Hull City of Culture: 10 reasons to get excited

Hull UK City of Culture 2017 has revealed a thrilling programme for the year ahead, split into four seasons and bringing together international artists with the local community. We've selected some highlights among a host of unmissable events.

Feature by The Skinny North | 20 Dec 2016

A 365-day programme of cultural events and creativity 'inspired by the city and told to the world', Hull UK City of Culture 2017 has been in the offing since 2013 when it became the first city in England to be awarded the title, and only the second city ever. 

Its four seasons – Made in Hull (Jan-Mar), Roots & Routes (Apr-Jun), Freedom (Jul-Sep) and Tell the World (Oct-Dec) – all draw on the spirit of the city and the artists and thinkers that reside within it to create a nationally significant programme of art and ideas. The line-up is vast and impressive and there are lots of events still to be announced, so we're sure there'll be plenty more highlights to come – for now, here are ten reasons to start getting excited for Hull UK City of Culture 2017. 

1. The Humber Bridge will become a musical instrument

Norwegian composer Arve Henriksen is teaming up with Hull-based sound recordist Jez Riley French to turn the Humber Bridge into a musical installation, in which you are one of the players. The soundscape you experience will be determined by the path you take over the bridge, and the changing climate around you. Henriksen has a history of making musical instruments out of unlikely materials – with his collaborator Terje Isungset we've seen him play trumpets made out of ice, and record a whole album of horns, percussion and other instruments made from glass. So we're pretty damn excited about this huge experiment, taking place in April. 

2. John Grant is curating his own festival

A resident of Reykjavík, Iceland, esteemed singer-songwriter John Grant will celebrate Hull's links to northern Europe and the North sea with a four-day showcase of Nordic arts and culture called 'North Atlantic Flux: Sounds from Smoky Bay' (28 Apr-1 May). Grant is basically a god so this will be divine. Tickets here.

3. Hull will host the 2017 Turner Prize

One of the major events of Hull 2017 is the reopening of the Ferens Art Gallery in January, which will host a number of special exhibitions throughout the year, not least the 2017 Turner Prize. We're also looking forward to seeing the hyper-realistic sculptures of Ron Mueck which come to the Ferens as part of the ARTIST ROOMS tour (22 Apr-13 Aug), the first showing of photographer Spencer Tunick’s pictures from his 2016 Sea of Hull commission which saw thousands of people in nothing but blue body paint fill the streets of Old Town, and five of Francis Bacon's 'screaming' Popes (21 Jan-1 May). 

4. Charlotte Church asks: 'Where Are We Now?' 

Artists including Charlotte Church, spoken word poet Hollie McNish and MOBO Award-winning rapper Akala will come together to consider where they stand politically, and what the future might be, as part of a festival curated by Scottish art/performance collective Neu! Reekie!. Taking as its impetus the question “with which David Bowie kissed us goodbye,” Where Are We Now? festival (2-4 Jun) also welcomes Mercury Prize winners Young Fathers, soul singer Law Holt, filmmaker and writer Mark Cousins, DJs/producers Andrew Weatherall and Sean Johnston – and many more – to answer this charge through music, film, spoken word, street theatre, poetry, visual art and discussion. Tickets here.

[Law performing at the launch of Where Are We Now? festival. Photo: James Mulkeen] 

5. Circus troupe Circa are making 'a playground for the soulful' 

Gravity defying Australian circus group Circa have stunned audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe with their intimate and lyrical shows Beyond and Closer, and for Hull 2017 they're set to present Depart, a collaboration with emotive electronic artist Lapalux as well as video artists and choral singers. This sounds like a match made in heaven.

6. Mica Levi will conduct her score for Under the Skin

Before Mica Levi made her arresting score for the forthcoming Jackie Kennedy biopic, she composed the unsettling, dysmorphic sounds of Jonathan Glazer's Scarlett Johannsson-starring alien movie Under the Skin. Before taking part in the New Music Biennial in July, which sees some of our best contemporary musicians like Anna Meredith, Gavin Bryars and Eliza Carthy present commissions and take up residencies, Levi will conduct the London Sinfonietta in a special full-length performance of Under the Skin at the University of Hull on 31 March. Tickets here.

7. There are festivals to celebrate women and LGBT history

The year-round City of Culture is populated by several self-contained festivals, not least Women of the World (10-12 Mar) – which involves local people in celebrating the achievements of women and girls worldwide, asking why true gender equality is taking so long to achieve and what needs to be done to bring about real change – and Festival LGBT 50, marking 50 years since the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK with events including Pride and a choreographic commission with Yorkshire Dance that celebrates Hull's contribution to liberation, tolerance and emancipation.

[Hull Pride 2016-17. Photo: Tom Arran] 

8. Hull's own artists are central to the programme

You've probably heard of Throbbing Gristle, but you might not realise that the group's founders – Genesis P-Orridge and Cosey Fanni Tutti – are from Hull. In the 60s they formed subversive art collective COUM Transmissions, whose work and history will be celebrated in a series of events from 3 Feb-22 Mar including music performances programmed by the Quietus, three works by artist Sarah Lucas, and materials drawn from COUM's personal archives. Tickets here.

The City of Culture has the local scene at its heart, with a programme of 60 original projects by artists working alongside Hull communities to be funded over the course of the year. 

9. The streets will come alive after dark

Hull UK City of Culture will truly light up 2017 with a huge fireworks display on New Year's Day, followed by seven days of light installations and large-scale projections curated by Hull-born filmmaker Sean McAllister (A Syrian Love Story). Called 'Made in Hull', the week-long spectacular will use everything from shop windows to the city skyline to explore Hull's heritage and characters spanning the Second World War to the present day, illuminating the streets, buildings and sky. McAllister's team includes Rio Olympic Games opening ceremony designer Durham Marenghi, BAFTA award-winning sound designer Dan Jones and cutting-edge video artist and Arca collaborator Jesse Kanda.

10. Much of the programme is free

The seven-day opening event, Made in Hull, is free, setting the tone for a City of Culture that aims to be inclusive and community-focused, perhaps most neatly summed up in its motto: 'Everyone back to ours.' 

Bring on 2017! 

hull2017.co.uk