From the 3rd of May 2021 to the 3rd of May 2022
With Freedom Festival Arts Trust, Hull, UK
Hull, the city that keeps watch over itself
On 3 May 2021, a year-long vigil will begin in Hull with the UK premiere of a monumental performance telling the story of a city coming back to life. Every day for a year, at sunrise and sunset, a vigil will keep watch over Hull from a bespoke structure located on top of the Hull College building. Over the course of one year, 730 people will contribute to the collective vigil - a 365 day silent and peaceful performance - to watch over the city.
Freedom Festival, an organisation known for creating the unexpected, is welcoming The Hull Vigil, as it brings the performance to Hull - the first UK city to host this timely, thought-provoking, large-scale monumental work by Australian-Belgian choreographer Joanne Leighton / WLDN.
Over the past 10 years, The Vigil has been running continuously in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Austria and in 2021 it comes to Hull for its 10th performance.
While each vigil stands alone, together they form a human chain and a manifestation of community, humanity and resilience. Something even more significant today amidst these troubling times, as a community, nation and society, we watch over and protect each other, our cities and our planet.
Standing alone but together, each vigil will step inside the bespoke wood and glass structure, without their phone or other distraction, to watch over the city for an hour at sunrise and sunset - looking out across the Humber River to the east, the urban spread to the north and out across the suburbs and countryside to the west. Each participant will have their own unique experience. One of the fundamentals in the practice of choreography is the nature of presence, to stand back from the world for an instant. At the same time, the participants will experience being part of a vast, human adventure on a larger scale than that of a population or a city.
Each day, the vigils will express their thoughts and experiences about their vigil and watching over the city of Hull. These words, along with photos of the performance will be posted on to The Hull Vigil website, telling the story of the performance.
This performance runs simultaneously with Türmer Münich.
Press : BBC
More informations on the website The Hull Vigil
What an amazing, unforgettable experience. Watching the sun rise over a sleeping city and seeing it begin to wake up the buildings. I noticed buildings and objects not seen before and loved watching how things started moving as people came alive. I watched with great pleasure the ferry coming back like an old friend coming home. Thank you for giving me this opportunity which I will never forget.
– Pat, Sunrise 26 April 2022
A joy to witness day turning to night from such a vantage point. Seeing shadows get longer. Seeing rainbows. Seeing the veins of the city work on. Seeing how small and insignificant your problems now seem.
– Nathan, Sunset 18 May 2021
