Hull 2017 Memories Captured For Future Generations

The bike that delivered the Hull UK City of Culture 2017 bid, the storyboard of Made in Hull and feathers from Place des Anges.

These are just some of the items that will be placed in the Hull 2017 archives at Hull History Centre, which was recently awarded Archive Service Accreditation by The National Archives. This will sit alongside digital content, which will be stored in the University of Hull’s secure digital archive.

The archive will include official records created by, and for, the Hull 2017 team, the artistic and community programmes and from those participating in the events during the year. The information collected will provide evidence of how Hull’s tenure as UK City of Culture was planned, delivered and how people engaged with it.

Jeff James, Chief Executive and Keeper at The National Archives who was in Hull to present Hull History Centre with its accreditation certificate and to help launch the digital archive, said: “The archive seeks to capture a pivotal point in Hull’s history and will become a key part of the collective memory of the city. I’m looking forward to seeing how it matures and informs future cities of culture.”

Hull History Centre brings together material held by the City Archives and Local Studies Library with those held by the University of Hull.
Professor Glenn Burgess, Acting Vice-Chancellor for the University of Hull, said: “This archive is a key element of the UK City of Culture legacy – ensuring the incredible memories that are being created during Hull 2017 will be preserved for many generations to come. By providing a valuable resource for future academic research as well as any other cities bidding to be a capital of culture, it further showcases the University’s wide-reaching and unique role in Hull 2017.”

Martin Green, Director of Hull 2017, said: “The Hull 2017 archives will tell many tales from the creative minds behind the spectacular performances and events to the people of Hull who experienced it. It will be an important record of our incredible year which will inspire creativity and innovation for years to come.”

Initially, Hull 2017 is calling on the support of artists and creative organisations to help capture the journey of Hull 2017 by providing material such as:

• The creative process
o project plans, idea books, journals that might relate to what sparked the idea or prompted the activity/event
o elements from consultation or public engagement that may (or may not) be explicit in the final artistic work

• Artistic content
o sketches and designs whether for costume, sets or lighting
o photographs, interviews, oral history, sound or video recordings

• Promotional material including flyers, posters and badges

Later in the year, the team will call on the public to contribute to the archives and a programme of public engagement will be developed to encourage a wide range of users to create new artistic works.

Eventually, the archive will be available for anyone who wants to use it from researchers examining the impact of culture and urban regeneration to members of the public keen to revisit events they enjoyed or discover how a piece of work was inspired and created.