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February 2011

"What the hell is going on?" That was the question Mal Williamson wanted to get an answer to at this month's humberMUD, which played host to the City Arts Forum.

Paul Holloway, Hull's City Arts manager, covered a lot of ground that, on writing, resembles a mammoth bulleted list. Here goes:

At Hull Truck there is a broader spectrum of events on the program and many which are being headed up by co-partners in terms of delivery. There is to a focus on dance at Hull Truck with contemporary dance opportunities at partner events.

Call for community organisations to get involved in the events program for this year’s Lords Mayor Parade in the form of community dance, music, majorettes etc.

Freedom Festival is taking place first weekend in September. This year’s festival is to have a more meaningful engagement with the arts. The opportunities arising may or may not come with funding.  City Arts will be negotiating through funders such as Arts Council. The festival wants to rise above the pop music focus and have more artistic integrity. Organisers are currently focusing on the large-scale arts intervention similar to the Carabosse experience.

There are to be more indoor spaces used to hold displays events and a hub of the festival being around the fruit market area.

Concerns were put forward from the floor about whether the strategy was inclusive and whether it operated as a push or pull system. The question was raised as to whether the role of City Arts Unit could be to feed that strategy back into the machine.

I interpreted this as a need for transparency and communication between the City Arts Unit and those it wished to represent. Paul Holloway suggested that the City Arts Unit is certainly willing to do that. Finally, on Freedom Festival, the question was raised as to whether this years event was going to be done on a large enough scale with wide appeal with a noted headline act and appeal to the business community to invite their clients along to showcase the city’s strengths. The headline act is still to be confirmed. However, music promoters suggested this was not unusual, at this early stage.

Moving on to funding cuts, Paul Holloway hit us with a lot of figures and some slightly jargonistic terminology about funding applications. He admitted to City Arts Unit having to cope with significant budget reductions but some of that has been offset to the next financial year.

Paul announced that Hull Truck Theatre would be a £100,000 down and he anticipated the City Arts fund would be £10,000 down whilst still having the ability to secure funding from the Arts Council. He stated that the Arts Council last year was worth about £1 million to the city.

Nationally, he went on, 100 organisations are to lose funding. However, there will be a financial boost to the Arts Lottery fund from the Olympic pot of money. He countered that any organisation in receipt of portfolio money will not now be able to apply for Arts Lottery money. This move, he suggested, would have the effect of putting more money into the pool for the next financial year.

Those wishing to submit applications for funding for this financial year can do so by downloading the form from the City Arts website. Finally, Paul suggested there was a pot of money, about £40,000, to meet funding requests in the next financial year.

After hearing the concern of artists getting consulted on preparations and planning for Freedom Festival, I questioned Paul Holloway on the arts section of Hull’s part in the national Cultural Olympiad. He responded by suggesting there was an event first week in May 2011 organised by a company called Slung Low. Interestingly, I interviewed Councillor John Robinson for Northern Torch recently and he made no reference to an event taking place in May. It also came as something of a surprise to the rest of the humberMUD crowd who had appeared to have no knowledge of either the Cultural Olympiad or this May event.

Paul briefly mentioned the Inspire Mark program, as seen on the official Olympics site, for organisations wishing to develop ideas themselves that fit within the Cultural Olympiad framework.

As is customary with City Arts Forums, the baton was handed over to other groups and organisations wishing to talk about their current events programs and plans for future arts developments in the community.

First of these was Eliza from ARC, who spoke passionately about a forthcoming international arts intervention featuring works from a Japanese mix media practitioner and a Taiwanese sculptor. Eliza announced there is to be four interventions along Whitefriargate in the city each with a maritime background.

Eliza spoke briefly about the success of the current shop front artworks adding that people will go into the existing shops just to ask about the artworks appearing up and down the street.

Also from ARC, Gisele Bone mentioned the Beverley Road Heritage Project and an event taking place in Aldi car park on March 5, adding that there were special edition ARC maps of Beverley Road available now at the ARC.

Secondly, we heard from Vicky and Sarah from Artlink. Vicky spoke about securing a contract with the British Heart Foundation. This association will help Artlink deliver a visual arts and dance strategy incorporating new dance workshops for women. Those excelling at the workshops will then be offered the chance to go on to a championship event.

A second commission focused on a visual arts strand around photography and writing, based around ideas of creativity, lifestyle and health. Three units will be set down in Hull to display the work generated from this project.

We also heard that there is to be a walk from Artlink on Princes Avenue via Pearson Park to Ella Street, the site of the upcoming Arts Festival. Along the way there will be opportunities for participants to engage in their very own artistic interventions in the environment with guidance and support from local artists.

City Arts Unit's Claire Drury announced plans for a large-scale intergenerational project to promote singing as an activity for 2012. She said she was happy to receive proposals and ideas from existing ensemble singing groups. She stressed that the project would focus on short works (bearing in mind that it may well involve non-singers too) and works that were easily digestible and performed.

Dave Watts, of popular folk act The Harriwatts Band, announced a series of percussion workshops taking place next week in the East Riding District taking place in Hornsea, Hessle, Pocklington and Bridlington Spa. He also mentioned another project he was involved in at Boothferry youth club involving music composition and rap lyrics development on a Monday night. The Harriwatts band would be a wonderfully inspired choice for your entertainment requirements they are available for birthdays, weddings, and bar mitzvahs, whatever you’ve got really.

Elaine Merrick of Larkin 25 was pleased to announce that the Larkin Toads have been shortlisted for an Individual Tourism Award in the ‘remarkable experience’ category. She added that it was a public vote and out of the other shortlisted there were only two arts projects; one of those shortlisted is the St Stephens. 

Finally, on the Arts front, we heard of some success stories. Kingston Arts Group have secured money to enable them to move into their premises on Humber Street and set up their working space. Oresome Gallery have also received confirmation of funding so that they can set up their jewellery workshops and showcase local jewellery designers work, at the top of Humber Street from June of this year. And finally, Eleven, has secured funding so curators Adele Howitt and Rob Moore will be able to focus on their work in ceramics and other disciplines.

Paul Holloway praised those groups and businesses mentioned above, and Fruit, who had faith in the Hull City Council solution and didn’t let their plans and ideas be swayed by the threat of private sector developers moving in on the fruit market area.

Finally, Mark Wigan of the Museum of Club Culture on Humber Street announced his forthcoming exhibition of Japanese Street style on March 3, from 6-9pm with free Saki. I’ve been to a number of Mark’s events and each and every time I have come away with a little bit of new knowledge. How wonderful is that?

So, back to that question, ‘what the hell is going on? I’d answer that by saying, ‘A hell of a lot.’ All we need now is for everyone to go out there, support it and get involved.

MUD's guest speaker tonight was legendary DJ John Peters of Funky Wormhole infamy. John Peters, who now runs a Vegetarian Café on the Land of Green Ginger aptly named the Green Ginger Café, began his DJ career in the Welly Club on Friday nights back in 1992. Since then he has developed a well renowned and hugely respected dance music initiative. John said when he began he had no plan, no intentions or aims, he just wanted to create a space where people could come together to listen to music without damaging their ears and have a bodily experience as well as sonically.

John spoke about the ethos of Funky Wormhole, the logo and what it signifies. Rather beautifully it says the following:

No matter what the world’s like outside there’s another place inside yourself and that’s where you go to enjoy music.

About the colourful logo with the girl, John said, “Inside her head is a beautiful thing.”

John worked with the artist Pinky, who, he says, “draws from his mind”. Together, they created the eye-catching branding that has lured in clubbers from Hull to Leeds.

John was consumed with the idea of creating the perfect sound and after a year of Funky Wormhole being resident at Welly Club he had his chance to start work on a new creation. With support from HPSS John began work on a custom built sound system. The unusual artisan’s love life collapsed around the same time as his ceiling but he ignored the gaping hole and crafted a majestic thing with a beautiful sound. The sound system has a massive amount of bass and that’s the secret - you want a sound that will make your eyelids tremor. John told us of a pregnant lady whose waters had broken due to the effect the sound was having on her body. Talk about a womb trembler!

In 2006 Funky Wormhole were booked to play at the Big Chill Festival alongside sets from Reality?, Pork Recordings and more. The weekend was spent with live musicians, loud music and fantastic sounds.

Funky Wormhole played at last year's Freedom Festival but is now gearing up to do a new night at Sharkeys on George Street in Hull. After 12 years or more of doing Funky Wormhole, John said that he wouldn’t encourage anyone to do it, certainly not for financial reward. However, from a learning and enjoyment perspective its clear he has had a really good time. Life in Hull can be idyllic, John suggested, until the financial demands bring you crashing back down to earth.
 
He thanked those people who have come forward and supported him and commended their talent including DJ Mak (the Sesh), Paddy (Soul Room), Nigel (Smash it Up) and the awesome plate spinner Fast–T.

Funky Wormhole has never had any funding existing at a time when it was very difficult to get funding for live music projects in Hull.

There was a quite animated discussion afterwards about the lack of supportive infrastructure in Hull for those in the business of making music. There is still a lack of A&R in Hull, and we still don’t have a central hub for all the local music information to revolve. We don’t get label bosses and agents coming to look at our bands, and everything is disparate and fragmented.

John suggested the lack of national acclaim is due to the consistent bitch slapping that Hull gets from the national media. It’s like the recently published poet Mike Watts says in Come on you ‘Ull, “…next time you want to take the piss, give 'Ull a miss….”

Next month's humberMUD will take place on Wednesday, March 16, when Lindsay West of Garthwest Creative will speak about the forthcoming Platform 2011. Platform 2011 is the ‘Digital Gaming and Entertainment Event of the Year’ and will take place across eight venues, with a huge interactive exposition taking place on March 27 at KC Stadium.

Michelle Dee