An Art and Education project from Hull based Artist Andi Dakin in partnership with Hull Culture and Leisure, Hull City Council and Hull 2017: and supported by Arts Council England has launched.
Hull has twelve public libraries and during the next three months throughout our UK City of Culture’s ‘ Roots and Routes’ season, Space Urchins will be invading these buildings.
Space Urchins are spherical, multi- coloured spikey creatures. They have travelled from deep in space to visit Planet Earth.
They will enter our world through ships port holes that have appeared in our local Libraries: Portals to infinity and beyond.
They are nocturnal; they will explore the libraries at night time and sleep during the hours of daylight.
The first three Space Urchin invasions will happen at Bransholme Library, Fred Moore Library on Wold Road and Ings Library on Savoy Road, visitors can see the urchins from Saturday 1 April.
Space Urchins will visit each of the 12 Libraries for one month.
Three different Libraries will host invasions in April, four in May and five in June.
Local primary schools will visit the libraries to learn about our Alien Visitors and make their own Space Urchins.
Hull based Artist Andi Dakin will be giving talks about Space Urchins and other creatures, at all the host venues during the course of each exhibition, starting with:
• Bransholme library on Saturday 8 April at 11am
• Fred Moore Library on Thursday 20 April at 5.45pm
• Ings Library on Tuesday 25 April at 5pm
Artist Andi Dakin, said:
“I have been working with Space Urchins for several years now and this is the biggest collection of the critters that I have had to coordinate. They seem to like being in libraries, they sleep soundly during the daytime, I hope they don’t get up to too much mischief when they are wide awake during the hours of darkness.”
Councillor Terry Geraghty, Portfolio Holder for Culture and Leisure and Chair of Hull Culture and Leisure Limited, said:
“This is a new and innovative project and we hope it will inspire children and young people to learn more about space and planets.”
