Tag: ANETE SOODA PHOTO

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HULL CITY OF CULTURE – 2024 – STILL

by anetesoodaLeave a Comment on HULL CITY OF CULTURE – 2024 – STILL

…and here we are, here I am. 2024 and ongoing great city for culture, events, communities and friends. The city that is home and place to grow, stay and root yourself deep.
2024 has been a storm for me and very last day of it I am lastminutedotcom, because life. Life that is busy, work that is changing and challenging, free time that is little. I wasn’t sure if I will get to this point to summarise my year with culture in Hull, I silently wanted to give this up, but I couldn’t. I have realised that I have to hold tight to what I do good until I can’t, including being in the city with camera and deliver this every year.

Time and technology has been my enemy to achieve this and I have sworn a lot, so words will be less. But hello to all people who was part of my year, amazing organisations, events, clients to make my day/week.

I have visited Ferens Art Gallery three times this year and it truly is one of the best free to enter art galleries in the UK.

Jason Wilsher-Mills: Are We There Yet?

I remember from around 2017/18 visiting Artlink for one of his exhibitions, meeting him and thinking how unique he is. And here he was, in Ferens exhibiting large scale masterpieces. Really really good. Even though not directly interactive, it felt like we, the members of public, are part of it. The art was for us.

Round two at Ferens Art Gallery:

Ferens Open Exhibition

Two visits worthy, 2024 delivered extraordinary work. I have been to Ferens Open Exhibition every year since 2015 and this was my favourite. It was rich with variety and mind boggling art work. Children’s section was adorable, will never forget the cute fox painting.

Ferens Art Gallery change the in-house exhibitions too, so most times it is a treat for the eye. At my visits I don’t squeeze through crowds of people, and it nice to consume art in piece.

Humber Street Gallery/Absolutely Cultured

Absolutely Cultured have truly kept the momentum going since 2017. With new directors board, events/exhibitions/workshops/talks have carried on being exciting and definitely resumes to be the heart of cultural scene in Hull.

Humber Street Gallery/Absolutely Cultured have truly kept the momentum going since 2017. With new directors board, events/exhibitions/workshops/talks have carried on being exciting and definitely resumes to be the heart of cultural scene in Hull.

YOU AND ME IN HU3 – Russell Boyce and George Norris

Fellow photographer and friend Abby reminded me of the opening night event and after a long day I did drag my tired ass and I am so glad I did. It was a great exhibition, especially considering how many people it brought to the gallery and touched heart strings.

At the opening night it was more of a catch up and socialising, enjoying being there, so I probably saw two photos. So I went back again with a purpose to see the exhibition.

You and Me in HU3 presented the work of two artists, Russell Boyce and George Norris. The exhibition wove together a series of black and white photographs taken over 40 years ago with ongoing work shot in colour. Through this duality, You and Me in HU3 charted almost half a century of change across an area of Hull which has seen vast social transformation since the decline of the fishing industry in the mid 20th century.

Composed of distinct series of images, the exhibition reflected a breadth of social issues whether historic or contemporary. In “Changing Times”, Russell presented an intimate set of photographs documenting daily life for a young mum during the 1980s housing crisis, whilst “Rag-Bone” explored the once prevalent but now declining occupation of the rag-and-bone man. George’s series “Gypsy Childhood” was a set of images born out of the artist’s sustained generational relationship with one of Hull’s horse-trading Gypsy communities, meanwhile “A Love Letter to Hull” was a celebratory ode from the artist to his city, loaded with warmth, love and familiarity.

Source: absolutelycultured.co.uk

LIVE LIKE LEGENDS

The opening was full house bonkers amazing, which I was lucky to be part of. Bursting with street art culture, graffiti, photographs, installations, a screening, good vibes, music, good people, possibly true rumours that Banksy himself was there, it was truly one of the highlights of the year.

Live Like Legends is a bold and compelling celebration of Hull’s Street Art and graffiti scene. Taking place across two floors at Humber Street Gallery, the exhibition explores some of the joys and complexities of this unique form of public expression which has had a striking presence in the urban landscape of Hull since the early 1980s.  

Bringing together many generations of artists who have made critical contributions to the development of this vibrant and far-reaching cultural scene over the past forty years, Live Like Legends presents newly commissioned artworks highlighting the diversity of creative practice within this artistic community.  

Working collaboratively, the artists and an eclectic mix of contributors celebrate self-expression through highly stylised graffiti and multimedia work, alongside curated archival material including photography and previously unseen footage. This important cultural archive provides context to how the graffiti scene intersects with other aspects of street and youth culture, and alongside society more broadly.  

Included in this exhibition is work by Detour, Ekoe, K148, Kev Le Kat, Leebo, Lonny POP, mike sprout, Mr Joe, NoHone, OBOUT, Oman, Paris, Pesh, Pinky, SI2, Skeg, Sophie Cash, Spamdog, Vrok, Xenz, Yours and Ziml. 

Source: absolutelycultured.co.uk

ARTLINK HULL- COLD JUNCTION

Cold Junction by Luis Bustamante/Sebastian Bustmamante

Luis Bustamante is a Chilean photographer. He and his wife, Carmen, arrived in Hull in December 1974, as political refugees. Their son, Sebastian Bustamante, is a British-Chilean artist, curator, and researcher.

On 11 September 1973, a military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet seized control of the South American country of Chile. The coup deposed the socialist president, Salvador Allende. The Pinochet regime launched an extensive and brutal terror campaign against Allende’s supporters, including kidnapping, arbitrary arrests, torture, and executions. Groups in Britain and elsewhere worked to highlight these abuses and to support victims and their families. The Humberside branch of the Chile Solidarity Campaign organised for 30 Chilean exiles to move to the city—Luis and Carmen were among them.  

As well as continuing his studies at the University of Hull, Luis walked the streets, photographing what he saw. “The camera had two purposes: it was a connection with a new life and a shield that enabled me to look at it,” he later said. These images vividly capture a sense of everyday life in Hull in the mid-1970s, a period of significant social and political change.

To mark the fiftieth anniversary of Chilean refugees arriving in Hull, Cold Junction unites Luis’s photography with Sebastian’s ongoing project El Otoño. Bringing together objects, photographs, and video, Sebastian’s work explores his status as a second-generation exile. El Otoño honours those who were disappeared, those who stayed, those who left, and those still trying to build a better future in Chile. 

This exhibition is co-curated with Tom White.

Source: artlinkhull.co.uk

For the start, I haven’t been in Artlink space for years and I was amazed how beautifully the space is renovated, especially top floor kept with so much light and features.

The exhibition was very very good, the curation was exceptional. Me and my partner thoroughly enjoyed it. I was drawn to small details in a space that has so much breathing space and light. The story humble and perfect content for photography touching topics even more relevant today.

FREEDOM FESTIVAL 2024

In the past I have worked for the festival and it is a intense job. After I winded down with photography in 2022 and stopped focusing on always being the photographer at major events in Hull, I didn’t have much content to show-off. This year in my career was focused on estate and odd creative projects, so I really wanted to be at the festival as a photographer. It was a great day, day for myself, with fluid brief created for myself. Highlights was the Parcel Project and Sync or Swim by Tamara&Jo

Sync or Swim by Tamara&Jo

These two powerhouses always deliver. It was burst of colour and wackiness. As per usual crowds loved it. So did my camera and my photographers soul. And, hell, I was so glad to see so many familiar faces in the audience.

Freedom Festival overall was full of sunshine, the crem-de-la-crem of Hull’s finest people, great events and happy vibe, Hull transformed for the festival duration of busy busy bee town.

At the festival I bumped into Curiosity Hull which leads me to a little job I did for them few months ago at Pipe&Glass.

Curiosity Hull is a movement toward greater understanding, increased knowledge and ingrained accuracy. Taking questions, queries and requests from members of the population of Hull, Curiosity strives to provide the best, correct guidance and answers. 

All content is made by the people of Hull, scrutinised by librarians from Hull’s public libraries and presented as accurately and helpfully as possible. 

Curiosity is brought to you by the James Reckitt Library Trust, which has dedicated the last 100 years to increasing the provision of public libraries in Hull. 

Source: https://curiosityhull.co.uk/

Here are the team in Hull at the Freedom Festival. We had a lovely chat, we talked Hull, David Burns from Radio Humberside, Clive Sullivan Way and what I do.

This was a quick but grand opportunity. The team travelled to Pipe& Glass in South Dalton to recreate ancient biscuit recipes by a Michelin Star Chef for a feature. Stunning location and a unique opportunity. Good biscuits too.

As you might of heard, I have had an interesting year in my career, so sometimes my planned culture ventures didn’t happen. Like this one below. Hull Central Library exhibition space was suppose to have an street art exhibition, but I missed it and instead I had a quick look at the James Reckitt legacy.

The year brought the usual: pretty regular jobs, new opportunities, projects, but I more and more struggled for time to have free time to do self-imitated work or culture ventures. The consequence is not very much content and some cool events missed. But I don’t dwell on it, I am trying to learn to understand that I can’t have it all.

In early 2024 I had to deal with a new challenge and I started freelancing(in a way) in estate/property photography industry. It wasn’t the plan, but I started building a portfolio and planned to have a separate business branch. I didn’t want to, I don’t think the industry is in line with other photography pay-wise, it is not about the heart of photography, I quickly learned that it is about “quick-shit-fast-turnaround” and as usual I wanted extra better. Spring/summer in my memory will be like a storm of shit where I tried to succeed and built the presence in the new industry, but I also looked very hard for sustainable alternative. Our Big Picture came together again and we mingled, went to Leeds Photo Festival, I stopped hosting photography classes and closed that chapter for a bit and was busy printing personal archives.

Our Big Picture now has concluded until further notice, but we had few exciting things at the end of the project.
Stories Of Water Exhibition
Leeds/Photo North Festival
Workshop
Visit to Cleethorpes

Stories Of Water Exhibition was an unexpected/quick turnarounds opportunity where I actually went out and created work and here you can read all about it: https://anetesoodaphoto.blog/2024/08/28/our-big-picture-stories-of-water-2024/

Leeds/Photo North Festival was OBP organised day out and we had an amazing time. I met my muse Peter Dench, shook his hand and saw some insane curation and great photography from around the world. Again: actually blog post exists : https://anetesoodaphoto.blog/2024/04/17/photo-north-festival-24/

We also had a little meet-up and workshop hosted by Wes at the gallery.

And then we went on a walk in Cleethorpes as a collective to be with the place. It was interesting and insightful to walk round the edge of Cleethorpes and talk. Initially the requirement was not to treat it as a photo-walk, but I soooo cheated.

Our Big Picture is not quite Hull, but it is close enough and very important part of my 2024, so I have included this in the summary.

Our Big Picture Gallery and organisation is a vital part of North Lincolnshire culture/arts scene, listed building is a home to small and cosy exhibition space, recommend a visit.

The decision to stop hosting photography classes was a little difficult, but at the time I couldn’t justify the energy I invested versus money it was bringing and I paused it for a bit, but after great feedback and encouragement from my students, I am hoping to start my own “thing”. Last workshop hosted didn’t quite work out like planned, but never the less, it was very good and I felt very lucky with my last bunch.

Last but not least

HULL COMEDY FESTIVAL 2024

This festival is family. Jed and Gary working hard every year to bring the festival together to make Hull laugh. I try and visit at least 3 shows and this year it was very good selection.

Other small things happened: visit to Warrington to see fellow Latvian photographer Lasma Poisa’s exhibition Motherhood Uncovered for a little research for my own ongoing personal project.

Did some outings to scout for Halloween shoot locations and came close to discover a real local gem, but the fence/cameras stopped me to get closer [guess where this is]

Here we are, still cultured.
I really want 2025 to be more, but I am not making promises. The incentive to go out and account for it at the end of year feels like the last remains of my creative practice and work, but it is not true. I am still alive, here and people in Hull are keeping me on my happy toes. it just gets busy and I wish for more hours in the day, while dealing with the hours I have.

Thank you to all the clients, friends, organisations and my family for being my heartbeat.

Happy New Year
Love
Anete Sooda

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PHOTO NORTH FESTIVAL ’24

by anetesoodaLeave a Comment on PHOTO NORTH FESTIVAL ’24

This weekend I visited Photo North Leeds Photo Festival and it indeed deserves a quick shout on my blog.
Reason one: Peter Dench, one of my ultimate photography heroes, is the creator of the festival and was present at the festival.

Reason two: Martin f Parr exhibited there – SAY NO MORE

Reason three: On Instagram I kept referencing to the attendance as brain food – pudding for my photographers soul, a treat organised by OUR BIG PICTURE and legendary Abby Jennings. It is so important to feed your creative curiosity, expand horizons and network with other photographers, industry specialists. Festivals like these are crucial elements to sustain the medium and preserve its role in this mad world.

Reason four: I am tiptoeing through career stage where I really have to pull every brain muscle to figure out all my best next steps way ahead and be ON POINT. So every chance to work on my creative practice, meet people and network, essentially keeping the artist in me alive, needs to happen without an excuse.

I will be short and sweet.


Little bit about the festival:

In 2018 we had a vision to bring a lively, welcoming and professional photography festival to new audiences. A festival where visitors would leave feeling nourished and inspired.

Alongside a sensational display of exhibitions, from celebrated and emerging artists, is a stimulating Live Lounge of talks and screenings. In our Market Area you can browse book, zine and print stalls or just relax with friends, make new ones, all within a background of music, food and a licensed bar. Money is raised for several charities.

Students are a key part of our mission. Festival Friday is Education Day with participation and presence from teaching organisations and students across the UK who can benefit from free portfolio reviews and career advice from photographers and industry experts.

With your valued collaboration we’re getting there. Together we believe we’re building a community around a ‘must see’ event on the annual photography enthusiasts calendar.  

Source: https://www.photonorthfestival.co.uk/festival

First, I liked the choice of venue, I think the exhibition was curated beautifully. Cosy, not too snazzy and not out of reach, and the work exhibited covered a lot of genres. It is pretty genius in the scale to achieve that.

There was also hosted talks with industry professionals, I listened to one and it is rich to hear from other creatives. Everyone’s journey can either be relatable, exciting and new to you, what you hear, you can learn from, or get inspired. Or get motivated to either stick to your won blazing guns or work harder. Olivia Brabbs, a photographer from Yorkshire really inspired me with her warm presence and openness. Her work is beautiful, generous in colour and love the range of clients she has. Loved gmosley, she was funny. She is an illustrated that found her place under the creative sun by just being herself and now is swimming towards big bright light. Proves that being yourself and letting loose, can be your business.

This year there was 14+ photographers exhibiting at the festival.
The list: Photo North 2024 Exhibited artists

My favourite was the Lenin Is With Us by Jeremy Nicholl

The exhibit summed up everything I believe in as a photographer. Great story, beautiful colours, wacky content and bold statement. It was a delight to see, what a talent, what an execution. It assured me that my mantra of believing in my own bad taste is me, and I should stick to my own guns and not “sell on”.

Most work there was a eye candy, I loved the variety. The layout was well executed, as I found myself lost in the stories one by one.

Very, very nice to see Martin Parr exhibited at the festival. Those who know me, are aware of my obsession with him. Martin Parr and his style is like a small colourful and wacky figurine on my shoulder, whispering me to be bold with colours, loose shame and find the wacky/weird/ironic/silly in the world. Forever grateful.

Last but not least.
In early March I was planning to submit work into Ferens Open and the photograph I wanted to submit was close to my heart. I wanted it to be printed beautifully, majestically. Definitely not a foamboard print. After some research I found that acrylic prints could possibly meet the need. At the festival there was some beautiful acrylic prints and I was thinking what you are thinking. Acrylic it is. I don’t think I ever consciously have gazed at acrylic photograph prints and I think that most of my work belongs on acyclic in print.

Here we are, short and very sweet. Thank you to the festival. Definitely coming back for more in 2025.

love,

Anete Sooda Photo

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HULL – STILL CITY OF CULTURE – 2023 EDITION

by anetesoodaLeave a Comment on HULL – STILL CITY OF CULTURE – 2023 EDITION

it’s that time of year, friends.

Spread across twelve months my wonders around the city of Hull as a resident, friend and a photographer sixth year running. I have mixed feelings about this year’s blog: glad to still be partially committed, very pleased to look back at another good year for the city in various areas of culture, but also disappointed with my performance, because “best I could do with the time I had” is not good enough for me, my ego is sliced. I miss being involved and available, miss meeting people, networking and exploring small and big culture ventures, I miss having the luxury of time. But I really did my best in one of the busiest years OF MA LAIF.

I will show you events, spaces/places done on work basis, as well as stuff I did purely for the blog and some random beautiful memories that hope inspire us be in presence of culture in 2024.
Some of my city ventures are through new thing I have been doing in 2023 – hosting photography classes in various subjects. Bit of teaching photography, but definitely exploring the city and its treasures, networking and photographing with other people.
Also quick mention of Through Our Eyes exhibition that happened in early 2023 (link to my blog)) that hopefully will carry on as a “thing” next year.

LET’S GO THEN:

March – THE AWAKENING part of Freedom Festival Trust

The event that was so waited to drag us out of winter gloom and it sure did light up the city in all its meaning.

Celebrating the change of seasons from winter to spring and our great city’s maritime identity, heritage, folklore and mythology, audiences explored the history-rich streets of the city centre from Queens Gardens, down Whitefriargate, across Trinity Square and up to Zebedee’s Yard. The Awakening 2023 was free to attend, spread across two evenings, bringing opportunity to explore world-class installations and performances, with Hull’s historic areas lit up with giant figures and forms. Indoors audiences could experience musical offerings from local favourites including a special edition of Trinity Live in partnership with Trinity Market and Sesh Events, and at Ferens Art Gallery, there will be another chance to catch the RE:SCORE films and a special live performance by Broken Orchestra.

Source: Freedom Festival Trust

My memory of this was that through the weekend I was manic busy at work, but really wanted to go. So I lied, plotted and scammed to be able to attend ( no one was hurt the process). And I am glad I fitted in the visit. Little magic.

THROUGH OUR EYES EXHIBITION – CELEBRATING FEMALE PHOTOGRAPHERS FROM NORTH – OUR BIG PICTURE – GRIMSBY

Full story available on my blog (link above), it was a fabulous start of the year – new people, opportunity to exhibit my creative work, tell my story and be part of a great project. We have new plans to carry on in 2024, so hopefully I can share some news in January on my socials,

In spring I also started my new part time hobby/job of teaching, hosting photography events. I have always wanted to teach higher education in photography, but that’s a long term future desire that requires some thought and prep that I haven’t had time for. The opportunity came unexpected and I grabbed it. Many and awesome events done and it has become a big part of my “photographers” duty. I love being the instructor, the educator, but at the same time mingling with various people who have different interests and skill levels, exploring genres and scouting Hull for gems to suit the topic, has been fantastic. I have grown a little friendly network and I have so many great plans for it in 2024. I also learned that I needed to revisit some basic photography key elements, and never the less it has given me an opportunity to be a photographer outside of work and have fun (cheeeeeeessse).
We have done Street Photography, Urban, Portraits, Manual Settings, Night, Light Movement, Flatlay and many others.
Here are some best of the best:

In Spring I also visited the POP-UP SPACE down Humber Street – funny how city grows and changes so quickly, I did not know it existed.

The artist exhibiting at the time was Holly Bright. She basically educated me about the space and it was lovely meet the face that lit the room like sunshine and her art was beautiful. It is an art in itself to be able to make a space yours and she really made the warehouse-type of space welcoming and brighter than it was before.

On a separate culture wonder with my partner I purposely went there to see who has taken the space at the time. The POP-UP space is one that changes the host, so each time you go, you can see something new.

Sadly I have lost and haven’t traced back the artists name, so if you recognise this talented person, please let me know in comments, so I can credit them. It was a really good visit, the artist was more than happy to tell the stories behind the work, shared how he used found materials to give them another life, and work was stunning, not all light and fluffy, some deep colours and string textures.

This year I have also been invited to do some stuff for the famous Middle Child Theatre Company for their Out Loud Scratch Nights. They collaborate with Silent Uproar – an award-winning theatre company creating fun nights out to engage a younger, funkier, and punkier crowd, aims to get theatre more accessible and affordable, fun and engaging for 16-25’s.
Middle Child is one of the best up North and they just know good stuff. They put Hull artists at the heart of their creative process, our growth and our successes, they really are the heart of local and real theatre.

I did two shows this year, one in July with two play scratches and one in October.

Out Loud: 1988 and Shit Life Crisis was ACE. To the point I managed to get photos whilst completely disappearing in the story. Shit Life Crisis made the audience tear up, I did tear up.

In October I was invited to photograph scratch by Chris Pearson “Cuckoo”

Again, very local and relatable to our “problems”, entertaining, gripping. And yet, still work in progress, all read from scripts.

All these events focus on audience feedback and discussion after the play, its purpose is to hear feedback and listen to audience on how they received it, raise a conversation.

Humber Street is definitely a hub of art. Humber Street Gallery, Pop-Up Spaces, lovely shops, beautiful doors and best views both ways: Tidal Barrier on one side, Hull Marina on the other. Great spot for a walk, few hours out, good food and candy for the eye for good portrait backdrops. There’s been several visits to the Humber Street for work and leisure, but on this one particular crisp day I went for a location scout.
came out satisfied and full belly with yummy brunch from Thieving Harry’s.

Speaking of scouting for spaces. Brew Hull is my 2023 favourite. I went there for a coffee and a snoop for my Flatlay Photography event. Let’s start with the fact that they make good coffee and the space has got something very appealing about it. What is great too is that they independently without any outsourced funding host small exhibitions for local artist. How cool is that. I hope to visit some in 2024 for sure and maybe one day pitch an idea for on ow my own (wink wink).

The summer of 2023 was busy. I was focused on estate photography and it was hard to get my game on for anything else: it was hot and super tempting to leisure. On top of only three months of summer I went away for quite a bit to Latvia and Scotland.
However I was invited to work for Absolutely Cultured Peel Street Festival and this is one I really want to share, because the small scale local community festival is the core of culture, the very beginning-from people. The festival involved local Spring Bank community – the parade was for them with them. All the masks and props made by people at workshops. The festival had stalls, Beats Bus Records, crafts and food, how can you not smile.  Absolutely Cultured are really making a mark in Hull. They reach out to various communities and get them involved, educate and make it accessible. Marianne is an angel and has a strong team around her. This year I have done few bits for them and it’s really lovely to see their work making the difference. After the City of Culture rebrand it could have gone in a different direction, but they kept it for us.

FREEDOM FESTIVAL 2023

The best festival of every year in Hull. I will be honest, it happened that I was swamped in other work in the festival week and on Sunday I rushed to get what was left of the festival. I am aware that I probably missed the festival vibe and can’t really say that I went to the Freedom Festival. Anyway. After looking at the programme, I was hopeful that there is just enough left to close the summer.


Refuse by Company Cameleon at Princess Dock Street and ENCORE UNE FOIS by Tripotes la Compagnie at Zebedees Yard

WE AGREE TO DISAGREE by Collectif Malunes is a contemporary circus and they pulled of a great show. Entertaining, engaging with great stunts and charming Belgian accent. We laughed and fried in the Sunday sun, we turned to the stage and applauded the flying performers.

Ferens Open exhibition was another must have for the 2023 tales.
I went twice this year, one to see and capture, another to enjoy and view as a judgmental participant (just constructive criticism), both times I made sure I have another pair of wyes to share the experience with. In my view, this year was one of the best ones I have seen since 2018. It was good, plenty of quirks, humour, fine art, beautiful frames and colour.

On my first visit I managed to catch the last day of Tomorrow by Freedom Women Collective. As it states on the poster at the entry: Tomorrow is an enduring reference to hope, belief and self-determination. In every language tomorrow can be a promise, a practical arrangement or a philosophical proposition.
My memorable moment with the exhibition was the encounter with a Ferens Gallery employee who asked me and my friend: “have you ever seen a tree in a exhibition?” Those few sentences brought us to the exhibition, we are curious beings, so I am glad my curiosity lead to a great find.

In general, Ferens Art Gallery is a landmark in East Yorkshire and beyond for a great and free art gallery, it is always worth a visit. Work exhibited does change often enough to include the gallery visit on your Primark haul and Costa coffee day out.

On another not so Hull note, I really wanted to include the fabulous and epic GAIA in Beverly Minster. Beverley is the wealth cousin of Hull and we seem to treat ourselves in Beverley and I imagine a lot of Hull people went to see The huge Earth installation at the Beverley Minster.

Though there is a little story. First time visit was a bit of a fail on my side. Me and my partner used a day off to “treat” ourselves to Beverley and I wanted to include the GAIA visit for the blog. All went well until I realised that I haven’t got a card in camera.
OBVIOUSLY I had to plan another visit. I sat down with a cup of cappuccino and thought to myself: I need to make the second visit better. How can improve the image, who can I tempt to visit Beverley.

Two things: my best friend had a mid week day off and she was totally up for a visit and turns out she’s never been to Beverley Minster. So she gain so much more than I expected from this little trip out. The other thing, more technical. I thought to try and capture people movement with a planet Earth still. Which is a great idea on paper, until I stared at the installation and realised that it spins, as an actual Planet Earth does. But at least I had a CF card in camera and I had a really good day with my bestie.

Location and the vision of the art installation was pretty epic, it was a throwback to the Moon installation in Hull at Hull Minster few years ago.

On of my ultimate favourite exhibition of 2023 was the BOOTLEG SHREG & FRIENDS with Bruce Asbestos at Humber Street Gallery. The visuals below will be self-explanatory of why it is in my top list. I managed to catch it last minute and told everyone to go, when it was already too late.

I am sorry, give adults some inflatables to play with and we will be over the moon. Interactive art makes the distance between yourself and the art shorter and you can become part of it. It does incredible things, when you see relatable, squeezable and fellable stuff, when the art is there for you not hidden behind glass case or yellow barriers.

Since 2016 I have been involved in Hull Comedy Festival and even at busy times of my own, I always make sure I photograph at least couple of shows. They are my extended family, especially Gary and Jed, local legends that organise the festival and bring the laughing game to Hull. This year we had generous shows, including a comedy show OH MY DOG where as the title gives away: dogs are the stars of the show.

First show I did featured: Avery Knight: Stuntman For Hire and upcoming star An Evening With Frankie Monroe

Due to early next day morning, I missed other acts on the evening, so the crowds enjoyed more acts that evening.

The third show was Hull Comedian of the year with many great acts from various spots of UK. It was totally worth the late night.

In autumn I was invited to do another gig for Virtual Horizons at Hull Truck Theatre. Interactive, VR set included theatre in an intimate space talking about flooding. Last year I was lucky to work with Risky Cities and the big project, so this was another follow up to the topic.

Two vital Risky Cities’ team members, Jack Chamberlain and Maureen Lennon, have continued their creative work on Hull’s watery stories in a new show featuring VR and theatre. Both were involved in delivering Risky Cities’ intensive community engagement programme, experiences that they have built on to develop their ‘Virtual Horizons’ as freelance creatives.

Source: Risky Cities Hull

These guys have brought art, community and science together to openly and educationally discuss flooding. The project last year was big and achieved a lot, it was great to see Jack’s vision virtual Reality taking form at Virtual Horizons. The interactive play was sweet, funny and generous.

This autumn I also for the first time visited Polar Bear and Sesh.

Friend of mine invited me to see his girlfriend sing and I shot two birds with one stone. Ellie Pollard is a voice powerhouse teaming up for a new collaboration, plus I got to see the famous white Polar Bear and link Humber Street Sesh (in my brain and music knowledge over the years haha) with Sesh at Polar Bear with Mark Page at the front of this amazing place.

My December started with little Christmas event for Absolutely Cultured in Gipsyville. It is another gem that Absolutely cultured host every year – adorable Christmas parade for Gipsyville community with Christmas tree light-up, parade, carols and hot chocolate. After that I was tiptoeing in the Christmas spirit, I just couldn’t resist.

Last but not least is not so Hull, but close by little venture of Burton Constable Hall. Yes, not quite Hull, and not quite culture, but two reasons. I was testing out my adopted gear Sony 6700 and I have never been inside in this luxurious manor. It is culture, but from a different decade. It was sort of a hunt for Christmas market replacements for the day, and I am really glad I went, as it was pretty spectacular. We went there at 3 PM just as the bright winter sun sets and lights up the gold interior, we talked about the hygiene of the times and how this building preserves a family history to this day.

And here we are, last moments of this very hectic, but beautiful year. 2023 has been busy in all areas of life, but I am happy and I can pull of 90% of my wish list. The wish list is long, the “to do’s” are plenty, the word boredom is not in my vocabulary. L I F E

I am doing a small personal paragraph in my iPhone notes of resolutions for 2024, because there are some bad traits in “busy”, so I want to improve on quality, not quantity, so I need to make compromises with my petty 24 hrs a day. But that being said, I am gonna try and commit to more cultural ventures in my “out of work” hours, because the show must go on.

Thank you to every single person and organisation who invited me along to be their photographer.

Happy New Year sausages, let it be great for us!


Love
Anete Sooda Photo

Uncategorized

2022: CULTURE/HULL/GOOD LIFE

by anetesooda1 Comment on 2022: CULTURE/HULL/GOOD LIFE



As per tradition this blog post is here just before we clock off for 2022: mic-drop kind of send off from me.
It’s been a funny year you know, but amongst all the “life give you lemons, some good for a lemonade, some can go in the bin” there has been culture outings and some awesome jobs in the city.

You will see that my culture wonders are not as frequent in my 2022, but I still believe that our city gives us cultural treats for us to feast on and we embrace it. To some I wishfully never went to, but things I did attend made me smile, wonder and love the city (you know I am a big fan of Hull). 

This year was big and important for myself, and it was almost like stepping on the other side, where the light is.
The start of 2022 was tough and most days my head was rolling into the mud, my body trying to catch it, but I didn’t give in. New home came, I found somebody who is worthy of me trying to stay sane and hopeful for the future, then my new lush job came (job interview with a glass of wine and a onesie: not a luxury, but necessity), great freelance jobs kept popping up and then I found love. On the very last day of the year, I look back and it was the best year in decades. 
Today I am grateful and ready for 2023. 
We all know it’s going to be a difficult year, everyone skint and worried, world around us is falling apart, opinionated and angry species that poison the happy and good, climate change probably is going to throw some surprises our way and so on. 
As individuals we need to focus on our own good deeds, be nice and do our best, be open minded and engaged, care and love, respect and never take for granted. And the shit that come our way will be easier to deal with. Simple, isn’t it? And never forget about art and culture, we all need it in our lives.

Which brings me to my main subject: CULTURE IN HULL 2022

2022 started with a spectacular event across the city that Freedom Festival Trust trust brought to us: The Awakaning.  “It’s initial creation was a way of driving audiences to significant cultural landmarks within the city of Hull as part of an outdoor cinema experience. Beautifully using the environment and the historic buildings that line the streets by projecting on to them at night, Re:Score allowed the audience to connect with warm, nostalgic footage from the past with a reimagined, bespoke musical soundtrack.”  

Source: Freedom Festival Trust 

Amongst everyone’s favourite events in Hull the light shows will always be on the top of the list, to layer Hull landmarks in stories about Hull with visuals and lightshows works magic. The attendances were amazing and in my personal spectrum, me and my partner learned things as we went along. 

Ferens Art Gallery as usual gave an interesting exhibition BRICK BY BRICK by Andy Morris 

Designer Andy Morris, aka Little Big Art, is based in Cardiff and specialises in making LEGO® themed artworks. He has exhibited his work internationally. 

His work, Popcorn Time! 2018,  was exhibited in Ferens this year and aren’t we just lucky. It was fun, as cheesy as it sounds, but it was also very detailed and genius/beautiful. Kids area had a space to build your won and me at 32 seized the opportunity. 

At the same time there was more exhibits that tickled my fancy too:

Freedom Festival this year was not pencilled in my freelance diary, but on the last day I went out to see couple of the events. 

SIRENS at the Tidal Barrier, GF Smith PORTAL: A JOURNEY THROUGH COLOUR down Humber Street, 2Face Dance LAST ORDERS down Princess Dock Street were my last-minute choices. All of which brought smiles, inquisitive thoughts, questions and nevertheless another link to the city built through cultural experience 

GF Smith exhibition photographs have vanished in my archives, but one for the eye and memory I suppose.

UNBOXED ABOUT US in April was the favourite. I guess another light show in the city that was a visual spectacular, but for me it was very special. In silence at late hours, I visited Queen Victoria Square and found my seat. I watched it I my own time, in the space I built for my self with someone I love.  

I visited Humber Street Gallery on few occasions for leisure and work purposes, nice stroll down the lovely street always ends there.

BLOOMBERG NEW CONTEMPORARIES 2022 was hosted at the Humber Street Gallery in November. It contained various artist and artworks and as stated is an annual survey exhibition of emerging and early career artist. From my own Google search Humber Street Gallery kind of nailed this: it is  prestigious opportunity and lucky us [again] 

Throughout the year I also did some cool freelance jobs closely Hull culture related: 

Absolutely Cultured LUMINARIUM 

Absolutely Cultured FAST FOOD MEGAVERSE by The Herd Theatre . This was commissioned cultural outing, it was family-friendly, all age groups welcome type of happy event.

Good Things Market in April was MEGA 

HULL COMEDY FESTIVAL 2022 where I literally tipped up on the last day [I was very busy] 

Humber Street Gallery hosted one of the best things of 2022. Silent Uproar is an award-winning theatre company based in Hull and I had an opportunity to photograph one of their shows.  

Big thing this year was getting involved with Risky Cities Project for Hull University. I was asked to cover many events and I loved it.  

“The city of Hull and Humber estuary region has an 800-year history of living with water risks, including recorded floods from the 1250s onwards and several major floods since 2000. Despite this, research has found that residents have a low engagement with flood risks and adaptation measures, such as flood alert systems. 

In response, the local councils, alongside the Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water and the University of Hull, have developed the Living with Water Partnership with the principle aim of increasing awareness and engagement in the region. 

The Risky Cities project will contribute to this partnership by drawing on Hull’s long history of living with water – as recorded in its artistic and cultural heritage – to raise climate awareness and build flood resilience today and for the future” 

Source: Risky Cities 

The project focused on engaging with local communities across the city and that was the “juice” of the project. The conversation around the subject was vital and I learned so much throughout the workshops, talks and exhibitions.   

New Year’s culture resolution: to be more out in the culture, monthly visits. More frequent none-work related culture wonders.
This is the seventh-year culture blogging anniversary and I want to celebrate double that, so let’s get cultured.

YOURS TRULY 

ANETE SOODA PHOTO

 

Hull City Of Culture 2017, Uncategorized

MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – PART IV

by anetesoodaLeave a Comment on MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – PART IV

End of an era or what?

The past few months my life has been a shit show, but there has been so many great photo moments that I am excited to shout about it on the last day of 2019.
Yes, 2019 I really want to slap you, but despite all the things that went bad, I had amazing work and culture opportunities, another bunch of great people in my life and rememberable image stock.

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October brought HIP PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL and this year the festival did shine a bit more than last year. The festival celebrated its 6th year and brought to Hull Peter Dench, Rhiannon Adam, Claire Armitage and Lomography. There was also a vast selection of local talent on display.
My favourite of course was Peter Dench with Trans-Siberian World Cup series. I also very much loved the Rhiannon Adam’s Pitcairn series shot in Britain’s last Pacific Overseas Territory. Photographs are stunning, even breath taking I dare to say. Her photographs with voyeuristic edge and true moments of intimacy masquerading as casual snapshots, but holds loneliness, isolation and portrayal of a broken society shrouded in mistrust.

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Peter Dench never disappoints. Never. This time he tackled a culture that is quite familiar to myself as me being from post Soviet Union country. I thoroughly loved the photographs.

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As one of the unexpected surprises was the exhibition COHERE.

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The exhibition was a collection resulted from various workshops where photographers worked with writers and performers from refugee backgrounds to create an exhibition that creates, challenges, disrupts and charms. The result is pretty amazing. Films, visual installations and photographic works of art that gives an experience that in a strange way tailors to your won life experience. It worked for me on different levels – I admired the visual with textures, playful colours with disrupted lines, the touch-and-feel experience. On the emotional level I felt inspired and touched by the imagery. The exhibition COHERE was on the top as one of the favourites.

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The festival offered plenty of work that meets the demand for different subjects.
There were others that I really liked – The Launderette one on the ground floor of the Princess Quay, Homer Sykes and others. It was a great festival and I am glad I made the effort to make it part of my culture wonders.

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For the first time in long time I also had the joy of re-visiting old places through the viewfinder. It sounds simple, but for me that sparkle was long gone, so to be in the mood for such was a great feeling. The long waited pedestrian bridge played a small roll in that too.

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Whilst wondering around Marina I popped down to Humber Street Gallery to see the exhibitions on display. Nenna Kalu Wrapping and Aniara Omann Equanipolis.

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Nenna Kalu Wrapping [above] raised my eyebrows even though the the basis or the work are great. Nenna Kalu works with ActionSpace, a London based visual arts organisation that supports artists with learning disabilities. In the current exhibition she used various materials like plastic tubing, newspapers, foam, fabric ect.

The work is very tricky to judge appropriately in such exhibition space, as usually we get some high end art.

The other two floors were Aniara Omann and Equanipolis. The artist evokes and questions different aspects of the human body with sculptures that at once resemble and mutate the human form, as well as our relation to ecology through her choice of material.

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From summer until end of October there was a little Hull Fishing Industries treasure display at Hull Maritime Museum. The heritage and tradition of women working in the fishing community was celebrated through imagery. In this exhibition, award-winning photographer, Craig Easton, well known for his landscape work and intimate portraits of real lives, explores the past and present. It will bring together the three strands of the fisherwomen’s story: their heritage, their journey and contemporary portraits, including exciting new commissions of Hull’s own fisherwomen.
Fisherwomen celebrates the tradition and importance of women in the fishing industry by following the traditional route of the herring trade from Shetland down the east coast, via Hull to Great Yarmouth.
The exhibition highlighted the central role of women in the fishing industry today, even though their work is now almost entirely done behind closed doors in processing factories, sheds and smokehouses.

Source: Maritime Hull

The sad thing was that I missed the exhibition and just saw the “remains” that are on display currently.

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On a sunny weekday I strolled into city centre for business, and was a pleasure to see Hull lit by sunlight. Autumn can be dull, and it is dull mostly, so I was lucky to have camera on me to record the rare scenes for that time of the year.

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“Michelangelo – A Different View” at Hull Minster was the thing that everyone raved about, and I had to see the Sistine Chapel’s iconic scenes with my own eyes.

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The first thing that caught my eyes was the odd phones and the quite an elderly generation. The combination reminded me of a tourist group from Germany and that made me chuckle.
The exhibition was quite a piece – the atmosphere in Minster definitely was the correct recipe for a success.

I found myself in a bizarre situation – instead of grasping for breath after being stunned by Michelangelo, I was amused by other people and their reactions.

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I mean, yes, it was quite alright, but I guess I’m not the “type”. As long as it created an excitement and buzz amongst people, I am happy to approve.

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What I approve and celebrate myself, is the little things and the little snaps of people in  the right place and the right time for a great photograph. Hull Minster is a treasure in its own right and to see any kind of exhibition hosted there is a privilege.

In 2017 I created few images to acknowledge Whitefrigate’s empty shops and how the shop windows were used as canvas for marketing or art. I decided to revisit this in 2019 – and see the change. Baring in mind all the regeneration plans, it was a curiosity more than need for culture images.

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November brought another good festival – Hull Comedy Festival 2019. 2019 was another year where the work commitments and health issues made me unavailable for 90% of the festival, but it was a great, great feeling to fill the old boots for 10%.

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I happened to see a gig that was hosted by Jed Salisnbury at Princess Quay, and although on a small scale, it was filled with laughter and good humor.

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Ross Brierley with Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left Of Them?

I have known Ross as a comedian from the early days, I have had then pleasure to shoot NOT SO LATE NIGHT SHOW WITH ROSS AND JOSH and I have had belly cramps from laughter from previous festivals. Ross still holds the same amount of charm, fun and entertainment.

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Stevie Gray: Arctic Monkeys’ Midlife Crisis

Stevie Gray was a “fresh” act on my list and OH MY. He was totally hilarious. He did good and even better – when he’s guitar lost a string he cracked on as normal and made his repertoire even funnier without music.

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End of November and beginning of the December was that time of year when I started to come out of my hiding spots. I had to face the fact that Christmas is coming and there will be no hiding from happy. I had plenty of work upcoming that was festive and so I had to embrace it.
One of the proud moments was the tough decision to grab a tripod and travel to Hull City Centre for the Christmas decorations and tree.

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Funny though that I picked the windiest night of all times and all the efforts to have steady images on slow shutter went in a bin.

I don’t think that it is visible with a naked eye, so MISSION COMPLETE.

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The main spectacular was lacking wow factor. Yes.

Another interesting work opportunity was through The Herd Theatre Company in Barnsley – Slime. It was more of a work opportunity than culture haul, but it was inspiring, sweet and full of culture.

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It was a great honour to be asked to capture the pre show promo’s and I had a great time.

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2019 was the year where I had to make an extra effort to gather images for the blog. But those moments when I was out with camera, proved that there will never be enough of Hull for me. The city remains vibrant and full of solid gold people and places.

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The last job of the year was probably my highlight of the festive period. Good Things Market Winter Edition at Fruit Market.

It was everything Hull could want just before Christmas. A collection of talented local artists, craftmakers and genius in on place – offering great food, stunning gifts and Hull merchandise.

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Whilst there I also had an exclusive insight into behind the scenes for the Enchanted Wonderland created by Bluebeany aka Anna Bean. The show featuring performances by Ruth Getz, Zoe Hughes, Michelle Dee, Caroline Ullyart and Joshua Barton. Described as.. “if the Mighty Boosh made a Panto”

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Anna is just amazing! Her talent, her personality and the drive to succeed is inspiring. I am lucky to have been thought by Anna and work with her.
Her shows are becoming iconic to the city and could be something that Hull is known for widely across the country.

Her stamp is all over.

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The last but not least was the casual walks around the Humber Street that cheered me up. Little festive preparations, decorations and Hull sense of humor are things that help people to get into festive spirit, including myself.

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This blog post is a bit of a cheat – it was supposed to see the daylight on the last day of the year, but family circumstances and other factors caused days delay. We can just pretend that we waved goodbye to 2019 yesterday and are looking forward to a bright and shiny new decade.

My year has been a struggle in personal life and so I am thankful for what I still have, of what I managed to achieve and how many people stud by my side when I needed support.

2020 will be a new era for my work and business, I want to expand, change and evolve. I want to once again feel in control of my own life, decisions and career.

This time of year has brought sadness to my family. My grandfather past away on the 30th December and I had to suck up the reality and commit to write the last blog post of 2019 whilst in Latvia. Despite the loss, we as a family are staying grateful and thankful. To be able to take away gratitude from this darkness is a gift. My grandad was a strong character and living to the age of ninety is not a surprise. He was tough. strong, honest and humble. To even think that I could make it to that age with my head held up high like he did…

For the future of this culture blog I will continue to explore and celebrate culture scene in the city, as we still have another year before Coventry officially takes away the glory.

Happy New Year, monkeys.

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Uncategorized

HUMBER STREET SESH VS FREEDOM FESTIVAL 2019 ANETE SOODA PHOTO

by anetesoodaLeave a Comment on HUMBER STREET SESH VS FREEDOM FESTIVAL 2019 ANETE SOODA PHOTO

Well, this is not really about both festivals going against each other – Humber Street Sesh and Freedom Festival share similar qualities, but are completely different. Both share a common quality – it gives Hull the heartbeat once a year and we all look forward to the August and September.

This year I wasn’t fully employed or involved for neither. And it isn’t good or bad, it is just a fact. But I still made small contributions to both festivals and now it is the perfect time to celebrate and say goodbye to crop tops, cold cider in the sunshine and busy streets in the city.

Humber Street Sesh 2019  – Friday

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Freedom Festival 2019 – Saturday + Sunday

 

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Hull City Of Culture 2017, Uncategorized

MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – PART III

by anetesoodaLeave a Comment on MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – PART III

Coming to the dark and wet months is fine, but we all need a bit of sunshine and at least 20 happy minutes each day.  Luckily I have made peace with summer passing and autumn is all welcome. Hull Fair, Bonfire Night, Halloween, Christmas…so many things to look forward to.

I have been delaying this blog post for a while due to personal reasons, and I always thought that the next day will be better than the present one. I learned the hard way that waiting around for the better day is foolish, instead I will make this day better and more suitable for writing RIGHT NOW!

There was also a decision if to separately share Humber Street Sesh and Freedom Festival images – this year neither of them were on my top list for various reasons, but somehow I got a little snipped of both. And my 15% contribution was amazing. Great moments deserve their own spotlight, right?

So a quick list – most of them random and spontaneous: RSPCA Annual Bike Show, Climate Strike in Hull, Turner Price XL Food&Drink Show, Woodmansey Garden Centre haul [or market] where I went to visit Hotham’s Gin, and both festivals [separate post coming soon]. Blimey, it feels like this is the most pathetic list of all times.

So…

When the directions that you are heading to are blurry and not distinct, it is OK to detour slightly. In my case just randomly turn up at the Turner Price XL Food&Drink Show at Bonus Arena. It really was a random choice and I giggle thinking about how it may look – photographer walking around the food and drink stalls, juggling camera, piece of cake, flyers and goody bags. Sure I looked like I am there for freebies, but that wasn’t the story. I literally had no idea what the show will be like and for sure I didn’t prepare myself to taste so many things, get my hand kissed and get totally excited about Harrogate water bottles, oh! and was asked if the Fentimans display has enough botanical references [like I know a thing about display building].

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The highlight was probably the unexpected rage of products for caterers, hotels and cafes, in my case education, and attendance. It was packed full with people representing a business, and of course people who love a freebie. The variety was from actual buyers to browsers, tasters to players.

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And this brings me to the main point – I have totally missed an opportunity to shoot some Dench and Parr style shots. Really gutted. Instead I was fact recording, mainly looking at food [of course].

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Hopefully next year I will be much wiser and embrace the opportunity, because this year I learnt that attendees are too busy browsing, so I will have all the opportunities to shoot some great shots. Maybe that should be my new thing to attend events of this type and create narratives around each?

Speaking of things I have definitely fallen in to a dry period and each day starts with a prayer not too loose everything I worked so hard for.
Hence why these past few months have been so empty with tumbleweed dancing through my creative and professional practice.

When I found out about the annual RSPCA Bike Show, I thought bringing camera can’t do any harm – I never know who will I meet, what will happen at the fundraiser.

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Pride is something that was seeping through every moment. People were the leather with pride, ride the beasts with pride, respect each other, RSPCA workers did their duties with pride, and even the local pear tree thrives with pride. Sweet and positive gathering that more people should talk about.

Another good and vital attendance was the Climate Strike in Hull. The strike in Hull was a small piece of a global puzzle. Tens of thousands of people across the globe united to speak about the climate change issues, shout at the government, raise their concerns and show initiative that we are all ready to change.  I silently hate the system, I hate that I am part of the consumerism society, I hate the greed and ego that runs the parade. At the same time I know I am just a small particle in the big space and the anger is only driving myself crazy.  I felt a little power running through my vanes at the strike, through the lens I joined the energetic young people, wise activists and general public. I believe that the strike was organised by Youth Strike 4 Action Hull, working together with Animal Rebellion Hull, Friends of the Earth Hull, Extinction Rebellion Hull + big thanks to Lauren Saunders for inviting me. 

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Last, but not least was the visit to Woodmansey Garden Centre [famous for its sexy fish tanks and range of ocean fish, corals] market. That Sunday was dull as ever and I really needed a reason to get out of the house. And my new fave gin company Hotham’s Gin promoted their tasty gin, new orange vodka and Gin School under the greenhouse roof. The twitter post was inviting, showing off the tropical vibes of the place.
Hotham’s Gin are run by two really interesting, lovely and hardworking people [Emma and Simon], so it was a pleasure to have a natter and see that things are moving great for them.
I mean, it’s not the culture that I would usually blog about, but there is some culture in local brews and others drinks, so it counts. Another perfect excuse was that the market happens every so often and local craft makers, artists and small business sell their work, promote themselves under palm trees and tropical blooms. So here you go – cracking culture there.

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I will have to try much harder in the following months to keep some value in my work, I know. By the looks of my diary there will be some exciting clients, work up until Christmas and that will be the fuel for culture hauls.

Uncategorized

REMOTE CONTROL HUMBER – NETWORKING & MENTORSHIP PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT – THE STORY

by anetesooda1 Comment on REMOTE CONTROL HUMBER – NETWORKING & MENTORSHIP PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT – THE STORY

The reason for this blog post is that Remote Control Humber Photography Project reached its culmination last night with a beautiful exhibition at Brynmore Jones Library.

The story and my involvement in this project is a wonderful example how great people across the region can come together and create something outstanding.

I guess it started with a idea and a pot of funding available – Stewart Baxter from Hinterland Creative saw a potential and need for a photography project across Humber region. He united with the amazing local artist/photographer Anna Bean [aka Bluebeany] and mapped out cities/towns that hides talented photography interests.

When I was approached to help out I had no second thoughts – I am great believer that being a photographer and road to success is networking, or as I call it “make friends”.

And this project was all about making friendships, meet other photographers, inspire someone that lacks courage and be inspired myself.

My role was to document the project and I also spoke about my work on few occasions.

The project was everything that we ever wanted and the exhibition is a beautiful collection of that.

We travelled to Scunthorpe and Driffield, also making things happen here in Hull.
We had amazing people involved – Christopher Manson, Joanne Coates with workshops to develop skills in documentary and storytelling photography.
We had inspiring photographers and filmmakers like Alec Gill and Katie from Flygirl Films, our own Stewart Baxter thrived as a photographer throughout the project and Anna Bean made sure we all dare to experiment with our ideas.
We went on BBC Radio Humberside to tell Burnsy and people in Humberside that we are here and ready to exhibit and showcase the work we’ve done. We went to GF Smiths to learn about paper and photographic printing, we created newspapers through Newspaper Club for our project and we had a nosy at the HIP Gallery in Hull. We also ran a workshop for image editing and post process and we for sure made friends like Pam in Driffield.

I will allow images to speak for themselves in the gallery below:

 

Some of the project participants were handed with Lomography B&W film cameras  and that was another great addition to the project:

 

To reflect on the project – it was an amazing journey that made me feel like I am part of something important. I’m so lucky to be part of the project and, most importantly – lucky to have met Stewart, Chris, Joanne, James, Mike, Lee, Ann, Ivy and everyone else involved. They inspired me and gave me more confidence and I sure feel like I gained more than ever expected. It was a pleasure to document everything along the way.

Hull City Of Culture 2017, Uncategorized

MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – 2019 – PART I

by anetesooda2 Comments on MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – 2019 – PART I

Not really knowing how to start this blog post … so I am just going to welcome you and say “HAPPY BANK HOLIDAY”!

 

Firstly, the decision to write a periodical culture reviews in Hull was a big mistake. Four months have passed very quickly and despite having a very mellow involvement with culture and the city, a lot has happened.

2019 started with a positive outlook on upcoming life and work events and I really didn’t want to skip the commitment to the city and its culture/arts scene. I gave myself a relaxed task to share periodical cultural experiences, making it less of a chore.
And here I am  – slightly regretful, unsure and of course still happy to have an archive of four months worth of culture.

To be able to deliver this, I really need to travel back in time.

January ’19

The month started with general wonders around local areas and quick visit to Humber Street Gallery Place to Place by Liverpool Biennial.

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From what I remember – it was a simple, minimalist experience that didn’t really had a wow factor. But I appreciated the tones, simplicity and shapes.

The thing about Hull, camera and me is that in my head I have various visions of specific locations and potential images. So I sometimes plan a random journey, hoping to discover something unseen or not photographed previously.
The next selection is one of those. I wanted to travel down to one of my favourite streets in Hull Boulevard for the mural that has been there for a while.
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Moments before I drove past Hull Marina and recorded the beautiful morning light – this pretty much sums up my January.

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February ’19

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February was a busy month and I remember being surprised by the workload.
Most of my culture consisted of work duties and getting ready for an Artist Takeover #4 exhibition in at Queens House Showcase
Full insight here: ARTIST TAKEOVER #4 @QUEENS HOUSE SHOWCASE

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During the exhibition I held various activities – photo booth, talk about my HOME GLORY series and COME AS YOU ARE photo project.

Free photo booth was a lovely way how to invite people into the gallery and do what I do best – take a photograph.

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The talk about my HOME GLORY series was a an interesting experience to have – it turned out to be an intimate talk with small group of people about my heritage, photographic journey and stories I am trying to tell.  I didn’t need crowds to feel the  support and I am thankful to those who came.

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COME AS YOU ARE was a thing I wanted to do for a while and I was lucky to get a small platform where to test out the idea.
I asked a question to people – what do you carry with you every day and what role does that “thing” play in your life. It all came from the question of why I photograph Latvia and the mundane everyday whilst I am there, family and country.

Again – the attendance was mild, but I felt very lucky to see the people who came. Quality over quantity.

Regards culture two things happened that month in Hull. Annual Ferens Open Exhibition and The Knife Angel in Queens Gardens.

This year I missed the deadline to apply, but it happened for a reason. I didn’t feel like there was anything to exhibit and previous year proved that if you don’t feel it in your gut, don’t submit.

However, to visit the exhibition was a pleasure.
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The Knife Angel left me slightly speechless and amazed. The travelling National Monument against Violence and Aggression gathered people from all over the region and in a way united us once more. It felt like short period of time, but it definitely left a mark in 2019.

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March ’19

By mid March my life was starting to take a bitter turn and my health got in the way of everything. There was a fantastic opportunity to photograph the last Heads Up Festival, Creative ENRG came to a closure and I was part of the Creative Juice event at C4DI.
Plus I went to a very random gig at Union Mashup and stumbled across an exhibition by Lauren Saunders, Rebbeca Addinell and Sinitta Beadle at Hull Central Library.

Creative Juice @C4DI was a farewell event to the amazing journey we all had with Creative ENRG – there was a book launch, great food and very interesting programme all thanks to brilliant event organisation by Eskimosoup

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Being at the event reminded me of the friendships made and the amazing photo opportunities I created for myself by getting involved with the Creative ENRG

Heads Up Festival 2019 was so special this year, it was my third and probably the last as it was announced to take a break for a bit.

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THE PAPER CINEMAS MACBETH

Read a full review here: HEADS UP FESTIVAL 2019

LITTORAL VISTAS @HULL CENTRAL LIBRARY was an accidental discovery whilst in the library for the festival.

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The exhibition space at the library is very well lit and clean from distractions. And the work suited the space well [or the other way round]. I am pleased that Lauren Saunders is getting out there and pursuing her goals.

Make Noise Birthday Bash @Union Mash Up was a very random visit thanks to my friend Oliver. Make Noise Collective describe themselves as “Hull gal collective, working to improve safety at gigs and visibility for women in the local scene”

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One girl really did stand out – Jodie Langford with her spoken word performances. The ultimate highlight of the night.

April ’19

April brought Bankside Gallery event at the Preston Road derelict housing estate, Alec Gill’s Hessle Roaders at Hull Truck and new art space in Hull – Prospect Gallery [it is very new and at the moment the gallery don’t have any online presence].

Bankside Gallery  was a pleasure to visit despite the weather and my moody mood. A lot of new works created in a very unique gallery.

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Hessle Roaders by Alec Gill has been an ongoing journey for many people in past year or so and Alec has made sure that his work don’t just sit in the shelves in folders hidden away. Hull Truck hosted another extension to the work and I as promised to Alec I went to see it.

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I first heard of Prospect Gallery was at the Queens House Showcase at one of the events. It was mentioned and it soon became the place to visit in my [imaginary] list.

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I also got an amazing offer to have my portrait drawn and I agreed. Since then it happened twice and it as an experience to experience. It is a strange task to sit and find a point of interest that becomes your world for an hour or so. And the end result gives you a sight that you never see yourself.

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The space has got a lot of potential and it could become one of the hot spots to visit in Hull.

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In between everything I also was invited to photograph an opening at Humber Street Gallery for A TITTLE-TATTLE TELL-A-TALE-HEART by Athena Papadopoulos and caught a snippet of the CUT.

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CUT  is a a residency project exploring themes of social expression and the acts of self-care centred around their practice of hairdressing. The project takes form of a sculptural installation and events programme where haircuts and client interviews are gathered to create sound and sculptural artworks.

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There was more adventures and exciting work things throughout the four months, but I think I have covered the highlights. And learned a lesson to be more consistent. And discovered that Hull is still breathing culture.

 

Uncategorized

HEADS UP FESTIVAL 2019

by anetesooda2 Comments on HEADS UP FESTIVAL 2019

My initial plans to include Heads Up festival within the future culture post changed after seeing NOW IS TIME TO SAY NOTHING. I really want to tell you the multilayered story of how the installation made me feel and what impact the festival has on people.

NOW IT IS TIME TO SAY NOTHING by Caroline Williams and Reem Karssli is a 60 minute long interactive video installation, that also requires viewers participation.

Reem Karssli is a Syrian film-maker who witnessed Syrian conflict living in Damascus. Caroline suggests to connect with a group of young Londoners via Skype and talk about her life and work. It turns into a four year long collaboration and the end product is a powerful 60 minute long experience. There are no words that I could type here to give justice to the work, it is something to be experienced.

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The idea behind the installation is to question and challenge the armchair passivity. The installation starts with a circle of comfortable armchairs and a small, old fashioned television in front of each chair. The viewer puts on headphones and delve into the armchair for the unknown.

Throughout the installation there are various stages where you are asked to get up and get together with other viewers. Again to challenge a perception of emotional safe space that you save for yourself when most vulnerable.

 

Over the years I have seen a few contemporary art installations, exhibitions, cultural experiences, but never before I felt speechless and emotionally shattered at the end. I needed a few moments to be able to look up and discuss what I have seen, but as soon as the words crossed my lips, tears started choking my throat.

The moment during installation where your hand was inches away from the screen and you felt the static nipping your fingers was the only thing I could imagine visually as a photograph.
The rest was an experience to be felt with every inch of your body, every brain cell.

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My mind was in a state of confusion. The most powerful part was the young niece expressing her hopelessness, interviewed by Reem. I wished at that very moment that I could show that part of footage to the evil that is behind the Syrian conflict. Tie him/her/group of to the chair and make him/her/them watch it over and over again until he/her/they can’t see the screen and hear a word. I was upset and angry.  The other moment that I will not forget was the falling snow and dancing in a circle with myself. I embraced the moment and it took me to my own experiences in the past. It was beautiful and sad at the same time.

Over the following days I felt an urge to discuss the installation with others, I wanted to know if others had the same impact. On Saturday before another Heads Up event I met up with Michelle Dee, the writer and freelance journalist who reviews all the shows. The fact that she was also feeling similar was comforting. In her review she wrote:

“I’m tearing up even now recalling the image of a young girl, Reem’s sister I think, carefully folding and refolding a red shirt, packing it away into a suitcase in a cramped bedroom. She is clearly traumatised, she breaks down, her words escaping her mouth faster and faster, until becoming a cry of despair. She says that she would rather die than face the daily, monotonous torture of being trapped inside by the threat of the bombs falling outside.

…

What can one person do about a war that is happening thousands of miles away? The pillars of democracy in the west are about as stable and secure as the crumbling remains of the bombed buildings in Syria. Now is Not the time to say nothing. ”

You can read the full review and the other Heads Up reviews via link below:
Michelle Dee Review Now Is Time To Say Nothing

 

Today nearly a week after of seeing the installation nothing has changed in my life. I still watch television occasionally from my sofa or bed, I hear news, watch documentaries and allow everything pass quietly as I am too busy to live my own reality. But there is this lingering shame and feeling of helplessness that I am not part of the global concern about the conflicts that happen around the world or social issues in my own community/city.  I question if small actions and good causes can make up for the ignorance? Or if everything is just too big to grasp and I need to focus on my own life and family?

I can definitely say that Now It Is Time To Say Nothing is the most important contemporary art I have ever seen.

Heads Up festival is a very special festival – a mixture of theatre, contemporary art and installations that makes you think, question, imagine and explore. For the third time I had the honours to photograph the events and I am so thankful for the opportunity.
Thanks to E52 team and artists involved for amazing feedback.

 

Here are the highlights from heads Up 2019

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IS HE ON THE LINE..? by British artist Jez Dolan and Icelandic composer Ingibjorg Yr Skarphethinsdottir

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Dean Wilson: East Coast Fever A short film by Dave Lee

Dave Lee The Orchidian
The Orchidian, a monologue written and directed by Dave Lee

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RACE CARDS by Selina Thompson

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THE LAND’S HEAR IS GREATER THAN ITS MAP by Olivia Furber, Ramzi Maqdisi, 9t Antiope and Hannah Mason

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THE PAPER CINEMAS MACBETH

 

Did you had a chance to see any of the events? What are your thoughts?