social media, use @abscultured and #DominoesHull to join in the conversation.

An Absolutely Cultured event Dominoes, was conceived and directed by Station House Opera and produced by Artsadmin.

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John Grant's North Atlantic Flux: Sounds from Smoky Bay © Chris Pepper

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Installation view, 2020. Jamie Crewe, Solidarity & Love. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. © Jules Lister.

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Installation view, 2020. Lucy Clout, ZZZ. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2020. © Jules Lister

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Lucy, 2019. Aniara Omann, Equanipolis. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2019. © Jules Lister

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Installation View. Mike S Redmond and Faye Coral Jones (MSR FCJ), Ecstatic Rituals.Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2019. © Jules Lister