Gallery 21

Gallery 21 opened on Ladygate in 2021, in a building with beams dating to the 1300s that has previously done time as a dress shop and an antiques dealer. It is run by Tarn Salter, a former librarian who worked alongside the poet Philip Larkin during his years at Hull University Library, and who has collected ceramics for decades. Salter runs the gallery with the artist Joy Berkin, showing a rotating programme of paintings and sculpture by Yorkshire-based artists alongside handmade silver jewellery from local silversmiths. Several painters have permanent representation here rather than one-off showings. The gallery kept its exposed beams and original features through the renovation, so work hangs against old timber rather than white-cube walls. It opened during a difficult period for independent galleries and has since attracted collectors from outside the region.