Autumn Season 2021
Exhibitions Fri 15 Oct - Sun 23 Jan The Bluecoat presents three important solo shows this autumn by three leading women artists. Staging the first UK exhibition from American artist Deborah Roberts, new work from London-based Rosa-Johan Uddoh and the first major exhibition by Liverpool-based Sumuyya Khader, the programme explores the shaping of identity in the twenty-first century.
A look inside Deborah Roberts A look inside is US based award-winning artist Deborah Roberts’ first UK solo show. Roberts critiques notions of beauty, the body, race and identity in contemporary society through the lens of Black children in the USA, combining collage with mixed media. The artist investigates how societal pressures, projected images of beauty or masculinity, and the violence of American racism contributes to Black children’s formative experiences. Her works on paper and on canvas combine found images, sourced from the internet, with hand-painted details to create striking compositions.
Deborah Roberts, ‘After the thunder (RR)’, 2019. © Deborah Roberts. Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London. Photo by Paul Bardagjy.
Always Black Never Blue Sumuyya Khader Liverpool artist Sumuyya Khader’s new exhibition reflects on contemporary life, exploring the notion of Black Joy through illustration, drawing, print and painting. Her portraits focus on Black subjects and explore Black lived experience, identity and empowerment.
Rosa-Johan Uddoh, ‘Here I am, Baby’ 2020. Image courtesy the artist.
Practice Makes Perfect Rosa-Johan Uddoh Practice Makes Perfect, by London-based artist Rosa-Johan Uddoh, focusses on the timely subject of childhood education in Britain. She examines how schooling forms an early understanding of what it means to be British, and what is marginalised or left out of the curriculum. The exhibition includes a major new work by the artist, a large-scale collage, which investigates the historical figure of Balthazar, one of the Biblical Kings from the Nativity, as well as works on paper, video and new works that adapt the exhibition to the interior and exterior spaces of the Bluecoat.
Sumuyya Khader, ‘Identity’, 2021. Image courtesy the artist.
Events at the Bluecoat Tue 26 Oct, 6pm (Online) A Creative Community Across Merseyside
Thu 18 - Sun 21 Nov Only Expansion, Duncan Speakman
What role do artists’ studios play in our creative community and what is their future? In this online panel discussion, hear from artists, studios and spaces as they reflect on the role of the artist’s studio and what artists need to survive.
Drop by the Bluecoat and pick up a headset for an audio work devised by artist Duncan Speakman. As sea levels rise and wildfires burn, Only Expansion remixes the sound of the city around you and explores how your own life might change in the future.
Free, donations welcome.
Free, book online to reserve a headset. Headsets available 12-4pm.
Sat 30 Oct, 1-5pm The 2021 Lowry Lounge Join us for our annual celebration of Merseyside writer Malcolm Lowry (Under the Volcano) with an afternoon of talks and discussions at Bluecoat. These focus on different aspects of his life and work, including his conflicted sexuality, the sense of place in his writing, and how it anticipates the cut-up technique of American beat writer, William Burroughs. Tickets £7, £5. Book online.
Thu 9 Dec, 6pm (Online) The Black Magus: Power and Magnificence in Renaissance Europe Cultural and art historian Michael Ohajuru takes part in a Q&A with Marie-Anne McQuay, Head of programme at the Bluecoat, on Black presence in Renaissance Europe in response to Rosa-Johan Uddoh’s exploration of the figure of Balthazar. Free, donations welcome.
Sun 14 Nov, 2-4pm (Online) Liverpool: Black History and Black Activism Workshop. Decolonising our History and Exploring Black Liberation Join us for an online workshop with writer and educator Chantelle Lunt. Responding to the themes of the autumn exhibitions, Lunt will unpack the rich history of Black people in Liverpool across the centuries. Come prepared to have your preconceptions shaken. Free, donations welcome. Booking essential. Book online.
For the latest on events at the Bluecoat visit thebluecoat.org.uk/ whatson
Heritage and Cultural Legacies Formally established in 1927 as the UK’s first art centre, the Bluecoat is housed in central Liverpool’s oldest building which has a long and complex history. Over the next few months we will be hosting a series of displays focussing on the Bluecoat’s wider impact, starting with its support for artists in A Creative Community. Two further exhibitions, focussing on the civic role of the arts centre, and interrogating the building’s colonial legacies, will follow between November and March 2022. A Creative Community Wed 8 Sep - Sun 31 Oct A Creative Community tells the story of the Bluecoat’s artists from 1907 to today, through material drawn from the art centre’s extensive archive. The display features a new series of portraits commissioned from studio holder Sophie Traynor, providing an opportunity to get to know the current community of creatives.
A Creative Community exhibition. Photo by Rob Battersby.
Join in at the Bluecoat
From October, our print studio reopens with a series of day-long courses, including screen printing, linocut and etching. Booking essential. See our website for more information. Sat 9 Oct - Introduction to Screen Printing Sat 20 Nov - Introduction to Linocut Sat 4 Dec - Screen Print Cards for Christmas Sat 15 Jan - Introduction to Etching All classes run 11am-5pm and are £50-£60 each.
Bluecoat Families
At the Bluecoat, there are plenty of ways to keep the family busy. Enjoy our exhibitions and play in our garden and children’s corner. Introduce your kids to our new Busy Boards designed by local artists, and pick up the latest edition of our popular free art packs from Half Term onwards.
dot-art Courses
For the latest family events and information, visit thebluecoat.org. uk/family.
Join dot-art’s series of classes and courses for adults, starting from October 3. For more information on life drawing, abstract painting and cartooning see our website.
Open Wed - Sun 11am - 5pm. Free Entry. Bluecoat, School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BX www.thebluecoat.org.uk Funded by
Supported by
Cover image: Sumuyya Khader, ‘Focus’, 2021. Image courtesy the artist.
The Bluecoat Print Courses Are Back!
