Freedom Festival to host ‘The Awakening’

Freedom Festival  with support from Welcome Back funding, the Arts Council and the Global Streets network are delighted to be working in partnership with Hull City Council to bring this new event to Hull City Centre.

Celebrating the movement from Winter to Spring, our great city’s maritime identity, heritage, folklore and mythology,  our relationship to the environment,  and as we move from the Pandemic into more normal times, we welcome everyone to join us back in the City Centre on the streets and in our venues to experience a magical and entertaining experience as you explore the City Centre and Old Town into the evening.

The Awakening is totally free and takes place between 18.00-22.00 on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 March 2022.

Bespoke mask designers Wintercroft have created a mask especially for you to wear as you experience The Awakening. Workshops will take place before and during the weekend, or if you prefer you can download your own digital pack to make the masks at home. Create, colour and jazz them up as you like and wear them as we take you around the City Centre.  

Ferens Art Gallery will remain open into the evening to look around their galleries and exhibits and Trinity Market will host live music with Trinity Live Special in association with Sesh.  

Stroll through a Fire Garden in Queen’s Gardens before stopping at the Rose Bowl to marvel at Borealis, a mesmerising installation bringing the experience of the Northern Lights to Hull.

Head down towards Whitefriargate where windows will be lit up by projections of artefacts from Hull’s Maritime Museum. Not forgetting to stop off at Zebedee’s Yard for a dynamic, interactive, fun, multi-sensory, music making installation, Halo.   

In the City Centre join Deblozay (‘chaos’ in Haitian Creole) to be taken on a journey to an unknown destination in the heart of the night alongside Hull’s Freedom Chorus, and meet the Totems, giant silhouettes sneaking without a noise through the street until they come to life and begin to dance. 

Throughout the Old Town you will meet NYX  writing Joanna Walsh’s Maritime Riddles in light emitting powder on the ground or Projector Bikes,  2 mobile electric tricycles ridden by 2 DJ projectionists. Moving onto High Street, Museum Gardens hosts Ship of the Gods and the areas staithes will be home to footage screening from the Yorkshire Film Archives accompanied by The Broken Orchestra curated soundscapes from local musicians including Low Hummer, Wai Wan, Katie Spencer and The Broken Orchestra .

Explore our full programme and the schedule for the weekend below.

Information taken from https://www.freedomfestival.co.uk/the-awakening/