A one-day arts festival takes place in Hull next Saturday. Here, curator David Stead, the former Beautiful South drummer, tells Will Ramsey about his hopes for the arts in the city.
HE'S not a man to sit around and wait.
David Stead, the former Beautiful South drummer, admits to itchy feet, which, over the past 25 years, have rarely kept him in one place for more than a few months at a time.
And while he's firmly seated on the morning I meet him, holding court in the upper room of his business, Union Mash Up, his thoughts are anything but still.
David, 46, is curating a festival, Alive With Art, which takes place next Saturday.
Staged in Pearson Park, the free event will see performances of theatre, poetry, music and comedy.
There will also be the "world's biggest pop-up gallery", with the West Hull park festooned with work from a group of 40 artists.
Initially invited to draft in bands for the one-day event, David has, with the help of friends and associates, become involved in bringing together drama groups, stand-ups and poets.
Organised by the Pearson Park Trust, the festival, David says, points to what the city could do – whether or not Hull wins City Of Culture status later this year.
"There's always been a lot of artists here but, now, there are more outlets for them, lots of places welcome art," he said.
"It is about getting it out into the public domain. I really like what they did in Beverley, with hanging reproductions of paintings around the town. They've been up on walls for years now – that's something we could do here.
"People talk about the City of Culture bid, but there's no reason why we could get on with things now – get art work out there and get festivals on.
"Plenty of people want that to happen, all that's needed is a bit of help and organisation."
It is, he says, about providing a forum, and not being too rigid about how you define culture.
"I'm not part of the art world but I've provided an outlet for that here," he said.
"This is a room where people can create their own events and that is what culture is.
"If you are trying to describe culture, it is sharing something you enjoy. That might be going to a football game or it might be making a film.
"Anything you share becomes culture and the more people you are sharing it with, the stronger the culture."
And while he welcomes the bid, David says the focus should not be a purely economic one.
"Of course it would be a great thing for the city – but when the Freedom Festival was first spoken about, it was going to be great because it was going to bring in lots of money, through the amount being spent in the city centre by visitors.
"There's always this talk about how much has been made per head. Well, great stuff, but the Freedom Festival is about celebrating the end of slavery.
"I went to Gambia earlier this year, to this small village where Kunta Kinte was supposed to have been from.
"There's a museum, which I went into and got talking to them. I told them I was from Hull, and about the Freedom Festival. They thought it was great, but they hadn't heard anything about it.
"Yet Hull is the place that can celebrate that, through Wilberforce, we played a big part in changing millions of people's lives."
Born in Huddersfield and raised in Cottingham, David has lived in the Avenues for the past 22 years.
The success of The Beautiful South allowed the band to stay in the city, while some other musicians he knew were forced to move on elsewhere.
"Basically, Hull has been in a recession since the 1970s, it has never got out of it since the fishing went," David said.
"No other industry has come in to replace that. Up in the north-east, they got the car industries in, Leeds got the DHSS and the banks moving in.
"Whether we get Siemens, we should look at what we've got here already and make that work.
"We can't wait around for a golden wand to be waved."
His own wish for the future is to create a purpose-built independent cinema.
"It is something we need and I want to build," he said.
"We have a lot of old cinemas, but they would need upgrading. I'm looking to create a modern, purpose-built cinema, where we could also put on theatre and bands.
"It depends, of course, whether I get planning permission but I've got the drawings for it and the money for it."
It's unlikely he would get up on stage himself, but David would enjoy the atmosphere.
"I used to enjoy going out more than the gigs," he said, with a grin.
"It was a case of right – where's the party?"
• Alive With Art takes place on Saturday, July 6, from noon to 7pm, in Pearson Park. Entry is free.
A meeting for artists interested in taking part in the festival will be held at Union Mash Up, Princes Avenue, Hull, today at 4.30pm.
