Issue #22 - March 2020 News, Reviews & What’s On. Your monthly update on visual art in the Liverpool City Region
Cover image: Portrait, Phillip Garrett. Installed at ‘From Kirkby With Love’ now at Krikby Gallery
Art in Liverpool magazine is a monthly newspaper promoting visual art across the Liverpool City Region.
Art in Liverpool, issue #22, March 2020
Published by Art in Liverpool C.I.C. and written by contributions from our partners, supporters and most importantly, volunteer writers, who add a unique voice to arts writing in the UK, thinking differently about what actually matters to people visiting galleries. To contribute, or submit your events and exhibitions, email: info@artinliverpool.com We’re here to support galleries and creative spaces, so make sure to keep us up to date about your events at least two weeks in advance of each issue. If you’d like even more of a presence in the magazine we have advertising available every month, and take bookings well in advance. For details on pricing and deadlines contact Patrick:
Graham Smilie, Upper Parliament Street (part of Threshold X next month)
patrick@artinliverpool.com
Editorial:
issue #22, March 2020 Editor: Patrick Kirk-Smith Contributors: Sophia Charuhas, Col O’Kell, Lorraine Bacchus, Remy Greasley, Sherriff Advertising, sponsorship, distribution, stocking & event enquiries should be sent to info@artinliverpool.com Art in Liverpool C.I.C. Company No. 10871320
One of the first things I wrote for Art in Liverpool was a stack of reviews of exhibitions around Thresh-old Festival in 2015. I got given a press pass and it felt incredible. I’d not been behind the scenes in that way ever before; now it’s my daily life, but then it was such a new experience. I’ve still got a flyer on my desk from it, next to a screw I found on the floor at my first Tate Liverpool press launch (sorry Tate) and some scribbled notes from an interview with Joe Cotgrave ahead of his solo exhibition at The Trophy Room. What feels like two minutes, but in reality is five years, later, The Trophy Room is no more, and sadly I’m getting ready to pull together a string of reviews of the final Threshold Festival. But the Baltic Triangle has changed,
Liverpool has changed, and a lot of other things have changed, which means Threshold won’t be here next year. Some changes for the better, some for the worse, but the loss of Threshold is the loss of one of the last really big public visual art events around Jamaica Street. So where next? Well it’s not like the Baltic isn’t still a creative place. It’s got the highest concentration of artist studios in the North West. Studio Shuffle led by The Royal Standard is working at making them visible again. New groups and organisations keep moving in and everything seems to be bouncing back. But anyway, it’s over, but not yet. 3rd April sees the launch of the final weekend of
Threshold. With art-ists who haven’t been part of Threshold before, or not for a long while at least, so there’s something that feels bigger and more focussed happening this year. Over the next few pages we catch up with Andy Minnis and Jazamin Sinclair who have been there since the start, cocurating a festival that somehow achieved a state calm within a programme built of uninhibited chaos.
One Last Interview: Threshold Festival’s Jazamin Sinclair & Andy Minnis Since I started writing for Art in Liverpool Threshold has been one of our most anticipated events. This year is it’s last and it’s hard to see what will take its place.
looking for new artists to collaborate with, and for artists it was often their first exhibition in front of a ready and willing audience.
Over ten editions, Threshold has supported emerging creative talent in the region like no other festival. It’s a unique space to discover new artists, and to get to know their work, often in its early stages, and sometimes in fairly huge installations like John Elcock’s Agpalilik, a full scale cross section of the Agpalilik meteorite which is one of the only objects on earth as old as our Sun.
Every year we’ve caught up with those artists to talk through their work before the festival, and every year they’ve given us insight into an honest and passionate festival led by artists who care deeply about its work. This year, we thought it was those artists who deserved the spotlight, so we’ve tracked down a busy Jazamin Sinclair and Andy Minnis as they get ready to go out with a bang.
For producers, writers and professional observers the festival widens our horizons
Patrick: I’m going to try super hard to focus on the positives here, so, forgetting for
now that it’s come to an end, there’s some pretty incredible artists selected for this year’s festival (Emma Lloyd, Ben Youdan & Robyn Woolston for a start); what sort of work are we expecting? Exhibitions, installations, group shows? The lot? Jazamin: Yes, we have some really exciting artists lined up to exhibit with us at the last ever Threshold Festival. WeFail is providing some of his brilliant political commentary artwork – in his own words – “I paint monsters”. Ben Youdan who says “Queer art is protest”, is exhibiting his piece ‘Concentration of Camp’ which depicts Zelimkhan Bakaev, ‘a Gay, Russian, pop singer who disappeared under
mysterious circumstances in Chechnya in August 2017’. There’s the beautifully dystopian artwork of James Chadderton; Pamela Sullivan’s poignant house made out of porcelain that ‘reflects the fragility of the idea of home’; and a small but powerful political drawing from Cyrano Denn featuring the words ‘thoughts and prayers’, which I think illustrates perfectly the bloodshed that Donald Trump is responsible for. Robyn Woolston is returning to the festival, I remember being so in awe of her incredible installation ‘Smart Price’ back in 2012, and I’m so excited to see the new environmental artwork that she is creating especially for this year’s festival.
I am intrigued to see what art collective Road Studios are bringing: The work that they showed with us back in 2016 at The Gallery Liverpool proved to be particularly popular. This year they are presenting ‘Inside the Wardrobe’, a site-specific installation in the Road Studios Gallery, situated at Northern Lights. Featured artists include Rob Flynn, Tony Knox, Sasha Spyrou, Louis Jeck-Prestidge, Emily Salinas, Tomo, Andrew Wolfenden, and Samantha Davey. We will also be including some of the downloadable, global exhibition ‘You, Me and Coldwar Steve’, which is made up of ‘surreal, satirical and hilarious collages’ as part of the show. Additional confirmed artists are: Andrew AB, Tom Adam, Beija Flo, Doug McCormick Dance, Cherie Grist, Hobo Collective, Deliah (feat. Antonia Luxem), Illustrated Prosody, Mook Loxley, Max Mallender, Nalla & Goat, Brian Sayle, Steven Sheehan, Graham Smillie, Cally Stevens Malkin, and a few more that we are still in the process of confirming – look out for the full visual arts line up at the end of this month!
Ben Youdan
Andy: Jazamin has already mentioned a lot, I’ll add to that two more names… I’m excited about bringing Stephen Sheehan to the festival. He’s a performance artist who makes works about the absurdity of being alive. His latest film ‘History of an Orange’ explores the existential crisis that lingers beneath the continuously distracted human consciousness. Max Mallender will also join our line up. Part of the team at The Royal Standard and organiser of SHUFFLE exhibitions, his sculptural work is grounded in street art and the industrial. P: Is anything happening to mark the ten festivals worth of good work? J: There will be retrospective projections of previous artists’ work and exhibitions, as well as a display of the amazing photographs that Andrew AB (Threshold Festival’s official photographer) has taken whilst documenting the festival over the last decade. Illustrated Prosody
Emma Lloyd is bringing a large interactive slide puzzle piece called ‘Another Way to Think’, which is concerned with language and communication; Colette Lilley will display an amazing hyper-realistic pencil drawing, and in her own words – “Through the focus of observational drawing I am quieting my mind and bringing my attention into the present”; Wendy Williams, who uses recycled paper and found objects, plans to create and install a large site-specific floor sculpture; and Max da Silva Willis (AKA Art for the dark soul), who creates disturbing, macabre art, inspired by psychopaths and the horror genre, and explores themes around female identity, is creating a new piece especially for the festival.
P: Have you got one stand out moment that sticks in your mind? A: One clear highlight from the past 10 years was our 2015 show ‘Contrasting Geometries’ and the takeover of the LCB Space. It was a rough, almost derelict former factory that we transformed for the weekend and displayed some wonderful work, including Leon Jakeman’s ‘Drama Triangle’, which was probably the biggest artwork we’ve had! The building has now been transformed into Love Lane Brewery. In a wonderful moment of coming full circle, we’ll be returning to the Brewery as a venue for our 2020 exhibition. J: As Andy said, converting an old warehouse space, which is now Love Lane Brewery into a gallery and gig space
Emma Lloyd
back in 2015. It was amazing because we had the freedom to do whatever we wanted there, and we managed to include a really wide variety of work and artists. It is always great to be given the opportunity to move away from traditional ‘white cube’ exhibition spaces. P: It’s obviously sad that’s it’s ending, but looking back, what do you think the impact has been? Of your work specifically, and of the festival in a wider context?
A: Over the years, we have opened up the Baltic Triangle to artists and visitors, experiencing the area for the first time, or for those who never explored beyond one or two main venues. I’m proud of the breadth and scale of the exhibitions we have put on, with shoestring budgets… or sometimes barely even shoestrings! We’ve
Max Mellander
this year! Most of the work in our exhibition will be for sale, so I’m looking forward to taking home a new piece, to mark 10 years of creative exploration and what has been an incredible journey. taken over established galleries, empty warehouses, cafes, bars and a theatre. It’s all been about showing off the potential of the area, the creative potential of Liverpool and bringing audiences to experience art in unconventional places. J: Hopefully by providing a platform for, and encouraging, as many grassroots and emerging artists as we could, to exhibit with us. I think this is important; lots of artists are disillusioned by the art scene and with the lack of access to spaces and opportunities to display their work. P And we always hope to see some of your own work at Threshold – do we get the pleasure this year to see the curators work included in the exhibitions? J: Yes! I will be showing artwork from my Illustrated Prosody series: Artwork that reflects current politics, and is at times satirical/acerbic. A: I’m not sure I’ll be exhibiting for this event, but I’m looking forward to seeing Jazamin’s work. I’m a big fan of hers and have been for years. I have two of her photographs on my living room wall and may add a third
J: It feels like a really exciting end to what has been an incredible ten years working with the festival. That said, it’s also very bittersweet. We are like a family now, and as you can imagine, we’ve been through a lot together putting on a festival for so long – tears, tantrums, love, laughter, dancing, singing, painting, being silly, partying and generally not sleeping much! I’m really going to miss it, but what an amazing time we’ve had. -Threshold Festival’s Andy Minnis (Festival Director and Visual Arts Organiser) & Jazamin Sinclair (Visual Arts Organiser) Interview by Patrick Kirk-Smith (featured image: Illustrated Prosody)
Review: Secret Art of Survival: Creativity and Ingenuity of British Far East prisoners of war
Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore; the aromatic Far East: today, the student traveller’s dream destination. Regular, inexpensive flights leave you on the softly lapping cusp of the Pacific. The water is so clear that its only colour comes from the tropical fish within. The sand is warm, almost white, and runs over your flip-flops. The languorous sun hangs in the sky, always, and a tan glows on your arms. But, where teens now stretch their wings – where they now spend their gap year, with equal measures hedonism and sun cream – was once the setting of the mosquitoriddled plight of the Far East prisoner of war. The darkest hour for the Far East POW was spent beneath the sun, amid these tropical vistas and glimmering waters which served as both an inspiration and a prison. Their captivity was marked by extreme ruthlessness from their Japanese captors. Starvation, disease, and death were commonplace. In what sparse free time the prisoners had, they would paint, draw, write, and do anything to retain a morsel of morale. Their artefacts, gathered on the clean walls of the Victoria Gallery & Museum, tell little of the powerlessness and despair behind them. Some of the pictures have an airy, postcard-like quality to them; easy greens and blue settle the eyes of a Indonesian lake in Flight Lieutenant Dickie Philp’s Camp at Haroekoe: a beautiful watercolour which, if you overlooked the barbed wire fence in the foreground, could get away with being a timeless landscape study.
What is revealed only occasionally is the plight of the Far East POW. They were starved, vital Red Cross parcels were withheld, over ten-thousand of them never returned home. Being discovered with writing or art was punishable by death or extreme torture. The condition of the men is shown in Captain Thomas Wilson’s From My Bed; a man’s ribs mirror the struts of the roof, his knees are as angular as the corner of the table he sits over, cooking a tiny number of peanuts. The colours are harrowing but somehow he maintains a certain dignity. This dignity is ever-present throughout the exhibition, due respect is paid to the men’s Keep Calm and Carry On attitude. Perhaps this is why in spite of the adversity the scope of the collected work is so extensive and how the subject is so varied. An afflicting account of workcamp life, Private Basil Elvin Ferron’s Beside the Cookhouse, sits beside Captain Reginald Newman’s hand drawn plans for the caravan of his dreams: one which was only built for George Clarke’s ‘Amazing Spaces’. Parodic signage, such as Bombardier Basil Perry Akhurst’s cartoon, which warns of venereal disease, shares the room with delicate, sensitive watercolours of tropical birds, like those by Captain Robert Stevenson Hardie.
Perhaps it was because they found this mode of expression, against the wishes of their cruel captors, that they made it through… alongside an ocean of comradery and good humour The beauty of nature is plain in the exhibition, but the art is most poignant when human life, existing despite the odds being against it, is visible. The exhibition’s most powerful piece: two adjacent portraits of Charlie Procter by Gunner Ashley George Old, each done a year apart, show the effects of internment. Proctor’s eyes, so telling of his inner state, remain sincere and silently hopeful, while his face maddens with frustration. The exhibition celebrates the efforts of these men under their captivity. It applauds their artistic skill as much as it does their strength and ingenuity, which let them flex a little freedom, even with such a weight upon their backs. We never lose sight of the Far East POW, the cold voice of history, always summarising chronologically, cannot be heard within the walls of the Victoria Gallery and Museum. Instead, a compassionate tone takes its place, and leaves us with a profound and human message. —
The ability of the captives to produce such an extensive and detailed body of work under threat of death, hiding them in makeshift bamboo tubes, and within the confines of a brutal labour schedules is an achievement only outshone by their ability to keep faith.
Secret Art of Survival: Creativity and Ingenuity of Far East Prisoners of War, 1942-1945 is at the Victoria Gallery & Museum until 20th June 2020. Words by Remy Greasley
Review: From Kirkby With Love – Portraits Celebrating Local Communities by Philip Garrett “Painting is more than just a medium, it is an encounter with time” – André Malraux. Belonging to the same Portrait and Life Drawing Group in Little Crosby as Philip Garrett, I’ve seen something of how this body of work has come into being. But that prior knowledge didn’t prepare me for the impact of walking into the Kirkby Gallery and seeing such a celebration of the human face and form. There are several dozen pieces – of sculptures as well as drawings and paintings. One might think that having so many artworks brought together could lead to cacophony but there is instead an air of tranquillity. There is a tangible sense of the interaction between artist and sitter; the one working to create a likeness and convey the essence of the person before him, and the other entering a state of stillness and calm to hold the pose. This is what fills the gallery air – this symbiotic energy of concentration. In his address on the opening night, Garrett spoke of the privilege of having someone sit for him, of his gratitude to all those who freely gave of their time. For many it was a first time experience and it was touching to observe them standing before their portraits in the gallery, with a hint of self-consciousness, but also with a sense of pride – and something else – a kind of wonder at this alchemy of oil paint and
canvas that has immortalised them. A few of those who sat for Garrett described how they didn’t usually go to art galleries but that the experience of spending time with an artist, and seeing that an exhibition can be about “ordinary” people, encourage them to think differently. Part of the appeal of the works is that they are not of idealised beings but of people like ourselves, with all the fragilities and imperfections that make us not ordinary. At the heart of this exhibition is the work Garrett has done with local schools and it’s brilliant to see the uninhibited clay figures they have produced under his tutelage; terrific as well for the children to have this opportunity to exhibit alongside a professional artist. A few of them from St Michael & All Angels School in Kirkby are featured on a huge canvas, the largest in the show. It is a composition on drapery that resonates with echoes of group portraits from art history. Their separateness from each other is in contrast to the customary school image and the result has a haunting quality, heightened by the teacher who somehow looks Victorian, sitting to one side, almost out of the frame. Garrett has depicted all the sitters in what has become known as the atelier style, that of classical proportions and technique. He has had the experience of contemporary art teaching, including a Masters degree
at the Royal College in London. But he realised that it was figurative art that was calling him, something that in 2004 put him at odds with the RCA, whereas now the zeitgeist has shifted and many art colleges are offering courses in traditional drawing. It was back in Merseyside, in Crosby, where Garrett met the man who became his mentor, namely the sculptor Terry McDonald, now aged 90, still working and still giving freely of his knowledge. The life-size portrait of him is one of the most striking in the exhibition; the hands convey the sculptor’s strength, one of them almost coming out of the canvas as if yearning to feel clay in its grasp. This exhibition represents a recent, intense period of work by Garrett and demonstrates his unceasing endeavours to hone his craft. Some of the earlier sculptures reflect his interest in commemorating local historical figures, among them, Jeremiah Horrocks, the 17th century Toxteth man who became known as the father of modern astronomy. Garrett has campaigned for Horrocks to be honoured with a life-size public statue in Liverpool (https://www.artinliverpool.com/launchof-fund-raising-campaign-for-statueof-jeremiah-horrocks-founder-ofmodern-astronomy). For his maquette, on display here, Garrett has had to use his imagination since no known image
exists of Horrocks, but his usual way of working, and his passion, is to paint, draw and sculpt from life. There will be several chances during the run of this exhibition to be part of it all, as Garrett will be setting up a studio in the Gallery to continue working on a large canvas. Anyone who would like to sit for him should contact the Gallery (details below). If you’ve ever wondered what artists do all day, then this exhibition should give you a good idea – especially the film of Garrett moulding a large clay relief sculpture, which shows the sheer physicality of the process. This exhibition is a reminder that having talent is one thing, but what often counts for more is dedication and continuous hard work. It is also a rejoinder, in the face of so much governmental abandonment of the arts, that free council funded galleries such as this are culturally nourishing and highly valued by local communities. — From Kirkby With Love – Portraits Celebrating Local Communities & Galleries by Philip Garrett, until 3 April 2020. Open Monday-Friday 09.00-17.00, Saturday 10.00-14.00. Tel: 0151-443-4936. Words by Lorraine Bacchus Photos by Sherriff
Review: An English Ladies Wardrobe, Walker Art Gallery The most compelling insight into the link between apparel and identity that I’ve ever heard came during a documentary film which tracked photography artist Spencer Tunik on his quest to create one of his signature semi-abstract group nude pictures in each of America’s fifty contiguous states. His work features large collections of unclothed people shot from distance and arranged in a creative flourish of humanity. In the film the reactions of his subjects ranged from severe discomfort to a sense of liberation. The flash of insight came from a confident man in early middle age who spoke with a disarming philosophical detachment, stating “people believe they are revealing themselves when they take off their clothes. Actually we reveal more about our inner selves by what we chose to put on.” And it’s this concept of using an individual’s clothing as a window into their world which sits at the heart of the exhibition “An English Ladies Wardrobe” currently on show at The Walker Art Gallery. Here, through a forensic dissection of a colossal clothing collection we are given insight into the life of a lady of Merseyside high society in the early twentieth century. As well as the surface level glamour of the glittering fashions on show we are given an insight into topics as diverse as societal hierarchy, global economics, technological advancements and gender politics based on the influence they had over one woman’s wardrobe through a tumultuous period in modern history.
The wardrobe in question belonged to Emily Tinne (18861966), wife of Frederic Joseph Tinne, the heir to the Tinne sugar dynasty fortune. Born in Calcutta, the daughter Scottish Presbyterian missionaries; she had lived and studied in Edinburgh before meeting Frederic through her Uncle who lived in Liverpool. Frederic opted not to go into the family business, instead becoming a doctor and the couple lived in most of their married life in a mansion in the Aigburth area of Liverpool; they had seven children, with sadly only six of them living to adulthood. As part of the Tinne family, the pair held a prominent position within local society with the family believed to have been the owners of the first car in the region – a Daimler Rimenwagen.
in the port city of Liverpool in 1813. The centrepiece of this introductory area is a display of one piece of everyday wear from Emily and six of her children, creating a sense that we are literally being introduced to the family.
Although Emily had been known as an elegant member of the Merseyside elite, the full extent of her clothing collection was not realised until after her death in 1966, when over 300 storage chests of garments and accessories were discovered in her home, some unworn and still in their original packaging. Over seven hundred pieces are on display here, augmented by insightful context offered by the family’s letters and photographs which have also been preserved.
An early highlight is a black tunic top made in China from the early 1920s, when there had been a short lived trend for clothing from the Far East. The uniquely oriental cut and shape of the piece makes it stand out and the longline black silk satin body is embroidered with a repeated metallic thread motif featuring cherry blossom and typical curved roofed Chinese pavilions. To the modern eye the images depicted in the delightfully intricate embroidery feel slightly clichéd. However, this acts as a reminder that images of this type would have been an exotic revelation to most contemporary eyes and pieces such as these would have only been accessible to wealthy fashion conscious port city residents.
The exhibition begins with an introduction to Emily and her immediate and extended family and their back story. Immediately we are thrust into a world of dynastic wealth and social hierarchy; the Tinne family of sugar merchants had originally hailed from The Netherlands and had settled
Following this introduction, the exhibition proper begins in the second room, with an extensive display of every imaginable type of clothing and accessory. Following an initial highlights section, the exhibition is split into categorised sections beginning with Daywear, Swimwear and Furs, with changing attitudes to animal welfare highlighted through the pelts on display as well as different attitude to body exposure seen in the bafflingly impractical and comprehensive woollen bathing suit.
The exhibition continues with sections on underwear,
children’s wear, outerwear and hats – with the charming (if slightly misguided) story that the reason Emily bought so many expensive coat was to ensure the retail staff got their commission which was a lifeline during the great depression. Throughout the pieces are accompanied by insightful commentary, drawing out the fashion, technical and material elements as well as how each artefact reflects the wider social and economic context. The selection of the garments and their descriptions represent an outstanding achievement by the curators and the supporting team; the expertly displayed exhibition is only slightly let down by the overly twee 1930s decor and cringe worthy murals of contemporary scenes.
Review: Medical Mavericks: Alder Hey Hospital & Twin Vision at Tate Exchange
A prevailing theme called out in the exhibition is the uncomfortable attitudes within contemporary society towards how women should dress. During the Renaissance, many regions on the Italian peninsula went as far as having formalised rules on female behaviour and attire and the prevalence and impact of the patriarchal attitude that women’s clothing reflects their morality is evidenced throughout the exhibition. Although the thread is that attitudes became more liberal over the time period depicted, we are clearly shown the anachronistic notion that a women’s choice of clothes should be the subject of societal influence and concern. The clothing display concludes with a dazzling selection of extravagant eveningwear, before we are treated to an overview of the retail landscape of the Liverpool of yesteryear in the final room. Featuring floor to ceiling fly-posted boutique advertisements, the section gives a thorough overview of each of the iconic retail outlets of the day. Archive photography provides a nostalgic glimpse of the city centre between the wars, focused on its legendary department stores – including Bon Marche, Owen Owen’s and Lewis’. Again, changes in attitude and convention are displayed through the quaint extravagance on show. On the whole, as you would expect, this exhibition is primarily for those with an interest in the history of ladies fashion and is a must for all committed fashionistas. However, as well as the technical and aesthetic interest provided by the garments and accessories, the broader context explored of Liverpool in the first half of the twentieth century will appeal to anyone with an interest in the history of Merseyside. Through Emily Tinne’s wardrobe we are given a compelling portrait of an English lady and just as Spenser Tunik’s philosophical subject espoused, much can be learnt about a person and their life and times by examining how they chose to adorn themselves. — An English Ladies Wardrobe The Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, L3 8EL Until 1st March 2020 Words and pictures by Col O’Kell
At the beginning of the 19th century, Liverpool had the highest death rate in England, fractures were often treated by amputation, and many patients never made it out of hospital. Much has changed since then, and Medical Mavericks tells the story of three medical pioneers who played integral roles in bringing about these changes.
figures and props for the videos, as well as voicing the characters and narration. Visitors to the exhibit can watch the animations, read about the mavericks, and see the props on a dollhouse-like display. The app is intuitive, interactive, and educational. This exhibition and all the work that went into it is truly a celebration of modern medicine.
Dr William Henry Duncan (1805-1863) was born in Liverpool and educated in Scotland. Upon returning to Liverpool, he was greatly concerned by the unhealthy living situations of the poor. He saw a correlation between overpopulation and disease spread, which he wrote about. His writing led to the Sanitary Act of 1866. Dr Duncan became the first medical officer of health in Liverpool and laid the foundations of modern-day health services.
—
Sir Robert Jones (1857-1933) and his uncle were known as the fathers of modern orthopedic surgery. They opened workshops in Liverpool in which splints and braces were made, with a focus on affordability for all classes. Sir Jones also brought the first x-ray machine to England. Frances Ivens (1870-1944) was the first woman consultant ever appointed to the Liverpool Record Office. She worked as a gynecologist originally but trained herself to treat war wounds by studying the writings of Robert Jones. Her hospital had a very low death rate compared to its contemporaries. Ivens was the first vice president of Liverpool Medical Institution. Young patients at the Alder Hey Hospital worked with Twin Vision to create stopmotion animations to tell these stories, along with an app that includes interactive games to learn more. This project gave the children meaningful work to do while they were in hospital, including crafting the
Medical Mavericks: Alder Hey Hospital & Twin Vision The exhibition is free and open to the public through the 29th of February, 10:00am4:50pm at the Tate Exchange Liverpool. Review, Sophia Charuhas
NEWS
Liverpool’s One Tit Wonder Liverpool’s streets will be home to a series of posters depicting a breast cancer survivor’s unreconstructed body this month ahead of International Women’s Day (8th March 2020).
The 50 posters, which will be dotted around Liverpool City Centre and Edge Hill, are by artist Claire Collison, and have been designed to help provide women facing the tough decision about whether or not to have reconstructive surgery with choices – ‘You’d never know that only 30% of women who have mastectomies actually get reconstruction,’ Claire says. ‘I wanted to raise awareness that there are a lot of women out there who look like me, and that we’ve nothing to be ashamed of.’ Working with Metal in Liverpool with the support of their Time & Space residency programme, Claire organised a series of events in 2019, including a life modelling performance, Truth Is Beauty, about the invisibility of women who, like her, choose not to have reconstructive surgery, post mastectomy. The drawings featured in the posters were made during this event, where participants ranged from professional artists to those with experience of breast cancer. ‘I believe we’re less afraid of things once we’ve seen them,’ Claire says. ‘I provided women with the opportunity to have a really good look at something which even amongst ourselves is usually hidden.’ Claire has used her own body in her arts practice for 30 years, but after her mastectomy in 2014, she began to make work about the lack visibility in society of what she describes as the “One Tit Club” – a phrase that appears in the posters, alongside other deliberately provocative words from Claire’s performance ‘JUGS’, ‘WONKY REVOLUTION’, and ‘ALL THE SINGLE-BREASTED LADIES’, a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Beyonce hit song. “The posters are designed to provoke a conversation, to raise an eyebrow, and maybe a smile,’ Claire says. ‘That’s nothing new in Liverpool, of course. Yoko Ono’s “My
Mommy was beautiful”, part of Liverpool Biennial in 2004, depicted breasts and nipples in public spaces and caused all kinds of conversations. I hope that other people affected by breast cancer will recognise a kindred spirit and feel part of a wider community”. This fly poster campaign launches Claire’s website clairecollison.com and is the final flourish of Claire’s ACE/ Lottery funded and Big Draw supported project, which ends on International Women’s Day, 8th March 2020. Claire invites anyone who spots the posters to take
pictures of them with their comments, and post them on social media, tagging Claire @clairecollison1 (Twitter) and @adalodge (Instagram) including any of the hashtags – #truthisbeauty, #unreconstructed #nothingtohide #lifeaftercancer
#mastectomy
They will then be reposted onto her instagram feed and fed onto her website clairecollison.com where the entire Truth is Beauty project is documented.
Find the latest news & more on these articles at www.artinliverpool.com
Heart of Glass launches Street Hunt, a treasure hunt based on street names across St Helens Heart of Glass is inviting people from across the borough to take to the streets for a treasure hunt with a difference.
Street Hunt is a kind of visual crossword puzzle, a treasure hunt where the riches are road names, a story emerging from the page, and your chance to win up to £6,000! From 4 April, individuals, families and groups will be able to buy a Street Hunt book and start their search. Participants will be looking for the road signs shown in photographs but with the vital name of the street blanked out. The aim is to figure out the missing names and then add them to the book. The street names reveal a poem and participants can use the surroundings and the poem’s emerging story to help them. The first person to submit a correctly completed book with all the right answers wins. The more people that play the game
and join Street Hunt, the bigger the prize. There’s a guaranteed minimum prize of £1,000 and a maximum of £6,000 if all the books are sold.
Artist Joshua Sofaer created the project. He travelled across the borough to find streets he could craft a poem from and captured photographs of the street signs as clues. Joshua previously ran the project in Colchester and Norfolk. The winner in Norfolk was a nurse who did it with her partner. They used the money to go on a holiday to the Far East.
Kat Dempsey, Deputy Director at Heart of Glass says:
“We’re thrilled to welcome Josh back to St Helens for another fun creative project that invites everyone to take part. As the nights get lighter and the days get warmer, Street Hunt will be a fun family-friendly way to explore St Helens, be creative and be in with a chance of winning up to £6K.” Key information: – Full rules and an animated video explainer at heartofglass.org.uk/street-hunt
Artist Joshua Sofaer says: “It’s been such a pleasure to travel around St Helens, discovering more about the town and the wider borough. There are all sorts of interesting stories to be discovered in the streets and their names. How well do you know St Helens?”
– Books go on sale from 4 April and are priced £6 each. Books can be pre-ordered from early March. – They will be available to collect/buy from the old Argos Store, The Hardshaw Centre, Church Street, St Helens.
– The winner is the first person to successfully complete the poem and hand in their book.
– A total of 1,000 copies of the book will be printed and the sales of the book will contribute to the prize fund (maximum prize fund of £6000 if all the books are sold). Joshua Sofaer is an internationally renowned artist working across cross art forms in collaborative and participatory ways. He previously collaborated with people in St Helens on the Your Name Here project, commissioned by Heart of Glass, which gave anyone with a connection to St Helens a chance to nominate someone to be commemorated permanently by having a park in St Helens named after them. The result was Vera Page Park.
NEWS
Liverpool’s late-night arts festival, LightNight, explores Home for 2020 LightNight Liverpool, the city’s one-night arts festival, is back on Friday 15 May 2020. On the night audiences of all ages are invited to follow an exciting trail of over 100 unforgettable events with friends and family, as the city’s finest arts spaces open late to explore the theme of Home. Every year on LightNight thousands of people take to the city’s streets, galleries, museums and arts spaces for a packed evening of music, exhibitions, workshops, theatre, performance, talks and loads more. It’s a Friday night like no other. Taking place every May since 2010, LightNight celebrates Liverpool’s year-round arts and cultural offering and attracts visitors of all ages: in 2019, nearly 20,000 people attended LightNight. For 2020 the festival will explore the theme of ‘Home’. Home, whatever and wherever it may be, gives us a feeling of belonging and safety, from where we can reach out into the world. But in a world full of barriers to belonging, where millions are displaced or homeless and the future of our very planet is in danger, where and how do we find home?
Christina Grogan, Director, Open Culture (LightNight Producers) said:
new addition with an outdoor courtyard full of delicious choices at Blackburne House.
“We are so grateful to be taking LightNight into its second decade with this year’s programme exploring the idea of ‘Home’. We feel there’s no more pertinent time to have an open and creative conversation about what it means to feel at home, as the world becomes increasingly divided and barriers to feeling like you belong exist at every turn. This LightNight we invite everyone to come and feel at home in Liverpool city centre.”
LightNight wouldn’t happen without a real city-wide effort, and we are pleased to announce that our Principal Sponsor for 2020 will be Liverpool John Moores University.
Produced by social enterprise Open Culture – who are also behind Tickle the Ivories and the Winter and Summer Arts Markets – LightNight showcases the creative lifeblood of Liverpool, and venues large and small will open their doors until late in every corner of the city; from the Waterfront to St George’s Quarter, the city centre, the Baltic Triangle and Hope Street. Over 40 venues will open late for the festival, and LightNighters in need of refreshment can enjoy a meal at one of our dedicated food hubs at Baltic Market and a
Mark Power, LJMU Registrar and Chief Operating Officer (Principal Sponsor) said: “I am thrilled that LJMU continues to be the principal sponsor for Liverpool’s free one-night arts festival. Our backing of the arts not only supports our many graduates in their artistic careers but also the diverse community of creatives that enrichen our lives. I’m sure we can all warm to the theme of ‘Home’, which evokes feelings for family, for city and for our precious planet.” The full programme will be released on 2 April and the printed guide is available to order now at www. lightnightliverpool.co.uk
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The Art of Reggae Exhibition returns to Liverpool, with a launch at Kuumba Imani
This year sees the return of The Art of Reggae Exhibition – a successful collaboration between Positive Vibration and the International Reggae Poster Contest. The exhibition, which supports the Alpha Boys School in Kingston, Jamaica, will showcase 100 reggae-inspired posters designed by illustrators + artists from all over the world, including Jamaica, Iran, Ghana, Brazil, Russia, the U.S, China, the UK and beyond. As well as raising funds for the Alpha Boys School, the exhibition raises awareness of
the fantastic work the school does. Set up in 1880 by the Sisters of Mercy, the school provides education and musical tuition to underprivileged youths in Kingston, Jamaica. Without it, we may not have reggae music, given the fact that its alumni includes The Skatalites, Rico Rodriguez, Desmond Dekker, Leroy ‘Horsemouth’ Wallace and Yellowman, amongst many other great musicians. The exhibition will run from 28 May – 11 June at Kuumba Imani Millennium Centre, then on 12 + 13 June at Camp + Furnace, where it will be part of this year’s Positive Vibration – Festival of Reggae.
Launch Party To celebrate the return of the exhibition, Positive Vibration will be hosting a launch party at Kuumba Imani Millennium Centre, 4 Princes Rd, Liverpool L8 1TH on Thursday 28 May. Taking place between 7pm – 11pm, there will be music, food and performance in addition to the fantastic artwork. Entry is free, but please confirm your attendance by ordering a free ticket: skiddle.com/e/13752105
NEWS
New exhibition launches FACT’s year of The Living Planet: And Say the Animal Responded?
What would animals say to us if we listened to them? What might we learn about the state of our shared planet? On 19 March, FACT launches its year of The Living Planet with the opening of a major new art exhibition, And Say the Animal Responded? At a time when billions of animals are being lost because of human activity, we still place the interests of humans above those of animals. Studies show that animals feel emotions and have distinct personalities and ways of communicating, yet we rarely consider what the destruction of habitats and species extinction means beyond their loss to us. And Say the Animal Responded? brings together the work of five international artists/artist groups, presenting visitors with face-to-face encounters with the sounds and behaviours of animals from around the planet. Works by Ariel Guzik (Mexico), Amalia Pica (Argentina/UK) with Rafael Ortega (Mexico), Kuai Shen
(Ecuador), Demelza Kooij (Netherlands/ UK) and Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg (UK) immerse visitors in animals’ sonic lives: from an ocean choir of whales and dolphins recorded by hydrophone, to the quiet interactions between wolves captured by drone camera, to a living colony of leafcutter ants ‘scratching’ music in the gallery. FACT’s new Director/CEO Nicola Triscott curates And Say the Animal Responded?, featuring a series of artists’ film and soundcentred installations that capture the animal voice through human technology, even (using machine learning and artificial intelligence) those of animals that have recently become extinct. The show takes its title from philosopher Jacques Derrida’s essay of the same name, in which he challenges any clear boundary between human and animal. Triscott says: “At a time when we need to rethink our relationship with the planet, it is timely to consider the nature and rights of animals. Through the exhibition and a season of events and
discussions running alongside, we will engage audiences in exploring animal intelligence and communication, and question the human-animal hierarchy.” One of four artists from Central and South America in the show, Mexican musician and artist Ariel Guzik presents a new installation, which incorporates sound, drawings and sculptural works from his long-term research project to communicate musically with whales and dolphins in the wild. Guzik designed his submersible musical instrument, Nereida to connect with ocean mammals – in the deep sea, its subtle sound vibrations invite a chorus of responsive sounds from whales and dolphins; in the gallery, the instrument’s music and the recordings of this cetacean choir reverberate through the space. Alongside, Guzik premieres his new film, charting the expedition of his latest instrument Holoturian into the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Other works in the exhibition include
Amalia Pica and Rafael Oretega’s Pan troglodytes ellioti and cousins, in which a family of chimpanzees in a Nigerian Forest is startled when they trigger a camera and Is it grunting, barking or panting?, where the roars of primatologists imitating ape calls will resonate throughout the building. Alongside these installations will be live performances of Catalogue of great ape gestures, co-commissioned with MDI, where gestures used by gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees and bonobos will be performed. Ecuadorian artist and ant scholar Kuai Shen presents his living artwork Oh!m1gas, a reactive sound installation within which a colony of leafcutter ants become DJs, controlling the movement of two turntables. The work draws analogies between ‘scratching’ as a form of human musical expression and the sounds that ants make with their body parts to communicate. In the installation, the growing activity within the nest creates music in response to the ants’ various
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Open Circuit explores music and technology at Uni of Liverpool events this spring Phantoms in snare drums and music for marathons: Open Circuit announces four Spring events exploring music and technology Open Circuit is a series of events that explores and pushes the boundaries between music making and technology. Four FREE concerts have just been announced for this Spring which will be curated by members of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Composition and Technology (ICCaT) at the University of Liverpool. behaviours: from nest building to farming. Wolves From Above, a film installation by Liverpool-based artist Demelza Kooij, captures the quiet interactions of a wolf pack filmed through a single drone shot. The elusive animals inhabit a tranquil wilderness where the sounds of growling, sniffing and licking feel oddly nearby, heightening the intimacies of communication through human-to-wolf spectatorship. Responding to the sad reality of today’s accelerating species extinctions, The Substitute by Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg is a digital artificial intelligence resurrection of the recently extinct northern white rhino. A life-size projection shows the artificial rhino roaming in a virtual world, becoming more ‘real’ as it comprehends the limits of the space. The rhino’s form and sound toggle from pixelation to lifelike, glitching in and out of existence. Alongside, Ginsberg’s sound installation Machine Augeries questions how our cities may sound as bird populations change and diminish. In the installation, a natural dawn chorus is taken over by artificial birds, their calls generated using machine learning. Throughout FACT’s year of The Living Planet, the organisation will collaborate with artists working on the cutting edge of film, art and creative technology to explore pressing environmental and ecological issues. They include artist collective Keiken (UK), artist Jack Tan (UK), artistsin-residence Carolin Liebl and Nikolas Schmid-Pfähler (Germany) supported by the European Media Art Platform (EMAP) and Liverpool Biennial 2020: The Stomach and the Port. -And Say the Animal Responded? opens to the public on Friday 20 March 2020 and continues until Sunday 14 June 2020. FACT’s year of The Living Planet launches the previous day, on Thursday 19 March, with FACT’s Spring Assembly: The Living Planet, a public event that will open up and explore some of the themes raised by the exhibition.
On Saturday 14 March international group The Riot Ensemble live up to their name with a programme that disrupts conventional expectations of chamber music. Centered around Brian Ferneyhough’s feverishly virtuosic sextet Liber Scintillarum (Book of Sparks) and Gerard Grisey’s spectral masterpiece Talea, this programme explores the extremes of contemporary ensemble writing. Siemens Prize winning composer Clara Iannotta’s mesmerising string duo, in which “like skaters in a concrete bowl, the bows of violin and viola glide across their strings, creating hushed, airy harmonics”, sits alongside a new work by Israeli composer Hadas Pe’ery. And Ben Hackbarth’s thrilling Lockstep Variations features two speakers placed inside the percussionists snare drums creating “a pair of phantom musicians, two disembodied drummers who are spatially and gesturally enmeshed with the acoustic ensemble”. On Wednesday 18 March Open Circuit presents Areas of Influence with Ensemble 10/10, conducted by Clark Rundell, in partnership with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. The concert features works that are in some way linked to Schoenberg’s seminal work Pierrot Lunaire. Maxwell Davies, a founder member of the Pierrot Players (later The Fires of London) mashes up Purcell. American minimalist Steve Reich reinvents Schoenberg’s classic instrumentation in his Pulitzer Prize winning Double Sextet. And these two classics frame a performance of work inspired by Giraud’s Pierrot Lunaire poetic cycle by Liverpoolbased composer Eve Harrison, and new work by post-graduate composers Brittany Collie and Daniel Thorne. On Saturday 21 March the emphasis is on experimental audio-
visual work. Oli Carman and Manchester-based composer and AV artist Mark make use of hand drawn sketches combined with electronic gestures and patterns derived from human vocal sounds. These organic and digital sources are subject to a crazy metamorphosis using the software Processing. Brett Battey’s Estuaries 3 was awarded First Prize at MADATAC X in Madrid, Spain in 2019 and creates an immersive sound world created with the composer’s Nodewebba software. Run, a new audiovisual composition/documentary by David Berezan uses footage shot using a gopro camera whilst cross country marathon running and the programme also includes new work by David Arango Valencia and Tom Moreton. Finally, on Wednesday 22 April Open Circuit and the University of Liverpool’s popular Lunchtime Concert Series join forces to present internationally renowned cellist Jonathan Aasgaard in a programme of classic 20th century American cello works by George Crumb, Gita Razaz, Steve Reich and Ben Hackbarth. -Full details of Open Circuit events are available at: https://www. liverpool.ac.uk/music/events/opencircuit For further information about Open Circuit please contact: Dr Helen Thomas helen.thomas@liverpool.ac.uk / 0151-795 8523
WHAT’S ON > CURRENT EXHIBITIONS Aliza Nisenbaum Tate Liverpool
Secret Art of Survival Victoria Gallery & Museum
From Kirkby With Love Kirkby Gallery
ROAD Studios presents Revolving Doors West Kirkby Arts Centre
Current Exhibitions Making a Difference Bluecoat Display Centre, until 7th March A special exhibition that highlights our outreach programme of artist workshops and residencies with local health, social care and education partners over the past decade.
From Kirkby With Love Kirkby Gallery, until 3rd April For this exciting and ambitious new exhibition, Liverpool based artist and sculptor, Philip Garrett has created an extensive body of new work over the last few months.
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Away Day – Bath Society of Artists Editions Ltd, until 7th March In a world where technology has made the copy commonplace, it’s all too easy to lose sight of the work that goes into creating the humble print.
Gary McGillivray: Deconstruction Kirkby Gallery, until 3rd April Alongside From Kirkby with Love, Kirkby Gallery presents a complementary exhibition by local artist, Gary McGillivray in the adjoining Entrance Gallery.
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Pixel dot-art, until 14th March A widely debated art form, digital art explores the crossover of creativity and technology, with many digital resources emulating traditional fine art tools allowing artists an unlimited platform to express themselves.
Bert, his dog, our God Liverpool Cathedral, until 8th March A national cathedral tour of an exhibition by the British artist Gary Bunt that will give visitors across the country an opportunity to see newly conceived paintings and read their accompanying poems themed around the artist’s personal interpretation of the New Testament in some of Britain’s most iconic ecclesiastical buildings.
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Visual Rights Open Eye Gallery, until 22nd March How do we visualise power? What does it look like, and for whom is it visible? Launching on 16th January 2020, Open Eye Gallery’s new exhibition Visual Rights looks at how images can expose uneven distributions of power, and shape the way we understand a place’s geography.
Aliza Nisenbaum Tate Liverpool, until 7th March Discover how artist Aliza Nisenbaum captures a Liverpool community in her new painting. Tate Liverpool presents a new commission by New York-based artist Aliza Nisenbaum (b. 1977, Mexico).
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Vivian Suter Tate Liverpool, until 16th March The artist presents her recent work Nisyros (Vivian’s Bed) 2016–17, her largest installation to date consisting of 53 large-scale, brightly coloured paintings inspired by the tropical landscape of Panajachel, in Guatemala, Central America where she lives and works.
The Dark Figure* by Amy Romer Open Eye Gallery, until 22nd March This photo series by documentary photographer Amy Romer, presents you with neighbourhoods where modern slavery crimes have taken place.
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--Ugo Rondinone: Liverpool Mountain Tate Liverpool, ongoing Liverpool Mountain will be Swiss-artist Ugo Rondinone’s first public artwork in the UK and the first of its kind in Europe. Inspired by naturally occurring Hoodoos (spires or pyramids of rock) and the art of meditative rock balancing. --
Theaster Gates Tate Liverpool, until 4th May Tate Liverpool presents the first solo museum exhibition in the UK of American artist Theaster Gates (b. 1973). Combining sculptures, film, dance and music the exhibition explores complex and interweaving issues of race, territory, and inequality in the United States.
Find FULL listings and events information at www.artinliverpool.com The Dark Figure* by Amy Romer Open Eye Gallery,
Visual Rights Open Eye Gallery
Vivian Suter Tate Liverpool
Pixel dot-art
Cross Pollination The Atkinson, until 28th March A celebration of floral art and literature featuring still life and genre paintings by Duncan Grant and Ivon Hitchens, contemporary art by horticultural installation artists Heywood and Condie and a digital reworking of 17th century Dutch still life paintings by Gordon Cheung.
Secret Art of Survival Victoria Gallery & Museum, until 20th June The result of over six years’ research to identify and locate previously unseen artworks created secretly and kept hidden by British servicemen during WWII Far East captivity. To date over 40 artists have been identified.
Simeon Solomon Walker Art Gallery, 6th March Simeon Solomon (1840-1905) was one of the most promising artists of his generation. But there’s a reason why you might not have heard of him. His career ended in February 1873 when he was arrested in a public toilet for attempting to engage in sexual activity with another man.
Taki Katei, Japanese Drawings World Museum, until 13th April Taki Katei was once the highest-paid artist in Tokyo. He was a favourite of the Emperor of Japan, and his works travelled to international exhibitions around the world. After his death, his delicate paintings of flowers and birds fell out of fashion and his work was slowly forgotten.
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-Westwood The Atkinson, until 28th March Vivienne Westwood is one of the last independent global fashion companies in the world. Westwood continues to capture the imagination, and raise awareness of environmental and human rights issues.
The Errant Muse Victoria Gallery & Museum, until 28th March This innovative exhibition brings together, for the first time, new work by long-time collaborators artist Charlotte Hodes and poet Deryn Rees-Jones. Showing across a set of interlinked spaces in the gallery, the exhibition engages with objects and manuscripts from the VGM.
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--The Liverpool School The Atkinson, until 28th March The Liverpool School of artists is staging its fourth major exhibition at the Atkinson gallery in Southport, six years after the art movement was created by Liverpool Hope University graduates.The
ROAD Studios presents Revolving Doors West Kirkby Arts Centre, until 23rd March Revolving Doors highlights the transitional nature of art studio life, with members coming and going but sharing a common bond to create engaging art that question the society that surrounds us.
John Moores prize winners Walker Art Gallery, 16th Dec This is a special display celebrating 60 years of the John Moores Painting Prize, featuring prize winning paintings from 1957 onwards.
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WHAT’S ON > COMING SOON Frances Disley ‘Pattern Buffer’ Bluecoat
Jonathan Baldock ‘Facecrime’ Bluecoat
FILM: Rosalind Nashashibi – Vivian’s Garden, FACT
TALK: Maker Meet Up Make
Exhibitions Keeping It In The Family: Carole and Martin Dawber Southport Contemporary Arts, 3rd-28th March Keeping it in the Family – artistic siblings hold joint exhibition -Jessica Slack Studio – Flower Power Merseymade, 6th March, 6-9pm Dive headfirst into spring with bright abstract florals, vibrant colour and positivity in this debut show.
by cuneiform-inscribed tablets – an early system ofwriting – dating from 2500BC. -Frances Disley ‘Pattern Buffer’ Bluecoat, 13th March – 21st June As a starting point for her work Disley has previously used the colourways of a high fashion tracksuit to create a moving painting and a community aerobics class as the setting for a dance performance and installation. --
-Simon Dredge Southport Contemporary Arts, 10th-28th March With a sigh of relief, local artist Simon Dredge is taking a much welcome breather from his recent sojourns around the globe.
Limited Editions Bluecoat Display Centre, 14th March – 23rd May ‘Limited Editions’ will feature designer/ makers who produce beautiful batch production homeware and jewellery, with affordable pieces that have been carefully selected to ensure this is no compromise on design or quality.
--Jonathan Baldock ‘Facecrime’ Bluecoat, 13th March – 21st June The main installation contains a landscape of ceramic columns inspired
Is This It? The Royal Standard, 20th March – 10th April Artists present work at the boundaries of space and time, in a new multidisciplinary exhibition at The Royal Standard negotiating the limits of physics, metaphysics and questions of scale. -Gore 1776 Tate Exchange, 30th March – 5th April Explore the history of Liverpool through maps, photos of the past and a portrait of the city’s people .
Talks, Tours & Performance COURSE: dot-art: Beginner’s Sculpture (3 x Sundays) Faith Bebbington Studio, starts 1st March Learn to create and construct 3D art using recycled materials with re-nowned Liverpool sculptor Faith Bebbington. -WORKSHOP: Poppies & Trees Fused Glass Workshop-Cheshire The Silver Zerba, 1st & 2nd March This fabulous fused glass workshop is suitable for complete novices & intermediates incorporating lots of materials & techniques -TOUR: Taki Katei Exhibition Tour World Museum, every Tuesday, 11am Join us for a guided tour of this special exhibition to discover the hid-den stories behind the characters and find out how Taki Katei helped shape a new generation of Japanese artists.
Find FULL listings and events information at www.artinliverpool.com WORKSHOP: Introduction to Fused Glass work-shop The Silver Zebra, 6th March, 10am-4pm Learn how to create your own beautiful fused glass – a choice of 6 dif-ferent projects
WORKSHOP: Mixed Media Journal Williamson Art Gallery
WORKSHOP: dot-art: Feltmaking Bluecoat, 15th March, 11:30am-5pm Learn a variety of fine-art feltmaking techniques and create your very own art piece and decorations using felt. --
-WORKSHOP: Little BIG Art Club Kirkby Gallery, Saturdays, 10:30am12:30pm Looking for something to keep your creative children busy? Our little BIG Art club for young people aged 6-13 is a fabulous opportunity to try new and exciting techniques, have fun and make new friends.
WORKSHOP: dot-art: Image Editing 101 for Art-ists FACT, 15th March, 11:30am-5pm If you’re an artist or photographer, you will at some point need to edit high quality images of your work; whether to create an edition of prints, apply for an exhibition or even to put up onto your social media profile. --
Is This It? The Royal Standard
-TALK: Meet the Artists – The Liverpool School of Progressive Artists The Atkinson, 7th March, 2pm The Liverpool School of Progressive Artists is organising an event where members of the public; art lovers; potential buyers or other art-ists will be able to meet four of the artists whose work is featured at its ongoing exhibition at The Atkinson in Southport.
WORKSHOP: Mixed Media Journal Workshop Williamson Art Gallery, 21st March, 10:30am These monthly workshops will offer you the skills to work in a range of mixed media projects. The course is structured as a series of easy-to-follow lessons so you can create a different work of art each month --
-TALK: In Conversation – Will Harris Tate Liverpool, 11th March, 6:30pm Harris will read from Mixed-Race Superman, which considers how two very different men – Barack Obama and Keanu Reeves – have helped transform the perception of mixed-race identity. --
COURSE: SOL – Second or Other Language Tate Liverpool, every Monday, 2-5pm SOL (Second or Other Language) is a programme of language learning and visual art, aimed at refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable mi-grants in Liverpool. -TALK: Maker Meet Up Make. North Docks, 3rd March, 6pm A chance for makers of all types to talk, share and connect.
WORKSHOP: Sumner Art Sessions Kirkby Gallery, every Wednesday, 1:30pm These are a new and FREE series of art workshops for adults which take their inspiration from the exhibition themes and subjects. -TALK: Thinking Out Loud: David Tyrer ‘Fear’ Make. North Docks, 4th March, 6pm Come to see what happens when academics and artists get together to THINK OUT LOUD. This event will use a unique seminar and workshop format.
--FILM: Rosalind Nashashibi – Vivian’s Garden (2017) FACT, 4th March, 6:30pm A screening of Rosalind Nashashibi’s 2017 film Vivian’s Garden, programmed to coincide with the Vivian Suter exhibition at Tate Liverpool.
WORKSHOP: Creative Confidence, weekly Art Group SOLA Arts, every Thursday, 3-5pm SOLA ARTS have a Creative Confidence programme for people on bene-fits, unemployed or from refugee or migrant backgrounds.
PERFORMANCE: Born at Devoted & Disgruntled, Tme-sis Theatre Unity Theatre, 11th March, 11am-3pm Part of ‘Wicked Women’ – a day of female focused conversation & per-formance from Tmesis Theatre.
WORKSHOP: dot-art: Cartooning for Teens Bluecoat, 22nd March, 11:30am Suitable for beginner/intermediate cartooning teens, this one day course will equip you with the fundamentals you will need to create characterful illustrations. -WORKSHOP: dot-art: Leaving Your Mark: Shared Mark Making & Storytelling The Reader, 22nd March, 11am Join artist and academic Aimee Blackledge for a day of exploring your creative voice through expressive abstract mark marking and storytell-ing. --
-TALK: The Image of Whiteness with Daniel C. Blight Open Eye Gallery, 12th March, 6pm The invention and continuance of the “white race” is not just a politi-cal, social, and legal phenomenon — it is also visual. -WORKSHOP: Drop-In Family Workshops Williamson Art Gallery, 7th & 21st March Join Pamela Sullivan for Saturday’s filled with art and craft activities for all the family. Dress to get messy! --
TALK: Monthly Group Crit The Royal Standard, 28th March, 6pm On the last Saturday of every month, we’ll be hosting with a different artistled space for a public group crit. Join us for drinks, music and ac-tive discussion about local artist’s work. .
JOBS & OPPORTUNITIES For more details on all opportunities, including links on how to apply, head to www.artinliverpool.com/opportunities To send us details on jobs or opportunities for artists, email info@artinliverpool.com
JOBS Arts Council England - Relationship Manager, Diversity (Manchester, Leeds or Newcastle) Music, theatre, galleries, dance, literature, museums, libraries – it’s about everything artistic and cultural. Because we think that all creativity is improved by diversity. Can you help us? DEADLINE: 20th March -Box Office Assistant, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic This is a part time, variable hours role working to provide an efficient ticketing service for all Philharmonic Hall promotions, with the objective of maximising ticket sales in association with the Marketing Team. DEADLINE: 20th March
Head Curator, Science Museum Group As Head Curator, you’ll play a key role in the development of the Museum. As the lead curatorial voice at the Museum, you will use your expertise to support your team to shape the museum’s narrative through exhibitions, galleries and public programmes. DEADLINE: 9th March -Marketing and Communications Assistant, Oldham Coliseum Theatre Ltd The Core purpose is the development and implementation of marketing and communications campaigns to achieve sales targets and increase profile, audience growth, engagement and loyalty. DEADLINE: 9th March --
-Finance and Office Adminsitrator, Eden Arts Eden Arts is seeking a part time (27.5hrs per week) Finance and Office Adminstrator. The main purpose of this role is to undertake the financial administration and general administration of the organisation. DEADLINE: 18th March
Creative Learning Facilitator, Link4Life The purpose of the job is to provide a professional, efficient and high quality service to customers of Link4Life. This includes responsibility for the design and delivery of creative, participatory learning workshops and events and the development of links and working relationships with education and community organisations. DEADLINE: 5th March
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Bars Supervisor, Liverpool Empire The Liverpool Empire Theatre requires a Bar Supervisor to assist the Customer Experience Management team in the running of all of the bar operations during performance and event times. DEADLINE: 8th March -Reader & Deputy Head of the School of Digital Arts, Manchester Metropolitan University The School of Digital Arts (SODA) is a response to, and an investment in, screen-based business and technologies. It will create a digital skills powerhouse that will host a diverse programme of degree apprenticeships, continuing professional development, work-based training, undergraduate and postgraduate courses and resources. DEADLINE: 4th March -Theatre Technician & Arts Centre Manager (Post-Grad Internship), Ellesmere College Ellesmere College are looking for a recent graduate in technical theatre to join them for a fixed term placement as a Theatre Technician and manager of the purpose built Arts Centre. DEADLINE: 16th March
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CALLS Unity Theatre – Looking for Chair of Trustees Unity Theatre is one of Liverpool’s core performance venues, cemented in the hearts and minds of the city, and considered a ‘must play’ venue on the UK touring circuit. They are now looking for a new Chair of Trustees to lead our passionate and committed Board. DEADLINE: 16th March -Volunteer for LightNight Liverpool 2020 Would you like to be part of Liverpool’s annual one-night arts festival? On Friday 15 May 2020 Liverpool city centre will open its doors until late for the eleventh annual LightNight, a spectacular evening of over 100 free events. DEADLINE: 15th April -Community Impact Fund Now Open LCVS The Community Impact Fund helps voluntary sector organisations and registered charities do even more to build stronger communities across Liverpool and Merseyside. DEADLINE: 6th March -Imagine Colwyn Bay Reminiscence Project - Artist callouts The number of people living with dementia in the Colwyn Bay area is almost double the Welsh average. The selected artist will provide inspiration and content for the development of physical reminiscence handling collections. DEADLINE: 2nd March --
CuratorSpace Artist Bursary CuratorSpace have launched a new bursary for artists to develop new artworks, projects, or products. Applications that are imaginative and contribute to artist development are encouraged. DEADLINE: 31st March
Open Call – Homotopia Festival Submissions are now open for Homotopia Festival 2020! Homotopia is the UK’s longest running LGBTQIA arts and cultural festival. We’ve been running for 16 years and were born and bred in Liverpool, UK. DEADLINE: 9th March --
-Trust New Art Commission – Hare Hill, Cheshire, National Trust Hare Hill want to work with an artist(s), maker or architectural practise whose work explores art, nature and the environment to develop a new artwork which utilises wood from the site. DEADLINE: 16th March -Associate Artist, Movema and Milapfest Working closely with the Movema CoDirectors and team to design, develop and deliver new and current programmes of cultural dance that reflect Movema and Milapfest’s core values. DEADLINE: 5th March -Call for Artists – Future Human, Wigan STEAM The Future Human project will explore what’s in store for humanity and planet earth in the year 2050, delving into the problems we might face as our species evolves, the climate continues to change, and technology advances at an everincreasing rate. DEADLINE: 24th March --
CALL OUT FOR ARTISTS – Sculptors in the north wanted Liverpool BID Company and dot-art are seeking a new artist from the north of England to have their work installed on The Liverpool Plinth. The sculpture will stand at the side of Liverpool Parish Church, overlooking Chapel Street and the city’s UNESCO World Heritage Waterfront. DEADLINE: 22nd March -FaB 2020-Call-out to Artists Submissions have opened for Fringe Arts Bath (FaB). These call-outs are open to all, no matter your level of experience or your location. Submission is free, but if you are selected, we will ask for a £20 contribution and some of your time. DEADLINE: 22nd March .
20 Mar - 14 June 2020
AND SAY THE ANIMAL RESPONDED? FACT / 88 WOOD STREET FREE ENTRY Image: Demelza Kooij, Wolves from Above (2018). Image courtesy of the artist.