John William Waterhouse, R.A. A Mermaid, 1900. Photo credit: ©Royal Academy of Arts, London; photographer: John Hammond
Sirens, Women and the Sea
John William Waterhouse, R.A. A Mermaid, 1900 (Detail)
Photo credit: ©Royal Academy of Arts, London; photographer: John Hammond
On now until Monday 5th May 2025
Sirens: Out of The Blue
Reaching Out, Falling In • Image courtesy of Hannah Thompson
On now until Monday 5th May 2025
Artist in Residence: Maddie Morris
Maddie is the Ferens Artist in Residence whose work will be featured in our exhibition entitled Sirens: Women and the Sea. They will be responding to Herbert James Draper’s painting Ulysses and the Sirens (c1909).
They have taken inspiration from the characters in Ulysses and the Sirens and worked with community groups, to give them new voices and tell a new ‘Siren Song’. Visitors will be able to listen to the new tracks in the exhibition.
On now until Monday 5th May 2025
Free, drop-in
Out of the Blue:
Future Ferens Short Tours
Image: Grace Darling, 2025 by Emma Stothard
Saturday 29th March 2025
Saturday 26th April 20025
Join members of the Future Ferens group as they guide you round the Out of the Blue exhibition. The short talk will bring two works into focus. You can meet the artists and hear about the story behind their artworks, their
inspiration and creative practice.
Inspired by Sirens, Women and the Sea, the exhibition the artworks explore themes of gender, myth, female relationships with the sea and the prominence of Victorian depictions of the siren.
The tour will begin at 1pm • Free drop-in
‘Into the Blue’ – an evening of workshops and artist talks, hosted by Future Ferens
Thursday 10th April 2025
As part of Ferens’ Sirens: Women and the Sea, season Future Ferens invite you to ‘Into the Blue’ – an evening of workshops, and artist talks, led by the Young people involved in the ‘Out of the Blue’ exhibition.
This is a great opportunity, to learn more about both exhibitions, get an insight into the working processes of the Artists involved in ‘Out of the Blue’. It is also a rare chance to experience the gallery at night time.
This is a free event, aimed at all ages, and booking is not necessary – just turn up at 6pm on the night.
https://www.hullmuseums.co.uk/museum-events/into-the-blue-an-evening-of-workshops-and-artist-talks-hosted-by-future-ferens
Sirens: Women and the Sea Symposium
Thursday 1st May 2025 • 10.00a.m.
© Herbert James Draper Ulysses and the Sirens 1909 (detail)
To mark the closing of the Sirens: Women and the Sea exhibition, Ferens Art Gallery is hosting a Sirens Symposium, supported by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. The symposium will consist of talks and panel discussions exploring specific aspects of sirens mythology in visual and literary culture. The keynote speaker is Professor Sarah Peverley, University of Liverpool, who is a leading academic in mermaid literature, art and culture. Professor Peverley has recently published an article in Folklore Journal, ‘Tracking the Mermaids of Staithes: Curses, Egg-Broth and Inundation in a Yorkshire Legend‘. There will be four further speakers exploring siren and mermaid mythology and art, including doctoral candidate Cecilia Rose from the University of Exeter who is researching gender and the siren figure in art and literature between 1860 and 1910. Cecilia will explore three artworks by late Pre-Raphaelite artist Evelyn De Morgan, that tell the story of The Little Mermaid. Artist in Residence Maddie Morris will be performing the siren songs they created in response to James Herbert Draper’s painting ‘Ulysses and the Sirens’, featured in the Sirens: Women and the Sea exhibition. To finish the day there will be an opportunity to see the Sirens: Women and the Sea and Out of the Blue exhibitions with the exhibition curator, Kerri Offord, and members of the Future Ferens team.
To book tickets visit:
https://www.hullmuseums.co.uk/museum-events/sirens-women-and-the-sea-symposium
Gallery 6 – Maritime paintings in the
Ferens Art Gallery
Click the link below to view a selection of the paintings in the
Maritime collection
https://artuk.org/discover/curations/ferens-marine-paintings
and click the ‘Storyline‘ or ‘Showcase‘ button
Frog-tastic Sculptures
Healthy Holidays Craft Activity
Monday 7th April 2025
Have a ribbiting time making your own 3D model frog sculpture from craft materials, inspired by one of the sculptures at Ferens At Gallery. This activity is funded by Hull City Council and the Department for Education through the Holiday Activities and Food Programme. Free snacks and a drink will be available to each child that takes part.
Takes place 1.00pm – 3.00pm
https://www.hullmuseums.co.uk/museum-events/frog-tastic-sculptures-healthy-holidays-craft-activity
Mini Masterpieces – Artic Animal Explorers Healthy Holidays Under 7s activity
Tuesday 8th April 2025
Calling all mini art explorers, join the Hull Museums and Hull Maritime teams for fun stories, arts and crafts activities inspired by amazing Arctic animals! This activity is designed for younger children under 7 but older siblings are welcome to join in the fun too!
This activity is funded by Hull City Council and the Department for Education through the Holiday Activities and Food Programme. Free snacks and a drink will be available to each child that takes part.
Takes place: 10.00am – 12noon
https://www.hullmuseums.co.uk/museum-events/mini-masterpieces-artic-animal-explorers-healthy-holidays-under-7s-activity
Easter Wreath Making
Healthy Holidays Art Activity
Tuesday 15th April 2025
Join Artist Rosie Ireson for a fun family craft, to make your own fabulous spring or Easter wreath. With lots of decorations to pick from you can personalise you design to make it your own special creation.
This activity is funded by Hull City Council and the Department for Education through the Holiday Activities and Food Programme. Free snacks and a drink will be available to each child that takes part.
Takes place: 1.00pm – 3.00pm
https://www.hullmuseums.co.uk/museum-events/easter-wreath-making-healthy-holidays-art-activity
The Friends of the Ferens Art Gallery
c/o The Ferens Art Gallery
Queen Victoria Square, Hull, HU1 3RA, East Yorkshire
STOP PRESS, LAST CALL
If you have not responded but would like to join us,
please do by Wednesday 26th March 2025
Information and details below:
Estimated cost £20.00
We are planning a coach trip to the UNESCO World Heritage Salts Mill and Saltaire village Shipley. When built in 1853 the complex was the world’s largest industrial building. The present day 1853 Gallery takes its name from that date and has many paintings on display by Bradford born artist, David Hockney. The imposing and beautiful mill now contains large galleries, shopping outlets, cafe and a diner.
A guided visit to Titus Salt’s purpose built worker village is also an option available at an additional cost of £8 per person.
Please will you reply to:
marti.hall@btopenworld.com
Indicating your name, contact and how many seats you would like to reserve, or alternatively post your reply to the Ferens Art Gallery.
Guided Tour of Ferens Art Gallery
Explore the city’s art collection on a free guided tour of Ferens Art Gallery. The informative and friendly guides, will give you an overview of some of the highlights of the Gallery. In the hour-long tour, among others, they will reveal the stories of work by the 14th century Italian artist, Lorenzetti, art from the Dutch Golden Age, paintings of great 19th-century female artists and the more local talent of Atkinson Grimshaw.
Dates and times
Please select a month:
April 2025
May 2025
June 2025
July 2025
https://www.hullmuseums.co.uk/museum-events/guided-tour-of-ferens-art-gallery
Young Artist Open Exhibition 2025
Friday 10th October – Sunday 11th January 2026
The Young Artist Open exhibition has been held annually at the Ferens Art Gallery since 2003 and celebrates the creative talent of young people in Hull and the surrounding area.
2025 Open Exhibition
Friday 10th October – Sunday 11th January 2026
For full guidance: https://www.hullmuseums.co.uk/homepage/88/open-exhibition
National Gallery Partnership To Bring Monet To Ferens
Image: Claude Monet The Petit Bras of the Seine at Argenteuil 1872 Oil on canvas, 52.6 x 71.8 cm
© The National Gallery, London
The National Gallery has announced it will partner with the Ferens Art Gallery as part of its
Masterpiece Tour 2025-27.
The work selected for the first year is Monet’s The Petit Bras of the Seine at Argenteuil (1872), a work which has left the Gallery only once in the last 20 years. Monet depicts a tranquil scene of a winter day on the outskirts of the small suburban town of Argenteuil, not far from Paris. Although the town was already partly industrialised and a popular location for sailing and leisure boating, Monet only hints at this developing bustle with a few scattered buildings behind a screen of trees. Instead, he focuses on an intimate moment by the river. The orderly composition, variety of brushstrokes and reflection in the water are all regular features of Monet’s work.
The Ferens Art Gallery exhibition will be co-curated with Flourish, Ferens Art Gallery’s creative group for children and young people, organised with and for disabled and neurodivergent visitors. Together, they will create a multi-sensory immersive space that is an olfactory, acoustic and tactile experience. The exhibition will showcase select works from the Ferens’s vast collection alongside contemporary responses from Flourish to enable visitors to see and experience art from a new and inclusive perspective.
Czesc Hull, to my! / Hi Hull, it’s us! – over 100 years of the local Polish community
Saturday 29th March – Sunday 29th June 2025
Free, drop-in
Glam & Gloom – 1970s Britain
Thursday 10th July – Sunday 31st August 2025
Free, drop-in
New play tells the history of lost Tudor fortress
A new play will celebrate the history of South Blockhouse.
Hull Maritime and The Northern Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) have joined forces to bring the rich and fascinating history of the South Blockhouse to life through a series of immersive theatre performances, called “When Cannons Were Roaring: The Story of Hull’s South Blockhouse”.
The immersive performances will take place across different dates and venues, with free entry for all:
Thursday 27th March – NAPA, 50 Anlaby Road, Hull HU1 2PD, at 2pm – BSL performance
Friday 28th March – NAPA, 2pm
Friday 28th March – NAPA, 7pm
Book Free Tickets:
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/napatickets/when-cannons-were-roaring-the-story-of-hulls-south-blockhouse/e-yejpkp?utm_campaign=&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
Willerby Art Group
Pre-covid, the show was an annual, week-long event featuring an exhibition, demonstrations and evening entertainment but after the pandemic it was abandoned. Last year, the Willerby Art Group decided to reorganise it as a weekend open art show to promote local amateur and professional art groups and artists. The 2024 show was a great success and encouraged us to establish it as an annual open exhibition.This year, the show will be held on 25th-28th April inclusive in the Willerby Methodist Church, Willerby. The organisers will build on last year’s success by repeating the open invitation to local artists to exhibit work at a good venue and at reasonable cost. The show will be open every day from 10.00-16.00 (free entry) and light refreshments will be available. Proceeds from sales and donations will be divided between local charities, the Willerby Art Group and the church.For submission details email cd.willerbyart@gmail.com.
Champney Road, Beverley HU17 8HE
David Remfry RA: A Homecoming
Saturday 29th March to Saturday 21st June
Royal Academician and celebrated British painter David Remfry MBE (b.1942) returns to Yorkshire where his career began with a major retrospective. From portraits to still life, small scale drawings to large scale paintings, a mastery of watercolour and more recently returning to oils, visitors will be able to trace the artist’s remarkable career from Yorkshire origins to London, New York and beyond.
Curator’s tours
Join exhibition curator Dr Gerardine Mulcahy-Parker for a tour of David Remfry RA: A Homecoming. Under the guidance of the curator, who has been working closely with the esteemed artist, visitors will have the rare opportunity to explore the stories behind the works.
Saturday 5th April 11am
Saturday 3rd May 11am
Saturday 7th June 11am
Talks are free and there is no need to book. Meet in Beverley Art Gallery 5 minutes before the talks start.
This is the second time that the Ropewalk Print Studio has had a Joint Exhibition of Printmaking with the Feral Art School Printmakers.
The Ropewalk Print Studio is celebrating its 25 year anniversary and during that time the studio has been a crucial place for people throughout our region to enjoy the indulgence of printmaking. For the last eight years Avenues print studio which evolved into the Feral Print studio has often shared Ropewalk print resources before Feral Printmaking became more established and better equipped. Now we have two thriving independent print facilities with Printmakers exploring a comprehensive range of print techniques. Members from each of these studios often exhibit together as the Hull Print Collective.
This exhibition showcases many varied approaches to printmaking.
These include…
Drypoint Etching, Hard Ground and Soft ground Etching, Aquatint, Sugar-Lift, Lino-Print, Wood-cut, Mezzotint, Carborundum Print, Collagraph, Monotype, Tetra-Pak, Lithograph, Photo Screen and Open Screen.
The following local Print Studios offer short Printmaking Courses for Beginners and for Advanced practitioners, check out their websites to see what is on offer.
https://ropewalkprintworkshop.org.uk
On now to Tuesday 22nd April 2025
Exhibition Gallery, open daily 10am-5pm.
Fruiting Bodies
5th – 27th April 2025
Open Thursday – Sunday • 11.00am – 4.00pm
Contemporary sculptures and other artworks exploring the intersection of nature, transformation, and organic forms by London-based art collective Changeable Beast and guest artists.
Aileen Kelly, Chuting Lee, Clare Jarrett, Diana Wolzak, Ellie Reid, Jennifer Moore, Karen Byrne, Kay Senior, Matthew Foster, Ornella Novello, Sandy Layton, Seona Myerscough, Susan Young, Tania Salha, Tessa Garland, Tina Culverhouse and Vivien Delta.
Guest artists; Jacqui Barrowcliffe, Molly Newnham, Paul Bonomini, David Kefford, Catriona Robertson and Elspeth Billie Penfold.
Admission Free
Scarborough Studios CIO, Old Parcels Office
Railway Station Car Park, Scarborough, North Yorkshire YO11 1TU
THE FRIENDS OF THE FERENS ART GALLERY
Please click the link below to view a detailed explanation of the Friends and the role of the Friends Trustees
FoFAG structure 3-fold contacts
