Have you been bitten by the culture bug? After 5.3 million people attended cultural activities during Hull’s year as UK City of Culture in 2017, more residents now regularly take in cultural activities in the city.
Whether it’s art exhibitions, tickets to the theatre or an evening at the ballet, here are some of the best to see over the next few weeks.
1. Back To Ours Half-Term Festival
Various locations
Monday 18 February to Sunday 24 February
Various prices and times
Back to Ours will again bring a diverse programme of events to the city.
The Hull Truck Theatre is again partnering with Back to Ours for a fantastic series of events taking place across the city over half-term. Don’t miss Delicate Flowers, a play about a young boxer named Karen inspired by the story of Hessle boxer and wrestler Barbara Buttrick, and A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad), a hilarious cabaret musical about depression that explains, sings and throws glitter about how it’s OK not to be OK. For tickets and more details, visit the Hull Truck Theatre website. Get more information here.
2. Brick History
Hull History Centre
Until Saturday 9 March
Free
Brick History tells the story of pivotal moments in world history
This exhibition of major historical milestones made entirely from Lego continues to bring in huge crowds. Brick History tells the story of pivotal moments in world history using models created from the famous Danish toy. The free exhibition from artist Warren Elsmore brings to life key figures from Mozart to Martin Luther King, scientific discoveries from the Big Bang to DNA and recent history from mobile phones to the moon landings. Get more details here.
3. Liverpool Biennial Exhibition
Humber Street Gallery
Until 31 March
Free
The Liverpool Biennial touring programme has opened at Hull’s Humber Street Gallery with a new exhibition called Place to Place. The Hull gallery will be the first venue to host work as part of the tour involving seven contemporary art organisations in the north of England in 2019 and 2020. The touring programme, now in its second year, will feature works by artists Inci Eviner, Suki Seokyeong Kang and Annie Pootoogook. Get more details here.
4. Any Old Rag Bone exhibition
Streetlife Museum
Saturday 2 February to Friday 7 June
Free
A picture of George Norris Jnr with friend Glen Collins from Any Old Rag Bone
This unique exhibition sees this uncelebrated aspect of the city’s social history recognised in pictures as unique photographs from three generations of Hull rag and bone men will be put on display. The evocative images from the Norris family collection date from 1968 to the present day. The exhibition features images of George Norris Snr, taken around 1968, and pictures of George Norris Jnr continuing the tradition in the early 1980s and a short film interview with Norris Snr, produced by Hull-born director Sean McAllister. Get more details here.
5. Open Exhibition
Ferens Art Gallery
Until Sunday 14 April
Free
The Ferens Art Gallery
This annual event has celebrated the creativity of local amateur and professional artists since 1967. Each year, it provides artists to display and sell artwork. This year’s exhibition has been selected by Humber Street Gallery senior curator John Heffernan, BBC Arts Correspondent Rebecca Jones and visual artist Ian McKeever. The display often includes a diverse selection of artworks in a variety of styles and media, many of which are also for sale, allowing visitors to purchase original artworks at a range of prices. Get more details here.
6. Here Be Whales
Hull Maritime Museum
Until 22 April
Free
A new contemporary art exhibition on the past, present and future of whales brings together a selected group of national and international artists who explore the sea mammals. The exhibition features drawings, sculptures, video and writing, looks at the ways humans tried to understand cetaceans through cultural methods. Get more details here.
7. The Russian State Ballet of Siberia
Hull New Theatre
Monday 18 February to Thursday 21 February, various times
Tickets from £19.50
Balletomanes rejoice! This Russian classical ballet company from the Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre is returning to Hull after a series of successful shows last year. This time around, the classic stories of The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Snow Maiden and Giselle get the treatment over four days. Book tickets and get more details here.
Hull City Hall in Queen Victoria Square.
8. Hull Philharmonic Orchestra
Hull City Hall
Saturday 23 February
Tickets from £10
Did you know the city’s amateur symphony orchestra is recognised as one of the best in the nation? The Hull Philharmonic Orchestra has been a major feature of the region’s cultural landscape for more than 130 years. Ahead of this February show, Hull-born conductor James Hendry has been working with Antonio Pappano at the Royal Opera House as part of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme, which supports the development of talented singers at the beginning of their career. Richard Uttley joins James in the beautiful Schumann Piano Concerto. Get tickets and more details here.
9. Swinging the Lamp
Ferens Art Gallery
Saturday 9 March
Tickets from £9
A performance showing the drama of a life at sea is coming to Hull. Swinging the Lamp, told in the words of a former fisherman, remembers the life of skipper Jim Williams and tells tales of Hull and Grimsby’s past fishing communities through storytelling, theatre and folk music. Williams fished the Arctic seas at the height of the fishing industry and was at sea when Hull’s triple trawler tragedy happened in February 1968. Get tickets and more details here.
10. BBC Philharmonic
Hull City Hall
Thursday 14 March
Tickets from £18
Vassily Sinaisky conducts the BBC Philharmonic as they return to this venue. Antonin Dvorak’s Cello Concerto in B minor was premiered on 19 March 1896 in London and is the last solo concerto he composed. Former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Leonard Elschenbroich brings his passion and flair to this much loved staple of the solo repertoire. Edward Elgar’s Symphony No. 1, which the composer intended to reflect “a wide experience of human life” and “a massive hope in the future”, closes this evening’s concert. Get more details here.
11. Heads Up Festival
Various locations
Wednesday 27 March to Saturday 30 March
Various prices and times
A look at the role of screens in observing global conflicts, a Macbeth re-imagining and an alternative guided tour of Hull will highlight the Heads Up Festival’s 12th season. The Heads Up Festival will take place at venues including Hull Minster, Hull Central Library and Kardomah94. This season’s artistic programme includes The Paper Cinema’s Macbeth, an exploration of the role of screens in observing global conflicts called Now Is The Time To Say Nothing, and an alternative guided tour of a city called The Land’s Heart Is Greater Than Its Map. Get tickets and more details here.
