Freedom Festival 2021: Extended programme & first events announced

Hull’s award-winning Freedom Festival is back for its 14th year with an extended programme spanning 16 days.

The international arts festival will be hosted in galleries, museums, theatres, empty shops, and public spaces across the city, with a programme of music, performance, visual arts, and talks, including a number of special commissions and events.

The majority of events will be free but will be ticketed to manage capacity in line with government guidance.

The festival will run from Friday, August 20, to Sunday, September 5. An initial release of tickets will be available from noon on Friday, July 2.

Mikey Martins, artistic director and joint CEO of Freedom Festival Arts Trust, said: “We are delighted to confirm our Festival dates for 2021 and announce the first wave of events.

“Today we can announce a few of the events you will be able to experience at the festival this year, including a return by Luke Jerram, who last was at Freedom Festival with the hugely popular Museum of the Moon in 2018; this year we are proud to present Gaia (earth).

“For Freedom we are working in association with Hull Minster (where Gaia will be presented), and the Woodland Trust. Audiences will experience this amazing installation surrounded by trees with a bespoke soundscape.

“During the Festival around Gaia there will be a series of special events, concerts and talks which will include a specially commissioned  performance by The Broken Orchestra, and the culmination of a project based around climate change in association with Westcott Primary School.

“We are also presenting a number of audio adventures - walks where alone or in a group you can be  part of a created experience through the streets of Hull, exploring the known and less well known parts of our city.”

Also, Aria Entertainment and WEF Productions join forces with Freedom to present C-O-N-T-A-C-T, which saw sell-out performances during its Paris and London runs.

Mikey said: “We are excited to be bringing performances back to the city this year at Stage@TheDock, featuring 15ft6 from Belgium and their circus skills-based show League & Legend, Rise by Tribe, a powerful female-led dance piece and four other pieces to be announced soon.

“And at Hull Truck we will be presenting for families Daryl Beeton’s solo show, A Square World; a playful story of what happens when you don't fit in. Using ingeniously designed abstract props, his non-verbal performance gets children to think about disability and how we can include everyone.”

There will also be some “incredible” installations, all commissioned by Freedom Festival, such as Where There Is Light, created by SquidSoup/ArtReach and sanctuary seeking communities across the country.

These will explore the theme of light and be delivered at Ferens Art Gallery. Another installation will be Arrivals + Departures by Yara + Davina, an interactive exploration of birth death and the journey in between, which comes to Hull following appearances in London and New York.

As well as the core 16-day festival, Freedom’s year-long event The Hull Vigil, continues daily at Hull College until May 3, 2022.

Mikey added “We remain a festival powered by people, that’s what Freedom Festival is and what fuels us.

“We believe bold, exciting and insightful artistic experiences are fundamental and a necessary part of our modern society.

“We work with artists who are brave, innovative and hugely talented, and we’re incredibly excited to have expanded the festival across 16 days this year to allow as many people as possible to attend events that may have a limited capacity due to government guidelines.”

Anthony Baker, executive director and joint CEO of Freedom Festival Arts Trust, said: “In this challenging Covid-19 environment, we are so pleased to be able to bring you this exciting and relevant programme of events across this extended period.

“I especially want to thank our partners and funders, without whose support we would be unable to bring you our remarkable celebration of art, community and humanity annually.

“Particular thanks go to Arts Council England and Hull City Council, who continue to believe in our work and the impact we make in our great city.”

Additional information and ticket announcements will be released over the coming weeks. To keep up to date visit www.freedomfestival.co.uk and follow @FreedomFestHull on Twitter and Instagram.