About us
Absolutely Cultured is a registered charity which aims to enrich the lives of the people of Hull through cultural programmes of excellence.
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The Need To develop access to cultural opportunities for Hull. Supporting the city’s children, young people and emerging talent to see careers in the arts and creative industries as a viable option.
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 Our approach
Absolutely Cultured creates accessible and welcoming social and artistic places for reflection, creativity and innovation. Generating opportunities for more people from all backgrounds to engage in, experience and participate in great art, and to develop creative careers. |
The Change A vibrant, thriving and connected local cultural ecology which makes Hull an even better place to live, work, visit and learn. |
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Our story
We launched in May 2018 from Hull’s year as the UK City of Culture 2017, a charity working to enhance the arts and cultural offer in the city and region, for the benefit of Hull. Absolutely Cultured has recently become an ACE National Portfolio Organisation and continues to play a leading role in Hull’s future and in the wider UK arts ecology.
Operating from our flourishing venue Humber Street Gallery, in Hull’s city-centre, in places and spaces across the city and in Hull’s communities, we work across three strands of Arts Programming, Community Engagement & Learning, and Artist Development.
Working through a partnership and consultation-based approach, we are driven by Place Shaping and Social Impact, and we strive to align creativity, imagination, expertise and networks with partner organisations in Hull and beyond.
Whilst our core focus is contemporary visual art, we work across artforms and sectors to deliver projects that matter and creative opportunities for Hull’s people.
Underpinning our programming is a commitment to developing access to cultural opportunities for the city, its residents and for creative practitioners. All our projects carry a learning and engagement principle, enhancing Hull’s cultural offer and increasing the relevance and value of the arts to the city and UK-wide.
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Our commitment to the environment
The environment is important to us at Absolutely Cultured and we are committed to taking steps to reduce our own impact and to using our platform to inform and educate our audiences on the issues facing the planet.
When we talk about the environment, we consider the major global factors including climate change, pollution and the health of the planet’s oceans alongside hyperlocal considerations such as access to green spaces. We look at how we can contribute to the bigger picture, but also how we can make change in the communities where we work.
To help us achieve this, we have implemented a range of processes and tools into our ways of working, including conducting an energy audit on our building and using industry standard tool Julie’s Bicycle to understand our impact. Our café is meat free and uses locally sourced products where possible to reduce food miles. We also only stock products that are made with sustainable palm oil.
Within our creative programme, environmental impact is considered at the start of any new project and we discuss how we can minimise its impact, including recycling and reusing materials from past projects and exhibitions. This can include choice of materials and suppliers through to shipping and travel arrangements. We know that for most visual arts organisations, audience travel is the biggest contributor to our carbon footprint. To tackle this, we encourage the use of public transport and active travel methods.
Environmental issues have been a recurrent theme in our creative programme where we have worked with partners including the University of Hull’s Energy & Environment Institute, Yorkshire Water and the Living With Water Partnership to develop and deliver meaningful and relevant projects that tackle major environmental topics in an accessible way.
Projects have included:
Although our creative programme will shift and change as the years go on, our commitment to the environment will always be part of Absolutely Cultured.