Past events
We are passionate about enhancing places, connecting people through the arts and we are proud of the city we are rooted in.
With this in mind, let’s look back on some of our ambitious, accessible, world-class cultural projects.

Installation view. Kara Chin, Show Real. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2022 © Jules Lister
Show Real, Kara Chin
For her most ambitious solo exhibition to date, artist Kara Chin transformed Humber Street Gallery into a ‘blue screen’ studio, where sculptures resembled props from a CGI movie set.

Installation view. Ashley Holmes, Trust Melody. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2022 © Jules Lister
Trust Melody, Ashley Holmes
Trust Melody was an ambitious new installation made up of audio, textiles, sculpture and moving image works.

© Middle Child
Out Loud Scratch Night with Middle Child and Silent Uproar
A special extended Thursday Lates over three nights, Middle Child presented Out Loud - a scratch night for writers in Hull.

Working with Children and Young People
An online conversation where we discussed the ins and outs of working with young people.

Installation view, 2021. In Conversation as Collective Strategy. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. © Jules Lister
In Conversation as Collective Strategy
Other Cinemas with Black Heritage Collective, An Untold Story Voices and Cinenova platformed the work of community education, campaign, and transformative justice organising that exists in Hull.

© Absolutely Cultured
Time Taggers
Local artist Dom Heffer has been working in residency with young people to explore contemporary art.

Installation View, 2021. Jasleen Kaur, Flesh 'n' Blood. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. © Jules Lister
Flesh ‘n’ Blood, Jasleen Kaur
This new body of work by Jasleen Kaur for Humber Street Gallery explored our relationship with visceral emotions such as grief and ecstatic healing.

50 Queers for 50 Years Workshop © Chris Pepper
Creative Case for Diversity: An Introduction
Diversity and equality are crucial to arts and culture. This online discussion offered an Introduction to Art Council England's 'Creative Case for Diversity'.

© Absolutely Cultured
Managing yourself as a creative
We delved into how to maintain a healthy work-life balance, set boundaries and work with Unions in this online masterclass.

Floodlights, 2021. Absolutely Cultured © Thom Arran
FloodLights
Projection and light installations commissioned by Absolutely Cultured, exploring the city of Hull's relationship to water.

Parklife / Stories from the Shires
Relive our Parklife exhibition and Stories from the Shires soundscape, originally part of Creative Hull, in our pop-up art space in Whitefriargate.

© Pheobe riley Law
High Street Soundwalk Artist Talk: Jez riley French
In this informal talk, sound artist Jez riley French will discuss the soundwalk he has created about Whitefriargate for Heritage Open Days.

Installation view. HSG Open Call - Season Two. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2021. © Jules Lister
HSG Open Call - Season Two
HSG Open Call invites artists, printmakers and designers to submit pre-existing limited editions and original artworks to be displayed for free on the walls outside of our Humber Street Gallery spaces.

Fruit Factory Network site visit to Bloc Projects, Sheffield © Absolutely Cultured
Introduction to Fundraising in the Arts
Learn ins and outs of fundraising. See for yourself that this daunting task doesn't have to be so difficult after all. During this workshop you'll learn where to start and how to plan your project, as well as where can you get the funding from.

Installation view. In My Room, Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings. Courtesy of Focal Point Gallery and the artists, 2020 © Anna Lukala
In My Room, Hannah Quinlan & Rosie Hastings
Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings’ first institutional exhibition develops the artists’ study of politics, histories and aesthetics of queer spaces and culture.

Installation View, 2021. Leo Fitzmaurice, Enjoy Civic Life. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. © Jules Lister
Enjoy Civic Life, Leo Fitzmaurice
Leo Fitzmaurice reworks logos and signs as a response to a collection of mounted plaques on display in Hull’s Guildhall in this new exhibition of work, commissioned by Humber Street Gallery.

© GK Beaulah & Co Ltd
HSG x GK Beaulah: Design Challenge
To celebrate our new exhibition, Enjoy Civic Life by Leo Fitzmaurice, we launched our HSG x GK Beaulah: Design Challenge.

Creative Hull © Studio Capri
Creative Hull
Creative Hull was a weekend-long celebration of the creativity and culture that Hull has to offer.

Fruit Factory Network site visit to Bloc Projects, Sheffield © Absolutely Cultured
Life as a Creative
Are you starting out your creative career? Interested in finding out how others make a career in the arts?

Installation View. HSG Open Call - Season One. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artists, 2021. © Jules Lister
HSG Open Call - Season One (2021)
HSG Open Call invites artists, printmakers and designers to submit pre-existing limited editions and original artworks to be displayed for free on the walls outside of our Humber Street Gallery spaces.

Installation View, 2021. Leo Fitzmaurice, Autosuggestions. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. © Jules Lister
Autosuggestions, Leo Fitzmaurice
Leo Fitzmaurice deconstructs and adapts car parts from his local scrapyard to create a series of mask-like creations that seem almost-human.

Dance Exchange Hull, 2019 © Tom Arran
Meet the funders
An opportunity to find out more about local organisations providing funding for arts and culture projects.

Chatty Hull, 2019 © Absolutely Cultured
Making work with and for communities
Considering Art Council England’s "Let’s Create" strategy, we looked into how to plan, collaborate and develop meaningful relationships with communities.

Gipsyville Christmas Tree, 2020 © Absolutely Cultured
Christmas Activities
2020 was a long year, but we took the opportunity to lift spirits through a variety of cultural activities over the Christmas period.
Find out more about our involvement in We Made This Hull's Christmas tree trail and our festive activities!

Installation View. Practice in Place. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artists, 2020. © Jules Lister
Practice In Place
The culminating exhibition of Fruit Factory Network, a year-long pilot programme designed to support local visual artists.

Installation view, 2020. Jamie Crewe, Solidarity & Love. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. © Jules Lister.
Jamie Crewe, Solidarity & Love
Taking inspiration from Radclyffe Hall’s novel The Well of Loneliness (1928), the exhibition addressed the provocations of the book, which has had a lasting impact on generations of queer, lesbian, and transgender people.

HIPI Hang Out Forum, Absolutely Cultured © Absolutely Cultured
1:1 Advice Surgeries with Arts Council England
Working with Arts Council England, we offered an opportunity for artists to talk to ACE representatives for some 1:1 advice surgeries.

HIPI Hang Out Forum, Absolutely Cultured © Absolutely Cultured
Arts Council England under £15k Applications: Top Tips with Deb Ashby
Freelance Consultant and Creative Producer Deb Ashby offered a free session to advise on applications for under £15k Project Grants.

Model City, Absolutely Cultured © Tom Arran
Volunteer Community Support and Crisis Response
We worked with local partners and organisations to deliver a co-ordinated plan for assistance from our volunteers in the face of the COVID-19 crisis.

50 Queers for 50 Years Workshop © Chris Pepper
Creative Micro-Commission Programme
Our Creative Micro-Commission Programme offered £350 to creative practitioners from any discipline to produce a new work within the limits of working under COVID-19 social distancing measures.

Remote Talent Development
In response to COVID-19, we continued to offer support to creative practitioners through our talent development programmes.

Installation view, 2020. Lucy Clout, ZZZ. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2020. © Jules Lister
Lucy Clout, ZZZ
Lucy Clout's ZZZ presented new video work filmed nocturnally on a phone.

Model City, Absolutely Cultured © Chi He
Model City
Co-creating high quality arts and culture with young people from across the city and award-winning sound artist Dan Jones

Installation view, 2019. Ollie Dook, Proboscidea Rappings. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2019. © Jules Lister
Proboscidea Rappings, Ollie Dook
Dook offered up a new version of Jumbo, considered the first modern day animal celebrity, exploring the enormity of his physicality, popularity and impact on the world

Installation View, 2019. Aniara Omann, Equanipolis. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2019. © Jules Lister
Equanipolis, Aniara Omann
Inspired by traditional prop-making, vintage fashion and popular sci-fi, Equanipolis invited you to step into an alternate reality and reconsider the past, present and future.

Nnena Kalu, Wrapping. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2019. © Jules Lister
Wrapping, Nnena Kalu
Nnena Kalu's colourful sculptures were created by layering and binding materials such as industrial plastic tubing, newspaper, foam, cling film, fabric and tape.

Dance Exchange Programme, Absolutely Cultured © Absolutely Cultured
Dance Exchange Hull
Following on from three trips to northern cities with local emerging dancers, the Dance Exchange Hull saw dance artists, producers and collaborators come together to discover, explore and showcase the sector in Hull.

Installation View. Mike S Redmond and Faye Coral Jones (MSR FCJ), Ecstatic Rituals.Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2019. © Jules Lister
Ecstatic Rituals
Through a series of sculpture, performance and installation Ecstatic Rituals explored the tradition of Hull Fair.

Frances Disley, The Cucumber Fell in the Sand. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2019. © Jules Lister
Frances Disley: The Cucumber Fell In The Sand
Through her ongoing interest in the subject of self-care, Liverpool-based artist Frances Disley investigated Hull’s rich heritage around food, with an exhibition that featured sculpture, painting, textiles and plant life.

Language Café © Chris Pepper
Chatty Hull
Tea, cake and conversation. A campaign to get Hull talking.
Chatty Hull is an exciting citywide initiative led by Absolutely Cultured, which had a day of events held across the city on Saturday 28 September.

IETM Hull © Tom Arran
Emerging Cultural Leaders Mobility Bursary 2019 - Information Event

Installation View. Jade Montserrat, Instituting Care. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2019. © Jules Lister
Jade Montserrat: Instituting Care

Hull Takeover: Previews © The Herd/The Roaring Girls/Just Club
Hull Takeover: Previews
This summer, Hull headed back to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

PRS Foundation's New Music Biennial 2019, Absolutely Cultured © Tom Arran
PRS Foundation New Music Biennial 2019
Bursts of sounds guided audiences on a sonic journey of discovery when PRS Foundation's New Music Biennial returned to Hull on 12-14 July 2019.

Ella Dorton, Journey to the Centre of the Couch (Couches & Other Good Ideas). Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2019. © Jules Lister
Journey To The Centre Of The Couch (Couches & Other Good Ideas), Ella Dorton
Hull based artist Ella Dorton will expand her fabric collage-based practice with her first major project at Humber Street Gallery.

Athena Papadopoulos, A Tittle-Tattle Tell-a-Tale-Heart, courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist 2019. © James Mulkeen
A Tittle-Tattle Tell-a-Tale Heart, Athena Papadopoulos
Athena Papadopoulos' first major institutional presentation in the UK, using her recent two-part novel, of the same title as a point of departure.

Cut, Humber Street Gallery 2019. © James Mulkeen
Cut, Richard Houguez & Graham Jones
Haircuts and client interviews are gathered to create sound and sculptural artworks.

The Witching Hour, Absolutely Cultured © LDi Studios
The Witching Hour
Immerse yourself in spinning tales of alchemy and legend from the East and West, brought to life with spellbinding theatre, magic and wonder.

Installation view. Place To Place: Liverpool Biennial Touring Programme. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artists 2019. © Tom Arran
Place To Place: Liverpool Biennial Touring Programme
“Place to Place” displayed the work of three notable female artists from different global positions, as part of the Liverpool Biennial touring programme, which is bringing artworks by international artists presented at the 2018 festival of contemporary art to spaces across the North of England.

Candoco Dance Company © Hugo Glendinning
IETM Hull 2019 Plenary Meeting
On the eve of the UK leaving the European Union, we opened our doors to the international performing arts community to discuss inclusion through an exciting programme of talks, debates, performance, and networking opportunities for IETM Hull 2019.

Man On The Moon Keisha Thompson. IETM Hull 2019 © Keisha Thompson
IETM Hull 2019 Artistic Programme
For IETM Hull 2019, Absolutely Cultured brought together a diverse mix of local, regional and national artistic talent, spanning all artistic genres, to create an exciting, inspiring and totally unique artistic programme – one that challenges the notion of inclusion.

Jamie Reid XXXXX: Fifty Years of Subversion and The Spirit © Jamie Reid
Jamie Reid XXXXX: Fifty Years of Subversion and The Spirit
Through his art, music, performance and politics, British artist and anarchist Jamie Reid has become somewhat of a punk icon, rebelling against society’s social and cultural injustices. As part of its 2018 programme, Humber Street Gallery presented Jamie Reid XXXXX: Fifty Years of Subversion and The Spirit, which showcased a variety of material spanning several decades from the 1970’s to the present.

Oh The Night! - imitating the dog. Urban Legends: Northern Lights, Absolutely Cultured © Tom Arran
Urban Legends: Northern Lights
Absolutely Cultured presented Urban Legends: Northern Lights, a newly commissioned outdoor event featuring captivating projections and atmospheric soundscapes, brand new for Hull in winter 2018.

Installation view. Measures of Life, The Lumen Prize for Digital Art. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artists 2018. © Tom Arran
Measures of Life by The Lumen Prize for Digital Art
From 21 July until 30 September 2018, Humber Street Gallery was proud to present Measures of Life by The Lumen Prize for Digital Art, celebrating some of the most extraordinary and innovative art created with technology.

Contains Strong Language © BBC
Contains Strong Language
The UK’s biggest poetry and performance festival of new writing returned to Hull in September 2018. Bringing over 30 events to the city over three days, leading poets and world class spoken word artists will take to the stage alongside brand new voices.

Home Town Story, Absolutely Cultured © Tom Arran
Home Town Story
Building on the huge success of last year’s inaugural festival, we were delighted to partner with the BBC and Wrecking Ball Press to produce the return of the BBC’s national poetry and spoken word festival Contains Strong Language. As part of the programme we produced Home Town Story, captivating theatrical journey through the back streets of Hull.

Dominoes, Absolutely Cultured © Rob Battersby
Dominoes
This 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.

Land of Green Ginger © Tom Arran
Act VII: Land of Green Ginger
Residents across the city of Hull were gifted the seventh and final Act of Wanton Wonder from Land of Green Ginger – a beautifully illustrated, limited edition book.

Installation view. It Takes A Village. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artists 2019. © James Mulkeen
It Takes a Village
Reflecting on the ideas of congregation and the power of public assembly, It Takes a Village featured works by artists including Romily Alice (UK), Derek Alexis Coard (USA), Tessa Lynch (UK), Lakwena Maciver (UK), Hardeep Pandhal (UK) and Paul Yore (AUS).

Blade © Tom Arran
Blade
On 8 January 2017, the people of Hull woke up to discover a 75m wind turbine blade had mysteriously appeared in Queen Victoria Square. The 25 tonne structure was transported overnight from Siemens, where it was made, through the city in a complex operation, which saw more than 50 items of street furniture removed.

John Grant's North Atlantic Flux: Sounds from Smoky Bay © Chris Pepper
John Grant's North Atlantic Flux: Sounds from Smoky Bay
As part of Hull 2017’s second season, Roots and Routes, North Atlantic Flux was an experimental festival celebrating Hull’s Nordic links, while exploring the best in sonic creativity.

Installation view. It Takes A Village. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artists 2017 © Hull News & Pictures
States of Play
Curated by the Crafts Council, States of Play at Humber Street Gallery invited you to be playful with pieces of art, from the fascinating to the bizarre. Visitors were able to try their luck on a slot machine, create waves with their breath, or meet Combover Joe - the exhibition’s resident robot.

A Duckie Summer Tea Party/LGBT50 © Tom Arran
A Duckie Summer Tea Party / LGBT50
As the host of the first ever UK Pride, Hull was at the forefront of the celebrations to mark 50 years since the start of decriminilisation of homosexuality in the UK.

The Last Testament of Lillian Bilocca © Hull Truck Theatre
The Last Testament of Lillian Bilocca
Honouring one of Hull’s trailblazers who battled to improve safety on North Sea trawlers, Hull Truck Theatre and Hull UK City of Culture 2017 premiered The Last Testament of Lillian Bilocca during the final season of Hull 2017, Tell the World.