To coincide with Hull UK City of Culture 2017 ‘Sounding the Sea’ symposium saw artists, writers, historians and scientists come together to celebrate our cultural and physical connections to the sea. 

The programme included leading authors China Miéville and Philip Hoare, artists Alec Finlay, Bik Van der Pol and Mariele Neudecker, marine biologists and ocean campaigners; Professor Alex Rogers, University of Oxford, Dr Magnus Johnson, University of Hull and Jo Ruxton, producer of groundbreaking film Plastic Oceans, for talks, workshops, artist performances and film screenings.

The two day symposium included discussions on the critical importance and health of our oceans, climate change, catastrophes such as tsunamis and earthquakes, bioluminescence and deep sea marine life, Hull’s maritime history, rising sea levels along with our myriad of cultural connections to the sea.

‘Sounding the Sea’ was part of exhibitions ‘Offshore: Artists explore the sea’ curated by Invisible Dust at Ferens Art Gallery and Hull Maritime Museum, and ‘Somewhere Becoming Sea’ curated by Steven Bode, supported by Film and Video Umbrella at Humber Street Gallery.

The symposium was independently supported by the University of Hull and the University of Oxford, Arts Council England, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Hull Culture and Leisure and the Wellcome Trust.

Programme: Sounding the Sea Handout

Image: David Malone in conversation with China Mieville © David Chalmers, courtesy of Invisible Dust.