Author: Clare Deane

7 Fun Activities To Do Online During Lockdown

Posted on | by Clare Deane

7 Fun activities to do online during lockdown

So, we find ourselves in another national lockdown but we’ve learnt a lot since last March and we’ve adapted well to these periods of self-isolation. We certainly don’t need to feel isolated with the abundance of virtual events and activities to keep us busy. Here’s some great online activities that you can enjoy from the comfort of your couch.

1. Movema free dance classes

If you’re feeling a bit lethargic spending so much time around the house then Movema’s dance classes are a great way to get moving and will create some fun in your day. Their free Dance For Wellbeing classes are suitable for any ability. The sessions are guaranteed to put a smile on your face and leave you feeling more energetic throughout the day.

2. Digital Drink and Draw

If you enjoy doodling and sketching and want the chance to do some life drawing in a friendly relaxed atmosphere then check out the Make Liverpool Digital Drink & Draw classes, which take place via Zoom. All abilities are welcome to their sessions and the informal approach means that you can take your drawing in whichever direction you like.

3. Play at home Escape Rooms 

You can escape from reality in more ways than one with online escape room games and Liverpool’s Breakout and Escape Hunt both offer online, interactive games that you can play with your friends and family remotely.

4. Visit Liverpool’s ‘Activities To Do At Home’

Visit Liverpool has a resource hub with a whole range of activities to keep you entertained. There’s a series of Liverpool-related quizzes such as Everton and Liverpool FC, famous scousers and Liverpool general knowledge quizzes. The print at home colouring sheets can keep you busy for hours, colouring in famous Liverpool landmarks, plus there’s word searches and other activities that are fun for all the family and perfect for a rainy day. 

5. Knowsley Safari Park: Home Safari Live

The Knowsley Safari home safari live team will show you a live stream of the animals in the safari school as well as behind the scenes footage around the safari park. There will be activities that you can do at home too. You can send comments to get your questions answered by the team and find out more about the animals at Knowsley.

6. The Florrie Guitar Online Takeover

The Florrie usually hosts guitar lessons from their Toxteth home, but in the meantime they’ve added a series of videos to their YouTube channel where various local musicians, including Jamie Webster and James Skelly teach you how to play a song of their choosing. The lessons are perfect for those who are intermediate guitar players and want to add some new songs to their repertoire.

7. 35 Ways To Upcycle Everything Around You – Best Recycling Life Hacks Video

This video by 5 Minute Crafts will have you upcycling household items that you probably would never even have thought to! We’re sure you’ll find some inspiration from the ideas here to keep you busy for a while.

Visit our What’s On section to browse event listings for the Liverpool City Region or add your own.

Liverpool Year of Writing Launches With ‘Write Here Write Now’ Interactive Event

Posted on | by Clare Deane

Liverpool Year of Writing

Liverpool’s 2021 Year of Writing is a celebration of writing in all its forms designed to discover new voices and publish new writing through a partnership of arts and cultural organisations, writers, artists, educators and businesses as part of an inclusive drive to improve literacy in the city.

Creative writing plays a key part in inspiring and engaging young people particularly, but across all ages too, in writing, helping to improve their engagement in education, their reading and their imagination, as well as their literacy.

#Liverpoolwrites will be active and inspirational, inclusive and diverse, on the streets, in schools and libraries, on the page, the stage, digital, on screen, on your phone. It will be a year full of high-quality and fun events workshops, panels, courses, festivals and activities for all ages.

Liverpool’s writers are world renowned:  Garrett, Hanley, Lowry, Lennon, McCartney, Woodbine, McGough, Henri, Bainbridge, Grant, Russell, Bleasedale, McGovern, Cottrell-Boyce, Deane, Tafari, Amoo’s, Hooton, Farley, Coe and Cox – the list grows by the day.

There are new generations in the city too, born and bred or bringing their talents from worlds afar, and new voices, in schools and in houses across the city, who will be inspired to find their voice by taking part in the #LiverpoolWrites year, which will include:

  • Write Here Write Now: A city-wide launch with a writing activity involving the whole population
  • Schools: writing competitions; Letters to Liverpool; Sharing/Caring words; Writing for online games; Coding and Make-fests; blogging and book reviews; Zine making workshops and the creation of new Zines by children and young people.
  • The Writer’s Bloc: pop up writing centres in local highstreets and libraries.
  • High profile Liverpool Writers in Residence throughout the year
  • A writer’s marketplace and a Writer’s Boot Camp
  • Competitions: Playwriting, novel writing, flash fiction and short stories, with a series of themes including the environment and recovering after the Lockdown/pandemic.

Write Here Write Now

Kicking off the Year of Writing events, is ‘Write Here Write Now’ – a week-long series of writing prompts for Young People by award winning author Patrice Lawrence and adults with Youth Theatre Director MandyRowe, so see what you can create.

To find out more visit https://www.cultureliverpool.co.uk/year-of-writing-2021-h/

DaDaFest Online 2020: Preview

Posted on | by Clare Deane

DaDaFest 2020, 27 November-3 December 

DaDaFest were one of the first disabled-led arts organisations in the UK and an integral part of the campaign for greater equality and access for disabled people.

Over three decades later they are still going strong, challenging social attitudes and pushing boundaries in the disability arts scene.

The 2020 festival features a range of online events, films and workshops with the theme of Translations. There is even a fitness class and an educational board game you can download.  Featured artists this year include Chanje Kunda, Alexandrina Hemsley and Nicola Smith.

Explore this year’s DaDaFest online:

Re: Form

A medley of visual, audio and text from artists Tammy Reynolds and Natalia Bedkowska, exploring what happens when disabled people control the public gaze.

As a midget, Tammy is used to non-consensual documentation from the general public. As a disabled photographer, Natalia is used to barriers put in the way by non-disabled people for her to make work.

Online, 28 Nov-3 Dec, available all day from 8am, free.

Permission To Speak

Using a mock interview format, each artist will represent the overlap of various social and political identities of deafness, race, faith, gender and sexuality. The video work looks at the power of translation, showing that interpretation often cannot match the rich visual language of artists.

Online, 28 Nov-3 Dec, available all day from 8am, free.

Maelstrom Under Glass

In her new film, Maelstrom Under Glass, artist and choreographer Alexandrina Hemsley explores the landscapes of the body and ways we can embellish body, mind and spirit. Hemsley’s film blends movement, with dance for camera, theatre and live art.

Online, 28 Nov-3 Dec, available all day from 8am, free.

Celebrating Our Identity

Coming from different countries with different cultures, Indonesian artist, Hana Madness, and UK-based Alexis Maxwell explore the shared experiences that link their narratives together.

Expect to see their unique practices blended together as they make use of illustration, animation and sound to explore the barriers for ‘mentally disabled’ artists in both Indonesia and the UK.

Online, 3 December, 1pm. Premiere event, free, booking required.

First Do No Harm

A new, spoken-word film exploring how the words of a doctor translate to the patient. Poet Helen Seymour uses her own experience of disability and of being a patient to develop an entirely new piece within a digital format.

Online, 28 Nov-3 Dec, available all day from 8am, free.

 

Broken Biscuits: Unheard Voices

An experimental film documenting the stories of Yemeni newsagents. The film was inspired by artist Amina Atiq’s original play Broken Biscuits. The play visited her grandmother’s Yemeni-British living room in the 1970’s. In response to the Covid-19 restrictions and as an alternative to staging the play, Amina has adapted her creative process and produced an experimental film titled Unheard Voices.

Online, 29 Nov-3 Dec, available all day from 8am, free.

Chair Dancing Fitness -Take 2

Inspired by a series of online videos encouraging people to keep fit whilst dancing in their chair, artist Nicola Smith questions what happens when bodies behave differently from perceived norms. Nicola examines the ways that conditions and disabilities impact on a person’s mobility, or how they interpret information.

Online, 29 Nov-3 Dec, available all day from 8am, free.

Game of Spoons

Play an educational board game and take on the role of someone living with chronic illness, otherwise known as a Spoonie. The board game takes the theme of ‘translations’ and creates situations where you’ll need to decide which activities are worth spending your limited amount of energy on, in an attempt to finish the game with the most happiness.

Online, 29 Nov-3 Dec, available all day from 8am, free.

 

Kintsugi Gold

Chanje Kunda is a performance artist with complex PTSD. Her latest project is a short film that seeks to make invisible disabilities visible and valued. The project was inspired by the concept ‘mad pride’ which seeks to celebrate the lives of people with severe and enduring mental health disabilities.

Online, 1-3 Dec, available all day from 8am, free.

The Misunderstandings of the Other Side

An exploration of how the world of neurodiverse people differs from the world of neurotypical people. Neurodiverse artist, Gold Akanbi, will focus on women of colour, who are first and second generation immigrants.

Akanbi will give a multi-sensory experience to the audience, to understand how neurodiversity both enhances and diminishes the lives of those on the autistic spectrum.

Online, 2-3 Dec, available all day from 8am, free.

I was Naked, Smelling of Rain

This intimate and moving experience looks at wellbeing through an artistic response to the physicality of weather and being ‘alone’ or ‘lonely’. We are the most connected ‘on demand’ generation yet seem to have lost touch with who we are and where we fit in the world. We mediate our life through technology and screens. Are we ever truly where we are and present?

Online, 1 December, 7.30pm, free.

 

Scars: Memories of the Skin

Scars communicate different meanings, lived experiences and emotional changes as a script on the body. Like translated texts, they can be interpreted in different ways. Through photography, artist Ngozi Ugochukwu uses her lived experience to explore the scars on her own body, each telling a story from her life.

Online, 30 Nov-3 Dec, available all day from 8am, free.

SpokeCast – The Misfits

Artists Natalie Amber and Clare McNulty have created a series of podcasts with contributions from within the disabled community. They take a humorous and informed deep dive into the taboos, the stigmas, the mysteries and the misinformation that surrounds disabled people.

Online, 1-3 Dec, available all day from 8am, free.

Weasel International

Since 2014, artist Dominic G has been building Weasel Nation, a platform presenting music, sculptures, an interactive video game and workshops on creating clay sculptures and drawings of his creations, the Wicked Weasels.

Reflecting his belief that art can bring the world together, and including his strong political, pro-disabled, anti-racist and anti-establishment ethics, Dominic will be creating a Manifesto for Weasel Nation.

Online, 3 December, 1pm. Premiere event, free, booking required.

See all the DaDaFest 2020 events here

12 events to enjoy at Homotopia 2020

Posted on | by Clare Deane

Homotopia 2020

Homotopia is the UK’s longest running LGBTQIA+ arts and culture festival. The festival launched in 2004 with a grant from Liverpool City Council. In the 15 years that followed, Homotopia has welcomed some of the biggest names in LGBTQIA+ arts to Liverpool, including John Waters, Boy George, Armistead Maupin, Sarah Waters and many more.

The 2020 festival continues the success of previous years, with some very special names and events. This year contributors include artist and filmmaker Fox Fisher, illustrator Millie Chesters and writer/actor Jade Anouka.

The events feature a public Art Crawl, A Lovely Word poetry night, a Fabulous Cabaret evening from the Everyman Theatre and much more.

Here are a list of highlights to discover and explore.

 

1/ Pattern of Play

Pattern of Play is a portraits series of Lily Parr by illustrator Millie Chesters and an inspirational story of strength. Born in 1905, Lily was a pioneering footballer from St Helens, known for her powerful kick and strong personality. She was open about being lesbian long before the UK’s decriminalisation of homosexuality. Millie Chesters is inspired by sport, portraiture and music. Her drawings are full of movement and tackle social issues head on.

Online, 29 October – 22 December, all day, free. See www.lilyparr.org

 

2/ 4:3 by Amy Pennington

Join Amy Pennington in exploring queer television memories and idols. Before HD, 4:3 was the standard television ratio. Growing up queer in the 1990s, under Section 28 and in a small northern town, it was Amy’s ratio – a portal into a queer education. The event is accompanied by a one off workshop exploring the themes in the film.

4:3 film, online, from 29 October, free.

Workshop, online, 3 November, 5.30pm-6.30pm. Workshop tickets

To watch the film see: www.heartofglass.org.uk/project-and-events/events/43-a-film-by-amy-pennington

 

3/ Queer the City: Art Crawl and The Walk

Queer The City is a public Art Crawl and a newly commissioned series of audio plays called The Walk.

Take a tour around the Homotopia Art Crawl, featuring huge art installations by eight LGBTQIA+ artists, in prominent locations around the city. Looking at Liverpool through a queer lens, The Walk is a stroll through the city, as told by 6 LGBTQIA+ writers/performers. Join them as they take queer art and culture to the streets!

Across Liverpool and online, 30 October – 15 November, all day.

Download the map with timings and podcasts at the link below from 30 October: www.homotopia.net/queer-the-city

 

4/ One Woman

Cheryl Martin’s One Woman takes the audience on an immersive dramatic experience, exploring how it feels to live with Borderline Personality Disorder. Cheryl Martin is a Black lesbian disabled theatre artist, she has won awards as a writer and director. The event uses binaural audio and mesmeric images to simulate the disorder.

Online, 31 October, 7pm-9.30pm, free. Book tickets

 

5/ Ally 101 workshop

Homotopia have invited The Goddess Projects to deliver their Ally 101 workshop. The workshop will help the community to learn, grow and better equip themselves to tackle racism. The discussion will look at defining racism, anti-racism and allyship, exploring whiteness, white fragility and the weaponisation of whiteness.

Online, 4 November, 7pm-8.30pm, free, booking essential. Book tickets

 

6/ Trans Creative at the Movies

Trans Creative at the Movies reclaims transgender space in cinematic history. You’ll never see these movie classics in the same way again! The panel for the evening includes artist Fox Fisher,and writers Krishna Istha and Laura Bridgeman, as they ‘trans up’ cinema history. Trans Creative’s Kate O’Donnell will chair the event, which will be followed by a selection of short films.

Online, 5 November, 7.30pm-9.30pm. Book tickets

 

 

8/ Fox Fisher

Collaborate with artist Fox Fisher at a live screen printing event. Fox is an award-winning artist, filmmaker, campaigner and co-author of the Trans Teen Survival Guide. This is an exciting opportunity to show the positive power of social media and to contribute to a shared piece of art.

Online –YouTube/Twitter, 6 November, 5pm-6.30pm, free.

www.youtube.com/user/homotopiafestival / www.twitter.com/HomotopiaFest

 

9/ A Lovely Word: Homotopia

Join Homotopia for a very special version of ‘A Lovely Word’, Liverpool’s most eclectic spoken word night. The evening features headliner Jade Anouka. A Lovely Word also have spots for open mic-ers. Contact them at their email address below if you require an online slot. For this Homotopia special, poets identifying as LGBTQIA+ will be prioritised.

Online –Facebook/YouTube, 11 November, 8pm-10pm, free.

Email: alovelywordpodcast@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/alovelyword / www.youtube.com/user/homotopiafestival

 

10/ Queer Arts North

Queer Arts North is digitally bringing together the LGBTQIA+ creative community, as part of Homotopia 2020. Head along and (virtually!) meet other LGBTQIA+ creatives, including programmers and commissioners, working across the North. You can pitch your projects, share your opportunities and connect with your peers.

Online, 13 November, 5pm-6.30pm, free, booking essential. Book tickets

  

11/ Collective Encounters: Queer Womxn in Action

What does it mean to be an activist? How have queer women in Merseyside resisted oppression?

This online storytelling and poetry workshop will celebrate queer women’s stories of resilience, resistance and hope, producing an inspiring audio piece that will be presented as part of the festival. Bring your experience, your passion for social justice and a desire to get creative.

Online, 2 November, 6.30pm-7.30pm. Free, booking essential.

To book, email: tessa@collective-encounters.org.uk

 

12/ Homotopia and Friends – Fabulous Cabaret

The Everyman Theatre is re-opening its doors for the first time since lockdown and queer artists are taking over the main stage! Join them for an evening of fabulous cabaret, presented by Homotopia Associate Artist, Ashleigh Owen. The cabaret showcases local talent from the QueerCore artist development programme.

Everyman Theatre, 13 November, 7.30pm-8.30pm. Book tickets

 

Browse more Homotopia 2020 events

Black History Month 2020 Highlights

Posted on | by Clare Deane

Black History Month 2020

Cultural organisations across Liverpool have come together to curate an exciting programme of outdoor and virtual events, which celebrate Black History Month this October.

The events will promote equality and justice through a range of art forms and stand in solidarity with communities facing racial discrimination.

Liverpool, with the oldest Black community in Europe, has a vibrant heritage. Black History Month shines a light on the city’s history, including the slave trade and Black music heritage.

The festival also celebrates Black artistic excellence. Man Booker prize winner Marlon James will be in conversation, as well as Afrofuturist, Ytasha Womack, in Writing on the Wall’s literary events.

Toxteth’s Katumba drummers will bring their life-affirming rhythms and choreography to the final day of the festival.

Here is a list of highlights to look out for:

 

1/ Spread your Wings

Spread your Wings is a Movema dance programme, designed in response to Black Lives Matter. Movema want to create a platform for black dance artists to be celebrated, heard and supported.

The story is told through four symbolic birds – the Phoenix from Chinese culture, Peacock from Indian culture, Sankofa bird from Ghanaian culture and the Liver bird to represent British/Irish culture.

The programme includes a dance performance, masterclass and talk celebrating Black dance.

Caribbean Dance Masterclass, 16 October, 2pm- 4pm:

Barriers and challenges within the dance sector talk, online, 23 October, 1.30pm-3.30pm.

Taking Flight – outdoor dance performance, various locations/times, Liverpool City Centre, 31 October.

BHM World Fusion Class, online every Friday during October, 12.30pm – 1.15pm.

All classes and the discussion will take place on YouTube Live.

www.youtube.com/user/MovemaDance

www.movema.co.uk

 

2/ On Record – Untold and Retold

A celebration and exploration of Black music in Liverpool and the role it has played in the city over the past 70 years.

The festival will bring together a streamed showcase, exhibition, screenings and a number of exclusive in-conversations.

There will also be specially commissioned original content, including film shorts, live sessions, podcasts and more.

Various venues/online platforms and timings, 23 October.

www.cultureliverpool.co.uk/on-record-untold-retold

 

3/ Open Eye Gallery – Black History Month programme
Photography exhibition, Open Eye Gallery screens, Mann Island, 1 – 31 October, all day, free.

Open Eye Gallery are presenting two photographic exhibitions, a slavery tour and talk in support of Black History Month.

The tour will be taken by Laurence Westgaph, a specialist in British Black history and slavery.

An online talk reflects on Black Lives Matter activism in the six months between the events of May and October.

Laurence Westgaph, Liverpool and Slavery Guided Tours – Starts Open Eye Gallery, Mann Island, 6, 13, 20, and 27 October, 2pm-4pm. Booking link below.

Love Is An Action Reflection Talk – Online, a link will be shared online two weeks in advance, 29 October, 6pm-7pm, free.

Tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/laurence-westgaph-30520850830

www.openeye.org.uk

 

4/ Journeys to the Underworld
Outside Central Library, William Brown St, 12 October, 9.30am and 8pm, free. Various locations, Liverpool City Centre, 10am – 3pm, free.

This production follows the journey of a poem by writer Francisco Carrasco, through the lives of indigenous people from Africa, the Americas and other parts of the world.

The poem is the backdrop to this spoken word, music and dance production. The performance includes people holding the poem with placards, representing the many journeys we travel.

www.lumacreations.org

 

5/ Mixed Heritage Mixer
Online, 15 October, 6pm, free. Pre-booking is essential.

Lorraine Maher (artist and founder of IamIrish) hosts a Mixed Heritage Mixer, to which she invites people of all dual/mixed heritage Irish backgrounds.

They will trade stories about racial assumptions and exchanges, and the experience of mixed-race Irish people at home or abroad.

The talk will also explore the additional pressures Covid-19 has placed on mixed-race individuals and the role of culture in helping access a person’s heritage.

Tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mixed-heritage-mixer-tickets-121362776331

www.liverpoolirishfestival.com/events/mixed-heritage-mixer

 

6/ Katumba – Hallows Eve of the Orishas
St Luke’s ‘Bombed Out’ Church, Leece Street, 31 October, 4.30pm-8.30pm. Free to attend. Pre-booking is essential. Booking details tba.

Every Halloween, Katumba drummers transform Liverpool City Centre into a playground of imagination. They set streets ablaze with Brazilian drums, spectacular choreography and a colossal sound.

This year, Toxteth based Katumba, will give surprise pop-up performances throughout the day in the City Centre. The performances lead up to the main spectacle at St Luke’s ‘Bombed Out’ Church, Katumba Hallows Eve of the Orishas.

Traditionally from West Africa, Orishas are forces of nature who mediate and unite the other world and humanity

www.katumba.co.uk/halloween

 

7/ Black Lives Matter Soundscapes
Online, 23 October, 7pm. Pre-booking is essential. Donations welcome.

BlackFest is bringing a live online digital performance of BLM Soundscapes. They include backdrops of Afro beats, jazz tones and an atmospheric feel, providing an immersive experience for the audience.

This piece has been developed by many creative voices including writers, singers and poets from Liverpool. It is a creative response in solidarity with the BLM movement.

Tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/blackfest-blm-soundscape-live-tickets-123443413573

www.blackfest.co.uk

 

8/ Writing on the Wall – Time to Breathe
Online, 1 – 31 October, various times

Writing on the Wall are presenting an exciting programme of events for Black History Month. These include some of the most inspirational local, national and international Black artists.

The events feature Man Booker Prize winner, Jamaican writer Marlon James and Berkeley Professor Stephen Small.

Bringing the struggle home, Liverpool’s first black MP Kim Johnson, and Tracey Gore, new chair of the city’s Race Task Force, will consider how we level the playing field in Liverpool.

Films from WoW’s Time to Breathe writing project also portray just how pressing that need is.

www.writingonthewall.org.uk

 

9/ Yemen in Conflict
Online, Liverpool Arab Arts Festival, 1-31 October

Yemen in Conflict explores how Yemeni literature and poetry can be safeguarded, and how it can further our understanding of the situation in Yemen.

The event shows how storytelling and poetry can help our understanding of the situation, while showcasing the creativity of the Yemeni writers.

Four poem films – video works combining poetry and film – by Olivia Furber, Mariam Al-Dhubhani, Diyala Muir and Noor Palette, have been created in response to original poems by contemporary Yemeni poets Ahmed Alkhulaidi, Liverpool-based Amina Atiq, Hamdan Damaag and Dr Abdul Hakim Al-Qazi.

www.arabartsfestival.com/yemen-in-conflict

 

10/ Isolate
Pagoda Arts Centre, Henry Street, 12 October

Isolate is a musical project using hip hop and Chinese sounds. Pagoda Arts explore the various emotions and difficulties members of their youth orchestra faced during lockdown.

This includes thoughts on racism, isolation, loneliness and space. Instruments and popular sounds from both West and East, as well as English and Chinese vocals, will be combined to convey their message.

Pagoda Arts Centre, Henry Street, 12 October, times TBC.

www.pagodaarts.org.uk

BlackFest 2020

Posted on | by Clare Deane

BlackFest 2020,  21 – 27 September

BlackFest is a grassroots Black arts festival founded in 2018 and based in Liverpool. The festival showcases an eclectic mix of work from Black creatives, over a range of events. These events provide a platform for artists to develop new work. The festival plays a crucial role in the city’s culture, through celebrating Black arts and bridging the gap with marginalised communities.

Events range from online discussions of Liverpool’s slave trade history to the Black LGBTQI+ experience. There will also be a special live music night held at Constellations.

 

Festival line-up:

 

Locks

Online, 21 September, 7pm-9pm. Tickets

Writer, rapper and founder of RiseUpCiC, Ashleigh Nugent, talks about his personal experience of being in a Jamaican criminal justice system, his work with RiseUp and new book, ‘Locks’.

Hosted by performer and architect Tayo Aluko, and including writers D. Hunter and Keith LaMar.

 

Art Practice and Protest

Artist and art historian Susan Goligher chairs a conversation on the role of grassroots arts practice and protest.

Susan will be joined by artist Ekua Bayanu and Joint Head of Architecture, Manchester School of Architecture, Ola Uduku. They will discuss their work and the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Online, 22 September, 12pm-2pm. Tickets

 

Children Authors

Online, 22 September, 7.30pm-9.30pm. Tickets

A recent study showed that less than 2% of children authors are Black or people of colour, highlighting a severe lack of diversity in the publishing industry. Writers Phina Oruche and Patrick Graham will face this discussion head on, and talk about their experiences as esteemed black authors.

 

Spoken word and poetry night

Online, 23 September, 7pm. Tickets

BlackFest presents an electric line-up of emerging and established poets plus spoken word artists. The night also features their special guest poet Zita Holbourne. Join them as they uncover their pieces on Black Lives Matter, Covid-19 and political issues. They will explore how Black and brown communities have been disproportionately affected during the pandemic.

 

Black LGBTQI+ Matters

Online, 24 September, 7pm-9pm. Tickets

A discussion of the Black LGBTQI+ experience, with a panel of artists, academics and activists. The event is about celebrating who we are and what makes us. Join speakers, Mandla Rae, Felix Mufti, Akira Jeffers, Craig Adams and Iesha Palmer, as they talk about their experiences of being people of colour and part of the LGBTQI+ community. The talk is in partnership with Homotopia.

 

Music Night: Old Skool, New Skool, What’s New?

Constellations, Greenland Street, Baltic Triangle, September 25, starts 7pm. Tickets

Join BlackFest’s Music Night at Constellations, as they bring you Liverpool’s finest emerging and established music talent. The artists will also talk about the music industry in a pre-show discussion. The music will be a classic fusion of old and new beats, with Liverpool vocalist Jennifer John the host for the evening.

 

Diversity Dialogues Take: 3

Online, 27 September, 1pm-3pm. Tickets

Join the BlackFest panel of academics, artists and activists to discuss decolonisation, the conservation of slave trade history and more. The panel will discuss the need to remember Liverpool’s links to the slave trade, a history that for years has been whitewashed.

 

See all the listings

www.blackfest.co.uk

Follow BlackFest on Facebook

Stare off into Space: Astronomy Photographer of the Year

Posted on | by Clare Deane
Transport the Soul © Brad Goldpaint

Liverpool’s World Museum showcases the Astronomy Photographer of the Year exhibition, celebrating the 50th anniversary (that’s half a century!) of the moon landing. Taking place from 3rd May to 1st September 2019, the collection features 100 magnificent photographs, including winners and shortlisted candidates from last year’s competition. You don’t have to be an astronomer to appreciate the beauty of these images.

Organised by Royal Observatory Greenwich, the competition received 540 submissions during its inaugural year, growing to 4200 entries by 2018. These photographs were sent from 91 countries across the globe, proving that despite our different cultures, we all have something in common: our fascination with outer space.

Up against thousands of other competitors, both amateur and professional, Brad Goldpoint earned first place with his shot, Transport the Soul, for the People in Space section and overall. The piece captures a fellow astrophotographer taking pictures of the milky way, which floats above the scenic landscape of Moab, Utah.

The team of expert judges also present an award for the best newcomer, under the Sir Patrick Moore prize, won by Tianhong Li with Galaxy Curtain Call Performance. Shedding light on up and coming hopefuls of our newest generation, the Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year award accepts submissions from ages 16 and under, producing astonishing results. Fabian Dalpiaz takes first prize in his section, with Great Autumn Morning.

‘Each year it produces images that broaden our perception of the universe,’ says Senior Curator, Dr Geraldine Reid, when asked about the exhibition. This really isn’t one to miss, and with free entry there’s no excuse not to go and take a selfie against the #AstroPhotoLiverpool themed backdrop!

While you’re there, why not check out the Space Gallery and the immersive, full-dome Planetarium?