City of Culture gallery in running for museum of year as visitor numbers double

HULL IS continuing to reap the benefits of its City of Culture year, with visitor numbers to the Ferens Art Gallery nearly double what they were in 2015.

Bosses at the Ferens say the figures for the first five months of the year are up 91 per cent on 2015 when the gallery closed for major renovations.

The gallery – whose latest exhibition explores the work of German expressionist Käthe Kollwitz – will find out on Thursday whether it has won the Art Fund Museum of the Year and a £100,000 prize. Coun Marjorie Brabazon, the chairwoman of Hull Culture and Leisure Limited, said: “The legacy of Hull 2017 was as important as the year itself and these promising figures show the positive impact it has had on our city.”

If it wins it will make it a hattrick for Yorkshire.

Last year, the Hepworth Wakefield art gallery scooped the award, while in 2014 Yorkshire Sculpture Park was the winner.

The Ferens is the only attraction in the North of England to be shortlisted this year, and is up against the likes of the Tate St Ives, which reopened last October following a £20m revamp, and the newest museum in the UK – London’s Postal Museum.

Meanwhile, thousands of people are expected at the Hull Folk and Maritime Festival across the weekend of July 27 to 29, providing an explosion of colour and sound around the city’s ,arina.

The event – which is nearly three decades old – kicks off on the Friday with a concert on the outdoor stage at The Minerva pub in Nelson Street, featuring top Johnny Cash tribute act Keep It Cash.

Over the weekend there will be about 50 acts performing, mostly free of charge, including aboard two of the historic vessels which will be moored in the dock.