Alive with Art: Gnomes and Poets in Pearson Park

Drawings were pinned to trees.

In light of Hull’s recent bid for City of Culture 2017, the Pearson Park festival Alive with Art took place last Saturday (6th July) and gave local artists an outlet for their talents and visitors a chance to observe and get involved. This day of poetry, painting, drawing, theatre performances, music, dancing, eating and drinking was organised by former The Beautiful South drummer Dave Stead. Food and poetry meant that I had to at least have a peek.

The sun was shining down relentlessly as I set off to find out what cultural gems were to be found. Armed with my camera, I rushed from one shady tree to the next to move across the festival without melting. To get to the action I had to pass a bouncy castle and a train merry-go-round with such a tiny turn radius that the centrifugal forces must have been quite a rush for the kids. Wheeeee!

Yet unmelted, I made it to the first stage. Hiding in the shade of a tent, I listened to Ruth Getz singing 1940s-style songs. It was nice being exposed to 1940s music on a sunny and cheerful day as I normally tend to associate the genre with the claustrophobic and deadly surroundings of Bioshock’s Rapture or that creepy scene from Spaced ♫ How Much is that doggie in the window...♫

Ruth Getz, 1940s songstress

Next stop was the poetry stage. I like to take my time with poetry so I stood and listened for quite a while and it was fantastic. You could easily tell how nervous some people were to put themselves out there and perform their own poems. I’m not sure I’d be brave enough so I have a lot of respect for the people who are. The poems I listened to were lovely and I could have stayed for much longer as I have a weakness for pretty word combinations. But more exploration waited for me...

My figure of eight walk took me to the other side of Pearson Park to a theatre play. I arrived right in the middle of it and for a few minutes tried to figure out if I could get into it and follow the storyline but the sounds of local bands playing under neighbouring gazebos distracted me. I gave up and moved on.

More and more people kept pouring into the park and I got warmer and warmer. I sat under a chestnut tree to cool down until my attention was caught by a creature with a garden gnome head and a child’s body. The girl-gnome stood among several beautifully made papier mâché heads lying on the grass. A closer look showed me that the gnome wasn’t the only oddity: jesters, trolls and other colourful beings came to life and promenaded among the crowd. The masks could be worn by anyone and they were particularly popular with the children.

Only a few metres from the hub of mythical creatures you could try your hand at life drawing. Paper, pen, chair and model were all provided. Unfortunately, my drawing skills still leave a lot to be desired and I didn’t wish to waste any paper with my shabby scribblings.

So instead I settled for watching some talented artists working on their yet unfinished pieces and admired the prints and pictures displayed in one of the tents. It was a lovely place to come and buy some local artwork. I prefer art with a personal touch to the mass produced prints you can buy at Ikea etc.


Some of the arts displayed had their roots in everyday utility. I was mesmerised by Emma making East of the Sun Yarns on her spinning wheel. Seeing these skills being kept alive elates me and makes me want to brush up on my rather limited knitting talents... and buy a spinning wheel and a sheep called Popcorn. I’d call her Poppy for short and we’d live in pastoral bliss!

Yes well anyway, it was great seeing Pearson Park being turned into what was essentially a very diverse art gallery. There was no entrance fee and all performances were in the spirit of art for art’s sake, which was ace. It’d be good to see more of it!