Hull is set to celebrate its status as Yorkshire’s only maritime city, urging people to get on board a voyage of discovery in 2022 and beyond.
On 9 March, a new look was unveiled for Hull Maritime, the £30.3m Hull City Council and National Lottery Heritage Fund project that is transforming the city’s maritime treasures across five sites and two historic ships.
The introduction of the new visual identity also marks the start of an exciting programme of large-scale events and grassroots community engagement that will provide opportunities for thousands of residents, visitors and volunteers to get involved and be part of the journey.
Following on from the success of Hull Kraken and Maritime Tales Week in 2021, the programme will see creative and cultural organisations within the city and beyond collaborating to deliver unique experiences designed to bring Hull’s maritime heritage to life.
The first large-scale event takes place later this month when Hull City Council and Freedom Festival Arts Trust, present The Awakening. The event between 18 – 19 March, 6 – 10pm, will invite people to celebrate Hull’s maritime heritage and the ‘seasonal shift’ of winter into spring by interacting with light installations in Zebedees Yard, visiting a ghost ship in the Museum Quarter gardens, marvelling at a stunning recreation of the Northern Lights above the Rose Bowl and much more.
The grassroots community programme will include reminiscence sessions at the city’s Extra Care facilities and taster workshops for children and adults across the city. Twenty young artists will be invited to join the Hull Maritime Creative Digital Skills Programme and a new resource for primary schools in Hull will bring to life the story of Hull’s whaling industry through the magic of theatre.
The first Maritime Community Grants projects will go live in the spring, which involve a range of arts, environmental and heritage projects delivered by community groups across the city. Further rounds of the grant scheme will be launched during the year. The Hull Maritime Employment Skills Training and Traineeship programmes will also get under way in the spring when a series of pop-up exhibitions relating to all things maritime will visit venues across Hull and the wider region. There will be a hive of activity during the school holidays, spreading the word about the project along with maritime collections in a fun and interactive way. The next Maritime Tales Week in October will look at the maritime heritage not only of Hull, but the wider region in Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.
Other Hull Maritime highlights in the year ahead include the restoration of the Guildhall Time Ball in the autumn, when it will rise and fall again, 100 years since it last dropped. The restoration of two of the city’s historic ships will also be completed. The Spurn Lightship will return to its temporary location on Hull Marina whilst works for its permanent berth are complete and the Arctic Corsair is expected to set sail for the last time to her final berth at the North End Shipyard in early 2023.
The new visual identity, launched on 9 March, features a capital ‘M’ encompassing elements inspired by maritime – the compass point, sails, maritime flags and waves are used against a bright colour palette of purples, blues and greens to signify the city’s deep connections with water.
Councillor Daren Hale, leader of Hull City Council, said: “The launch of this distinct and connected brand identity for our five sites and two ships, is all about revealing the new look of this exciting project, the sites and the cultural and creative programme.
“Our new identity will drive us forward to make Hull’s maritime attractions more inclusive and engaging, belonging to the city’s communities, and a source of pride and inspiration.
“Promoting the city’s maritime heritage helps us to celebrate our past and present and look forward to the future and this is thanks to funding from Hull City Council and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.”
David Renwick, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “The new visual identity serves as a great call to action for the communities of Hull to get involved with an innovative programme of events that showcases the fascinating heritage of this great port city. We are particularly excited about the Maritime Community Grants programme, which has allowed the residents of Hull to develop exciting ideas and projects that will celebrate and shout about the remarkable heritage that their city is home to and is most important to them. These grants, made possible thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, and the projects that will come to life because of them, are a fantastic way of bringing people together.
“We’re thrilled to see Hull: Yorkshire’s Maritime City and the project as a whole progressing well and that the city’s significant maritime heritage will be at the heart of its economic regeneration and instil further pride of place in its communities.”
Haley Sharpe Design (hsd) the creative agency who are also working on the new-look Hull Maritime sites and experiences, created the visual identity. Deev Vadher, hsd Director, said: “We felt that it was vital to create a dynamic identity which connects the various sites, the city, and most importantly, connects to people.”
The ideas which formed Hull Maritime’s visual identity came through close collaboration between hsd and the Hull team. Based on the rationale that Hull is a city shaped by water and the idea that ‘maritime made us’, the new identity sought to connect old and new – through typography, imagery and colourways. Importantly the brand system has in-built flexibility, with components that can adapt to suite various media platforms whilst retaining the core, strong identity.
The new visual identity will start rolling out across merchandise, print materials and advertising, and online.
As well as the fast-moving film capturing the past and present and showcasing the new visual identity, key landmarks in Queen Victoria Square will be bathed in the new look on the evenings of Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 March.
The project is still seeking partnerships with funders, trusts and businesses to reach a fundraising target of £2.6m.
View the new look here. Follow @HullMaritime on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Visit maritimehull.co.uk
