Open Bridges: A River Full Of Stories
A new initiative, awarded a grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund will gather memories and stories of life on and around the River Hull is announced by the organisers of Hull’s Open Bridges project.
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- Open Bridges – River Hull at Emmotland photograph by Richard Duffy-Howard
‘Open Bridges: A River Full Of Stories’ is supported by the National Lottery and will preserve and publicise the heritage of the River Hull, its bridges and the vessels which have used it over the years by gathering and sharing stories from people who currently or previously lived or worked on and around the river.
Open Bridges made history when for the first time all 13 of the bridges over the River Hull in the UK’s City of Culture 2017 raised, swung or closed simultaneously splitting the city of Hull in two at 20:17 hours on 22nd September 2017.
The project was a logistical and artistic first, conceived and managed by Hull musicians Rich and Lou Duffy-Howard, who said: “Open Bridges is a celebration of the River, the lifeblood of the city, and an exploration of the notion of freedom. It was the culmination of 18 months of meticulous planning and preparation.”
But Open Bridges is far from over. The Open Bridges exhibition inside Scale Lane Bridge had 2000 visitors in January this year and the film has been selected by film festivals worldwide. Now, ‘A River Full of Stories’ will collect memories from people who have tales to tell about how life on the River Hull has changed over the years, what it was like then and what it’s like now to live and work on the river.
Project organiser Rich Duffy-Howard said, “The idea for A River Full Of Stories came about when many of the visitors to the exhibition told us fascinating stories and memories of their lives working on and around the river. “
“The River Hull has a rich history of many uses from small pleasure craft to commercial vessels with hundreds of tonnes of cargo, primarily within living memory of people as well as anecdotes and folk tales of earlier times and changes over the years. We met people at the Open Bridges exhibition whose families worked on the river for generations, and told us about the times when hundreds of barges and other vessels filled the river.”
Lou Duffy-Howard continued, “We wanted to capture these memories and stories and share them with future generations. We are delighted that with the help of National Lottery players we are able to preserve them by holding story gathering sessions and producing an exhibition, short films and a book which will be given to every library and museum in Hull and the East Riding.”
If you would like to talk to Rich and Lou Duffy-Howard about sharing your memories you can contact them either via the contact form on the website openbridgeshull.com/contact/ or by telephoning 07971 956963.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Duffy-Howard Music – Hull based musicians and event organisers Rich and Lou Duffy-Howard are known for their involvement in city events since 1999 – Grassroots Free Festival (2000-2008), Wilberforce 2007, Winterlude Festival, Hull700. Former Red Guitars bassist Lou and photographer Rich’s current band Loudhailer Electric Company are currently gigging their debut album Cursus to critical acclaim. Website: https://loudhailer.net/
About the Heritage Lottery Fund
Thanks to National Lottery players, we invest money to help people across the UK explore, enjoy and protect the heritage they care about – from the archaeology under our feet to the historic parks and buildings we love, from precious memories and collections to rare wildlife. www.hlf.org.uk. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLottery and #HLFsupported.
Project Web Links
Open Bridges website https://openbridgeshull.com/
Further images available for download from Open Bridges EPK https://openbridgeshull.com/open-bridges-exhibition-and-film-press-kit/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/open_bridges_hull/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HullSubCulture
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