Role Of Hull 2017 Volunteers To Be Celebrated Through Art

Role Of Hull 2017 Volunteers To Be Celebrated Through Art
Role Of Hull 2017 Volunteers To Be Celebrated Through Art

The key role played by the thousands of volunteers during Hull 2017 is to be celebrated in a unique piece of artwork.

Anglo-American artist Julia Vogl has been commissioned to create a large, colourful, experimental and engaging piece that will both reflect the diversity and unity of the volunteers who have been part of Hull UK City of Culture 2017.

Julia has already begun early preparatory work in Hull, meeting with some of the volunteers ahead of an immersive residency during November and December, from which she will create the artwork to be exhibited in early in 2018.

Julia said: “I am thrilled to be embarking on this opportunity, mainly because I enjoy giving voice to those that are not often heard, and telling both the shared and nuanced stories. It is also personally enriching to be part of something that truly demonstrates the impact of culture on community.”

“Although early days, I have seen that the volunteer team at Hull UK City of Culture 2017 has amassed an incredible amount of data on who the volunteers are – ranging from age to favourite colour. In all my work I seek to show the individual and the collective simultaneously – making the viewer the data analyst in an immersive, visually stimulating way. I intend to do that here too.”

The Hull 2017 Volunteer Programme has been supported by Arco, Spirit of 2012, University of Hull, Big Lottery Fund and the Garfield Weston Foundation.

Julia has an international reputation for work that engages and empowers communities through vibrant and celebratory visual art.

She has exhibited work in the USA, UK (including Bristol, Newcastle, London and Cornwall), Lithuania, Poland, Morocco and Hong Kong

Her previous work includes Home (2012), a public piece of artwork reflecting on Peckham residents’ ideas of why the area is home. The outcome was a community built multi-coloured brick-like public living room with interviews recorded onto mp3 tracks embedded in the structure.

In her 2013 piece Museums at Night, visitors to the Discovery Museum Newcastle were invited to take an empty recycled bottle place inside a message written on a coloured piece of paper that correlated to where they were from. 2,500 bottles were then threaded onto a giant sculpture and illuminated as a spectacular chandelier in the museum.

Tysons Tiles (2015) saw two visually compelling ground murals raise community awareness of potential for public art. Data collected from over 1,000 individuals was visually translated into a vibrant design creating awareness about the arts as well as being interactive and fun.

Shaun Crummey, Head of Volunteering at Hull 2017, said: “Our outstanding volunteers have committed many hours supporting the incredible art on offer as part of the Hull 2017 programme. Julia will be working with both the volunteers and the mass amount of data we have collated, reflecting their dedication and enthusiasm, to create something with its own artistic merit.”

“Julia’s work is incredible and her experience and interest in working with data and community engagement made her an obvious choice in our search for the best artist to take on this project.”



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