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.
Past events
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Installation view. Lou Lou Sainsbury, Earth is a Deadname, 2022. Commissioned and produced by Gasworks. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. Photo: Jules Lister
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Installation view, 2022. INTER_CHANGE Showcase. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. © Jules Lister
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Installation view. Ashley Holmes, Trust Melody. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2022 © Jules Lister
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Installation view, 2021. In Conversation as Collective Strategy. 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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Installation View, 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
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Installation view. It Takes A Village. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artists 2019. © James Mulkeen
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Installation view. Bloomberg New Contemporaries. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artists, 2022 © Jules Lister
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Kristin McGuire © Studio McGuire / Nikki Rummer © Camilla Greenwell
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Installation view. In My Room, Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings. Courtesy of Focal Point Gallery and the artists, 2020 © Anna Lukala
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Installation View, 2021. Leo Fitzmaurice, Autosuggestions. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. © Jules Lister
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HIPI Hang Out Forum, Absolutely Cultured © Absolutely Cultured
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Frances Disley, The Cucumber Fell in the Sand. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2019. © Jules Lister
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Ella Dorton, Journey to the Centre of the Couch (Couches & Other Good Ideas). Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2019. © Jules Lister
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Installation view. Measures of Life, The Lumen Prize for Digital Art. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artists 2018. © Tom Arran
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BOOTLEG SHREG & FRIENDS, 2023. Bruce Asbestos © Jules Lister
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Installation view. Oliver Ressler, Climate Feedback Loops. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2022 © Jules Lister
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Installation view, 2022. Harminder Judge, Ankles Absorbing Ash. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. © Jules Lister
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Installation view. Kara Chin, Show Real. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2022 © Jules Lister
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Installation View, 2021. Jasleen Kaur, Flesh 'n' Blood. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. © Jules Lister
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Installation view. HSG Open Call - Season Two. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2021. © Jules Lister
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Installation View, 2021. Leo Fitzmaurice, Enjoy Civic Life. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. © Jules Lister
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Installation view, 2019. Ollie Dook, Proboscidea Rappings. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2019. © Jules Lister
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Dance Exchange Programme, Absolutely Cultured © Absolutely Cultured
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Hull Takeover: Previews © The Herd/The Roaring Girls/Just Club
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Athena Papadopoulos, A Tittle-Tattle Tell-a-Tale-Heart, courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist 2019. © James Mulkeen
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Installation view. Place To Place: Liverpool Biennial Touring Programme. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artists 2019. © Rob Battersby
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Jamie Reid XXXXX: Fifty Years of Subversion and The Spirit © James Mulkeen
