Stay Connected
The new year ahead promises to be full of new stories, connections, friendships and achievements.
Join us as we continue our mission to champion the vital place of creativity in all of our lives, and stay connected by following @artlinkhull for all of the latest updates, opportunities and highlights we can’t wait to share with you in the weeks ahead.
This account will no longer be updated regularly - @artlinkhull will be the place to find us as we remain committed to making it as easy as possible for you to get involved and see what we’re up to here at the gallery and across the community.
Happy New Year from everyone at Artlink Hull | 87 Gallery! We’re already looking forward to everything that 2026 has in store and are excited to kick off the year by announcing our next exhibition:
Maria Donnai | Deep Unknowns
Maria Donnai is an artist based in Hull. After a career in the veterinary sector, the care and conservation of animals and nature persists through her art practice, which mainly consists of sculpture and installation in ceramic and glass. She intentionally uses these delicate materials to encourage reflection on the fragility of life and ongoing concerns around species extinction.
Much of the ocean floor is unexplored by humans, and it is estimated that around 80% of our seas are unknown to us. This has led Donnai to fictionalise our limited understanding, to create an installation of hybrid porcelain-glass marine creatures, which speculate on possibilities. Transporting us to the depths of the ocean, Deep Unknowns asks us to care about the preservation of sublime beings that are beyond our comprehension.
Celebrate with us at the public launch on Friday 23 January 2026, 6-8pm (quiet hour 5-6pm) or join Maria for an artist-led tour of the exhibition on Saturday 24 January, 12-1pm. The exhibition will then continue until 11 April 2026, open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 10am - 4:30pm.
We are now closed to the public until January. As the year comes to a close, the team at Artlink Hull | 87 Gallery wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We’d like to express a huge thanks to all of you for your incredible support - big or small. We are so proud of what we have achieved this year and are looking forward to some exciting plans for 2026.
Our mission is to bring the arts to everyone and that’s why we’re so proud to have touched so many people in our community this year through our exhibitions, workshops and community programmes. Some of these include Creative Connections, Explorers, and Streams.
If you’d like to get involved in 2026, check back soon and keep an eye on our socials and our website for new events and opportunity announcements. You won’t want to miss what we have planned next year!
Today we're highlighting a series of beautiful double-exposure photographs produced by Streams and Creative Connections member, Nadine Storrer, in response to visual devices employed by Emma Prempeh in The Nearness of Elsewhere.
Streams is a series of workshops for adults supporting the development of critical and creative response. Nadine was the third recipient of our Streams Bursary Award this year, which supports one artist per term to develop their practice with mentoring from The Critical Fish, opportunities to utilise our gallery studio, and a small grant to use in ways that might benefit their work without any requirement from us for reporting back. The bursary is awarded based on nominations from members of the group.
To find out more about Streams and to enrol on our next series beginning in January, head to 87gallery.co.uk/streams today.
@thecriticalfish
We loved thinking about the meaning of our current exhibition title - The Nearness of Elsewhere - and how it connects to our individual experiences, with Year 4 from Thoresby Primary School at the gallery last week.
A big part of our mission as a hyper-local gallery is to create opportunities for children and young people to experience art and visual culture in a way that connects up to the realities of working artist practice, and creative career pathways.
We welcome enquiries from schools, colleges and education providers across Hull and beyond to visit our ever-changing, exciting and evolving programme at Artlink Hull | 87 Gallery. To get in touch, email [email protected] at any time.
Just 2 days remain to see The Nearness of Elsewhere by Emma Prempeh @reclus__e , and we can't imagine a better way to end the week than by experiencing an exhibition that invites us to consider our collective and individual relationships to place, in the warmth and intimacy of our hyper-local art space.
Opening hours this week are Thursday - Friday, 10am-4.30pm.
We will be closed to the public from 20.12.25 until mid-January.
You can watch the full studio film accompanying the exhibition on our website, on Youtube (search for channel: artlink87), or in the comfort of our studio space at the gallery during opening hours.
It’s the last week of term for the gallery learning programme and we’re looking back on a dynamite start to our new Photography Explorers project, led by @rubydeverell every Tuesday afternoon after-school (enrolment for January opens soon so check back at the end of the week!)
Over 9 weeks, Explorers have been getting to grips with digital and manual camera controls and settings, investigating commercial and non-commercial settings and career pathways, photographing a live gig - learning how to respond on a location shoot working with a client in a demanding environment, through to analogue experimentation, producing photograms in a DIY darkroom and developing a personal project brief towards a top-secret event coming up here at the gallery…
@87explorers
Are you passionate about the arts and looking to gain hands-on experience in a vibrant charity and gallery setting?
We are excited to announce a 10-week paid placement opportunity for a dedicated and enthusiastic General Assistant.
✨ The Role
This varied and dynamic placement will give you invaluable experience across the core functions of Artlink Hull and 87 Gallery, blending public-facing engagement with essential administrative support.
Key Responsibilities
🔹Gallery Front of House (FOH). Warmly welcome visitors to 87 Gallery, providing information about current exhibitions and the work of Artlink Hull.
🔹Assist with the general presentation and maintenance of the gallery space.
🔹Monitor gallery attendance and collect visitor feedback.
🔹Support the team with day-to-day administrative tasks, including data entry, filing, and managing office supplies.
🔹Assist with communications, including drafting emails and managing incoming queries.
🔹Support the coordination and preparation for meetings and events.
🌟 Who We Are Looking For
This placement is funded by the Goodwin Trust's Create to Change programme. Applicants must have a Hull postcode (HU1-HU9) to be eligible for this specific funded placement.
🔹This placement is ideal for an individual who is proactive, organised, and has a genuine interest in the visual arts, charity, or cultural sector.
🔹A keen desire to gain experience in a professional arts or charity environment.
🔹Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a friendly and professional demeanor.
🔹Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.
🔹Reliable, punctual, and able to work independently and as part of a small team.
ℹ️ Placement Details
Hours: 22 hours / week
Duration: 10 weeks
Pay: Paid at National Minimum Wage
Start Date: Mid-January 2026 (Specific date TBC)
Location: Artlink Hull | 87 Gallery
📧 How to Apply
Please submit your CV detailing any relevant experience and your interest in the role to: [email protected]
🔹 Deadline: Tuesday, December 24 2025
🔹Notification of Interviews: Successful candidates will be notified by Wednesday, January 7 2026
🔹 Interviews: Friday January 9 2026
*Terms apply
In our latest studio film, artist Emma Premeh offers an extended insight into her process of making and the topics that influenced the development of The Nearness of Elsewhere, showing at Artlink Hull | 87 Gallery until 19 December.
Watch the full film on our website, on Youtube (search for channel: artlink87), or in the comfort of our studio space at the gallery during opening hours.
We're so proud to be hosting Emma's work in Hull - especially after yesterday's announcement that one of her paintings has been acquired for the Tate collection.
Don't miss the chance to see this world class exhibition on your doorstep, and hear about her experience of immersing herself in Hull's history and culture as part if her commission with us here.
@tate
Come and shelter in the warmth of our current exhibition The Nearness of Elsewhere by artist Emma Prempeh @reclus__e this weekend at 87 Gallery.
The exhibition aims to transport us to an environment that feels equally distant and familiar, encapsulating diasporic experience in the UK and beyond. It is inspired by research visits to Hull, where the artist led workshops and attended community gatherings to incorporate the stories of local people and places.
Reflecting on her London upbringing and her African-Caribbean heritage, Prempeh consistently returns to the theme of home. Utilising magic realism, she re-examines diasporic identity through storytelling and myth, commenting on the circularity of time and memory.
📅 4 Oct - 19 Dec 2025
📍 Artlink Hull | 87 Gallery, Princes Avenue HU5 3QP
⏱️ Thursday-Saturday, 10am-4.30pm
Have you seen these beautiful limited edition screen prints made by Emma Prempeh here on site at 87 Gallery?
Working alongside @miscprintco to develop the prints, Prempeh started from scratch by painting individual elements. These were translated into 8 separate screens for Prempeh to hand-pull every colour layer herself. Lastly, hand finishing in gold leaf and gold mica powder. The whole process took two days in total and the results are stunning.
They’ve been selling to collectors all over the world so don’t wait around, head to our online store now to order yours. HU postcode holders, please take advantage of your in-store discount today!
Emma Prempeh - Black Eyed Susan (Hull)
7/8 colour Screen print, Gold Leaf/Gold Mica
Waterbased Ink on Plike 300gsm paper
29.5 x 42.5cm (Approx)
Edition of 20 (Gold Leaf)
Edition of 16 (Gold Mica)
Hand-screen printed, Hand-finished, signed, and numbered by the artist.
You can purchase in-store, or online at https://loom.ly/Qi3Op3g
All proceeds of the prints go straight back to our charity to support our visual art, learning, outreach and community engagement programmes. Thank you
Earlier this year, we hosted our Summer Fundraiser — a fantastic afternoon and evening of creativity, connection and celebration after an incredible season at Artlink | 87 Gallery.
With most arts organisations currently operating on deficit budgets, events like this are vital. They not only help raise essential funds to keep our gallery open and accessible, but also give us a chance to come together with the community we exist to serve.
We’re thrilled to share that together, we raised £1,137.28
Every penny goes directly towards supporting our exhibitions, creative sessions and the artists and communities we work with.
A huge thank you to everyone who made the day so special:
🧁 Janet for the legendary bake sale
🎶 Cecil for bringing the music
🎨 Isobel for beautiful design
💛 Our brilliant HEY Volunteers
🖨️ Josh for generously donating prints
We’ll be organising more fundraising events soon to keep the momentum going.
If you’d like to get involved, support, or collaborate — we’d love to hear from you.
