Leading local businesses are backing a ground-breaking exhibition bringing the wonders of the Sistine Chapel to Hull.

“Michelangelo – A Different View” will enable people to admire and enjoy the work of the renaissance genius at close quarters within the magnificent surroundings of Hull Minster.

The exhibition is being staged at the Minster from October 8 to November 18, enabling visitors to view Michelangelo’s iconic artwork in a religious setting other than in the Vatican for the first time.

Hull Minster is one of only two UK venues to host the exhibition and the only one in the North of England, meaning it is sure to draw visitors from near and far.

With plans well advanced to enhance the exhibition with a wide-ranging programme of community engagement, Hull Minster has now announced the event is being supported by a prestigious line-up of Hull-based partner businesses.

The corporate supporters are backing the Minster’s ambition to make the spectacular exhibition free to enter and accessible to the widest possible range of community groups.

They are led by Exhibition Patrons Arco, the UK’s leading safety company, and regeneration leader Wykeland Group, while Hull Trains has signed up as Exhibition Painting Partner and will support an open exhibition of work by members of the public inspired by the Sistine Chapel works.

Hull Minster’s staging of the event is also being backed by the following Exhibition Supporters:

• Project management and engineering consultancy Alan Wood & Partners

• Berry’s Jewellers

• KFM recruitment consultants

• PR and media agency Meehan Media & Comms

• Industrial fuels and waste oil business RE:Group

• Law firm Rollits

David Evison, Managing Director of Arco, said: “Arco is proud to be sponsoring the Hull Minster Sistine Chapel exhibition. Support for the arts is an important part of our wide-ranging community programme and enabling such an important cultural event in the city will mean that local people will have access to one of this year’s most prestigious art exhibitions in the UK.

“Free entry to the exhibition and community engagement around it will make it accessible to all and ensure that a wide range of groups benefit from such a unique and exciting experience.”

Wykeland Managing Director Dominic Gibbons said: “Our support for this superb exhibition reflects our commitment to the regeneration of Hull and our recognition of the vital role culture and the arts have played in moving the city forward so positively.

“We have supported the transformation of Hull Minster for many years and we’re excited that this great work has now enabled the church to host such a world-class attraction.

“We’re also passionate about enabling schools and community groups to engage with the arts and we will be promoting that objective through this partnership.”

Louise Cheeseman, Managing Director of Hull Trains, said: “We’re delighted to sponsor such a prestigious exhibition as we continue to promote Hull and the fantastic things it has to offer.

“Our direct links to London and Hull are not just for connecting people to the capital – they are also about driving people up to Hull and East Yorkshire to experience our wonderful region. We continue to demonstrate our support for Hull through sponsoring local events and attractions, such as the Pride in Hull celebrations and Humber Street Sesh in recent months.

 “We strive to showcase our city as a great destination to both live in and visit. We are extremely proud to partner with Hull Minster in supporting such a unique event, especially as Hull is the only city in the North to host the exhibition.”

The Sistine Chapel exhibition has toured major European cities, offering visitors a stunning up-close-and-personal experience of iconic images that draw four million people to the Sistine Chapel in Rome every year.

Michelangelo and his assistants laboured from 1508 to 1512 to depict Biblical scenes on the ceiling and walls of the Sistine Chapel, creating breath-taking frescoes that are regarded as some of the greatest works of art in the world.

The exhibition has been created by German company Exhibition 4 You (E4Y), which worked with the Vatican Museums to produce high resolution versions of photographs taken of the frescoes in the 1990s and transfer the images onto fabric webs to create superb reproductions of the elaborate paintings.

“Michelangelo – A Different View” allows visitors to view the works from a distance of only two metres, with no time constraints, meaning they will be able to appreciate fully their astonishing beauty and fine detail.

The exhibition showcases the entire set of Sistine Chapel works and includes the famous “Creation of Adam”, a depiction of God giving life to the first man, and a six metres square reproduction of “The Last Judgement”.

Securing the stunning exhibition is a major coup for Hull Minster, which has become an iconic, multi-use venue and community and cultural hub as a result of a transformational development project.

The exhibition also builds on Hull’s reputation as a cultural and visitor destination following the city’s year in the national and international spotlight as UK City of Culture 2017.

Bishop Frank White, Interim Minister of Hull Minster, said the support of so many leading companies would enable the church to make the exhibition free to enter and as accessible as possible to the whole community.

He added: “We’re delighted that key companies and significant employers in the local community are supporting this major exhibition taking place in the Minster. Their support is a huge encouragement to us.

“It’s also a sign of long-term relationship building with the institutions, organisations and companies of the city in order to achieve our shared objective to promote the wellbeing of the people of the city and the welcome we offer to visitors.”

Full details of the exhibition, ticketing arrangements and the programme of events and activities around it will be released over coming weeks.