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.
Live Like Legends
Live Like Legends is a bold and compelling celebration of Hull’s Street Art and graffiti scene. Taking place across two floors at Humber Street Gallery, the exhibition explores some of the joys and complexities of this unique form of public expression which has had a striking presence in the urban landscape of Hull since the early 1980s.
OPEN HOUSE Workshops
OPEN HOUSE was a series of workshops delivered at Humber Street Gallery by a range of national artists, curators, and producers. Each session was designed to help you discover fresh ways to think about yourself as an artist and/or cultural producer, using unique and creative approaches.
Co-Creating a Climate Ready Hull
Co-Creating a Climate Ready Hull engages primary and secondary school pupils, policymakers, community groups, academics, artists, and the general public in a visual conversation about the city’s response to climate change.
Living Coast
Living Coast was an installation of photography, fine art, spoken word, text, sound, music and video. It was created through a six-month collaboration between creative artists and environmental scientists from the University of Hull, and members of the local communities in Easington, Kilnsea and Spurn.
Byland's Super Saga, 2024. Jack Pell © Jules Lister
Byland's Super Saga, Jack Pell
Byland’s Super Saga was the first institutional solo show by Hull born artist Jack Pell. The exhibition highlighted and examined the social history, folklore, industrial heritage and natural landscape of Hull and the East Riding in an imaginative way.
Setting Off...
Setting Off... was an exhibition celebrating the creative journeys of The Warren, Welcome House, Hull Afro Caribbean Men’s Group and Open Doors, who met in workshops created in partnership with Artlink.
You and Me in HU3, Russell Boyce and George Norris. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery, 2024 © Jules Lister
You and Me in HU3, Russell Boyce and George Norris
You and Me in HU3 presented the work of two photographers, Russell Boyce and George Norris. The exhibition combined analogue black and white photographs with ongoing collaborative work, and explored half a century of change across the HU3 area of Hull.
Diasporas Now UK Tour at Humber Street Gallery, 2024 © Abbie Jennings
Diasporas Now UK Tour
Performance art platform Diasporas Now announced the next stop of their 2023-2024 U.K. tour at Humber Street Gallery.
Perches and Flyways, 2023. Creative Connections Artists, Juneau Projects and Jennifer Holtridge © Jules Lister
Perches and Flyways, Creative Connections Artists with Jennifer Holtridge and Juneau Projects
Working with artist Jennifer Holtridge and artist-duo Juneau Projects, artists from Creative Connections created a collection of ceramic bird sculptures, focusing on species which are becoming rare in the Humber’s environment.
INTER_CHANGE Showcase 22/23
Working across a range of art-forms including painting, sculpture, performance, moving image, music and installation, the INTER_CHANGE Showcase 22/23 presented a cross section of new work being created by some of Hull’s most promising artistic talent.
Check Out: A Celebration of INTER_CHANGE 22/23
CHECK OUT is a celebration of Absolutely Cultured’s talent development programme INTER_CHANGE, a fun-filled day of free workshops, performances, and exhibition tours led by the exhibiting artists.
Our Strength is in Our Connection, Miranda Van Rossum and Hanna Lutkin
What keeps you going? What makes you happy? What is the most important in your life? These are the questions participants were asked to answer in the 'Our Strength is in Our Connection' project.
BOOTLEG SHREG & FRIENDS, 2023. Bruce Asbestos © Jules Lister
BOOTLEG SHREG & FRIENDS, Bruce Asbestos
BOOTLEG SHREG & FRIENDS was an exhibition that invited you to enter the world of ‘Shreg’, featuring interactive inflatables, paintings, sculptures, and mixed media pieces in various mediums for visitors to enjoy.
Pearson Primary Portraits, 2023 © Jules Lister
Pearson Primary Portraits, Class 5
From 7 December 2022 - 30 March 2023, artist Esther Cawley completed an artist residency at Pearson Primary School, working with Class 5 over eleven sessions to explore the theme of identity.
Winner Breaks First, Luke Beech. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery © Jules Lister
Winner Breaks First, Luke Beech
Luke Beech's 'Winner Breaks First' reshaped Space 2 into a snooker hall pocket realm, found by an artist from another world who explores the game for the first time.
Baa's House, Hetain Patel. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery, 2023 © Jules Lister
Baa's House, Hetain Patel
Baa’s House by Hetain Patel was a collection of films, sculptures and newly commissioned paintings. It explored the personal significance of Patel’s late Grandmother and her home in Bolton.
SUB:VERSION and SURGE
Tom Dale Company and Absolutely Cultured presented SUB:VERSION and SURGE, a double bill of dance performances, in partnership with Hull Truck Theatre.
Installation view. Oliver Ressler, Climate Feedback Loops. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2022 © Jules Lister
Climate Feedback Loops, Oliver Ressler
For his exhibition Climate Feedback Loops at Humber Street Gallery, Oliver Ressler presented a 2-channel video installation that combined recordings taken during an expedition in July 2022 in Svalbard, an archipelago between the Northern coast of Norway and the North Pole.
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
Earth is a Deadname, Lou Lou Sainsbury
Comprising film, sound, stained-glass installation, sculpture and live-performance, Earth is a Deadname by Lou Lou Sainsbury sought to reimagine transgender experience beyond the limiting language of medicalisation.
Installation view. Bloomberg New Contemporaries. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artists, 2022 © Jules Lister
Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2022
New Contemporaries annual exhibition of emerging and early career artists launched in Hull at Humber Street Gallery and Ferens Art Gallery.
© Floral & Lace
Luxury Christmas Wreath Making With Floral & Lace @ Humber Street Gallery
Professional florists Floral & Lace joined us for luxury Christmas wreath making classes @ Humber Street Gallery.
Nobody by Motionhouse. Image © Dan Tucker
Nobody: A Dance-Circus Adventure
Motionhouse’s renowned dance-circus style combines with mesmerising choreography to tell this emotional and ultimately uplifting story that resonates with the times we live in.
INTER_CHANGE Symposium © Anete Sooda
The Big Draw Week
To celebrate The Big Draw festival, you helped us bring Humber Street Gallery alive by doodling on the walls in our café space, building a collage that showcased the collective creativity of Hull.
Installation view. Various Artists, HSG Open Call Q1 2021. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artists, 2021. © Jules Lister
HSG Open Call
HSG Open Call invited 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.
©HinterlandCreative
Hull Television Workshop, Harold Offeh
Contemporary artist Harold Offeh facilitated workshops with Hull community groups to co-create Hull Television Workshop episodes in this Humber Street Gallery exhibition.
Luminarium
In Summer 2022 Absolutely Cultured presented Luminarium, a walk-in sculpture designed by Alan Parkinson of Architects of Air that you enter for a kaleidoscopic encounter with light.
Installation view, 2022. Harminder Judge, Ankles Absorbing Ash. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. © Jules Lister
Ankles Absorbing Ash, Harminder Judge
Harminder Judge made transportive sculptural works and pushed the boundaries of what painting can be in his exhibition for Humber Street Gallery.
Installation view, 2022. INTER_CHANGE Showcase. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist. © Jules Lister
INTER_CHANGE Showcase
A group exhibition by artists and creatives from our INTER_CHANGE programme. Featuring work by Anthony Attwood, Claire Holditch, Emily Oetegenn, George Welch, Luke Beech, Natasha Monfared, Pheobe riley Law, Raelle Marshall, Sean Azzopardi and Tonks.
Kristin McGuire © Studio McGuire / Nikki Rummer © Camilla Greenwell
An evening of physical performance with Kristin McGuire and Nikki Rummer
Absolutely Cultured proudly presented a double bill of physical performance in partnership with the University of Hull.
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
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 Hull 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
The Cucumber Fell In The Sand, Frances Disley
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
Absolutely Cultured and the British Council have launched an international mobility bursary for Hull-based emerging cultural leaders.
Installation View. Jade Montserrat, Instituting Care. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2019. © Jules Lister
Jade Montserrat: Instituting Care
Instituting Care consisted of large-scale charcoal drawings made directly on the walls of the gallery. The drawings offered fragmented reflections of the artists experience navigating her way through education, working as an artist and living in the UK.
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. © Rob Battersby
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 © James Mulkeen
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.