£50,000 to discover what 'Hull-ness' means

The cash will allow Arc to build on its previous work to explore Hull's "spirit of place".

Fiona Spiers, head of Heritage Lottery Fund, Yorkshire and the Humber, said: "Hull is such an intriguing city in which the built environment has been shaped by its history.

"From its architecture to its people, this project will enable the community to discover what makes Hull unique!"

Arc, the architecture and built environment centre for Hull and the Humber region, will be looking at whether there is such a thing as "Hullness" and if it is possible to find the spirit of a place in its streets, houses and open spaces.

It wants to discover what is the spirit of place for Hull and look at how this is influenced by the past or present.

Jo Byrne, programme director, said: "We are delighted to receive this support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, which will allow us to take our search for Hullness out to local communities and schools.

"We want as many people as possible to get involved. Trying to find the spirit of place is a tall order and we need to root out where it is hiding.

"Hullness will mean different things to different people. We need to ask: 'What is it that makes this Hull, and not Sheffield, Leeds or London? What have we got - or even what haven't we got - that makes the city distinctive... and why?'"

The project will ask people to explore their own notion of Hullness, focusing on the built environment, but also looking at other factors such as sport, art, attitude or way of life.

It will include debates, workshops and oral history sessions, working with community groups and schools around the city. All the material collected will be compiled into a permanent public archive, showing how local people feel about the city in 2011. This will be used to create a Hullness exhibition across several Hull venues in the summer of 2011.

The funding will enable Arc to employ a dedicated Hullness project manager and up to 12 volunteer places, including training in heritage techniques such as oral history recording and exhibition management, have also been created.

Arc aims not only to celebrate the city but also hopes the project will help to shape Hull's future.

Jo added: "Hull is no stranger to bad publicity about the image of the city. However, those of us who live and work here know that there is so much more to Hull.

"Yes, we know what's bad. But we also know about the special places that create positive feelings. The Hullness project is a chance to share our thoughts about the city - past and present - and hopefully generate enthusiasm for what makes it unique."

Michael Haughton, chief executive of Arc, said: "With regard to architecture, there is much discussion about the loss of that special identity that makes a place unique. At Arc we have come to believe that the key to protecting and building on local character is to first try to explore what that character is.

"The funding from the Heritage Lottery has given us the opportunity to do this by asking the people of Hull themselves."

For more details on the Hullness project go to www.arc-online.co.uk/hullness or contact Jo Byrne on 01482 280033 or [email protected].