Maritime project supports new commission 

Tickets available to book now! 

The project behind the £27.4m plans to transform some of the city’s maritime treasures has joined forces with Freedom Festival Arts Trust to commission an exciting and emotional audio walking experience along the River Hull.

With music and poetry created by production duo Pat Dooner and Carl Conway-Davis (The Broken Orchestra) and poet Vicky Foster, audience members are invited to embark on a personal journey at this year's Freedom Festival, discovering a hidden area of the city steeped in history and personal stories.

Created by The Broken Orchestra, the ‘Fair Winds and Following Seas’ walking audio experience will take place at this year's Freedom Festival, from Wednesday 28 August and until Sunday 1 September and the Contains Strong Language programme.

Councillor Daren Hale, Portfolio Holder for Economic Investment, Regeneration, Planning, Land and Property, said: “This thought-provoking commission will give people a unique experience around the River Hull using spoken word and a range of musical genres to reflect the landscapes of the walk.

“This is an area that will receive significant development as we progress plans to develop the North End Shipyard and re-home the Arctic Corsair in a dry-berth, creating a new attraction for the city and the north of England.”

Pat Dooner, from The Broken Orchestra, said: “The aim of this experience is to take people on an emotional journey using the surrounding landscape coupled with a soundtrack of music and poetry. Using headphones and app/device based technology we encourage people to lose themselves in the experience. The river is hugely important to the city and its people, both historically and moving forward, and yet it is a really underused area.”

Mikey Martins, Artistic Director and Joint CEO of Freedom Festival Arts Trust, said: “Freedom Festival Arts Trust is an organisation built on the history and values of Hull. We’re extremely proud to be anchored in Yorkshire’s maritime city and to be supporting the city’s ambitious maritime project by creating artistic work inspired by our heritage.

“We’re really excited about this new commission, in partnership with Hull: Yorkshire’s Maritime City and with support from Arts Council and BBC Blue Room – who are supporting artists with their technological wizardry.

“Created by production duo Pat Dooner and Carl Conway-Davis from The Broken Orchestra and with poetry from Vicky Foster they will weave multiple musical textures and words to create powerful and evocative 3D soundscapes – a unique experience not to be missed.

“The rich stories of Hull’s past are interwoven into the fabric of our work and this is the first in a series of projects and commissions exploring and celebrating Hull’s maritime history, as we move audiences to new areas and locations along the river.”

Due to its format, Fairwinds and Following Sea has a limited capacity. Spaces for this free outdoor performance can be booked in advance here. 

For more information on the Hull: Yorkshire’s Maritime City project visit maritimehull.co.uk, follow and like @maritimeHull on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.