Author: Uncover

By Tilly Foulkes

Celebrate the Year of the Tiger with the Chinese New Year events happening in Liverpool this February.

The pandemic has previously halted in-person celebrations, but 2022 will see them return once again. Locals and tourists alike gather at the Chinese Ceremonial Archway to celebrate the annual Chinese New Year Festival. The archway is the door to the oldest Chinese community in Europe, and this year the streets will once more be embellished with lanterns as the dragon shares good luck through traditional Chinese dance.

Great George Sqaure’s stage is set to host live performances throughout the day, while buildings will be lit up in red to honour the traditions of Chinese New Year.

That’s not all – there will be plenty of activities and things to explore, no matter where your interests lie. Art workshops with creative exercises, a storytelling bus and a multitude of food stalls for visitors to sample Chinese food will be running all day. And if you aren’t able to make it down then there’s no need to miss out – there’s an abundance of online workshops, activities and opportunities to watch archive footage available.

Culture Liverpool has commissioned all of the new pieces of work to complement the free traditional Chinese New Year celebrations which includes dragon, unicorn and Lucky Man parades, firecracker displays, family workshops, Tai Chi demonstrations, a small fairground and food stalls. Activity will take place from 11am-5.30pm on Sunday 6 February.

New for this year are:

• From Friday 4 to Sunday 6 February, a 3D animated Water Tiger will prowl around the tower inside St Luke’s Church (the Bombed Out Church). Taking place from 6-9pm each night, the projections will transform the tower into a Chinese pagoda, complete with lanterns designed by local schools and community groups. The show, which lasts for ten minutes and will run on a loop each evening, is free but there is an ask for donations for the venue.  The work has been created by Focal Studios, Scenegraph Studios in collaboration with the Bombed Out Church.
• Work is under way on a new mural will take pride of place in Great George Square playground courtesy of Zap Graffiti which is bringing together an award-winning Beijing artist, Tang Shou, and local youngsters who will create a piece of art which symbolises what the Year of the Tiger means to them.

New commissions taking place on Sunday 6 February

• Pagoda Arts will shine a spotlight on Tian – an up-and-coming young band made up of east/southeast Asian artists who perform a blend of original east-meets-west tracks. They will take to the stage in Great George Square at 2.20pm and 3.50pm, and will play a ticketed event at the Liverpool Philharmonic’s Music Room that evening.
• From 5.15pm, Bring The Fire Project will showcase their incredible skills at the Chinese Arch with a specially created Chinese New Year performance which will incorporate traditional martial arts. They will be joined by Hung Gar Kung Fu’s illuminated dragon and lion.
• Dance company Movema explore the cultural history of Chinese New Year and have produced contemporary work which embraces our diverse communities and celebrates what makes Liverpool so unique and special.  A series of pop-up performances will take place in the afternoon, in and around Chinatown with on-stage activity at 3.10pm and 4.25pm.
• Visually stunning Feng Huang (Chinese Phoenix) street animation will appear at the Bombed Out Church at 1.45pm.
• The Black-e Youth Circus present, Triumph of the Tiger, a short story told through circus skills, illuminations and costume involving young people aged 6 to 18 years. Involving ground-based and aerial performance, it will create a beautiful illuminated spectacle to tell a simple tale of how we can overcome adversity. The costumes and LED illuminations will be coloured to represent the five tigers from Ancient Chinese myths. The performance involves a collaboration with Bring The Fire Project. Throughout the day The Black-e will also be offering circus skills taster workshops on Nelson Street for members of the public to participate in and a beanbag making workshop.

Building up to the main day of activity, from this week thousands of Chinese lanterns will adorn the city centre streets, and from Sunday 30 January a number of buildings will be illuminated in red in honour of the new year – signifying good fortune and joy to everyone. These buildings include the Cunard, Port of Liverpool, Liverpool Town Hall, St George’s Hall, Central Library Picton Colonnades, Toxteth Library, Everyman & Playhouse Theatres, the Martin Luther King building, Mersey Gateway Bridge and University of Liverpool’s Yoko Ono Centre. The Royal Liver Building and the Radio City tower will light up on Tuesday 1 February which is Chinese New Year.

Saturday, February 5th will see FACT celebrating with their World Wide Wontons workshop,  sharing stories and recipes that express what togetherness and family mean to each other.

The festivities don’t end there though – The Lady Lever Art Gallery will also be hosting events on February 12th in celebration, too. The Chinese New Year is sure to be a buzzing celebration all round!

To discover even more events visit our What’s On section.

By Radka Hostašová

Engagement with young visitors has become a common practice across many cultural venues. It is a good way to introduce children to valuable pieces of art and historical artefacts. Moreover, a museum visit can enhance a child’s imagination and help to understand the world around them.

However, there is no doubt that mere wandering around the expositions is generally not enough to attract children’s attention. Instead, galleries and museums employ various interactive activities and practical exercises to raise a new generation of regular visitors. 

As one of the most popular cultural settings in the city, The World Museum Liverpool offers a wide program for children of various ages. Besides the educational sessions for schools and families, the museum has recently launched Craft at the Museum workshops to support children’s creativity and imagination. The program mainly addresses preschoolers, as the workshops take place between 10 am and 12 pm.

The classes are running now and continuing on a weekly basis until 27 of February. There’s no need to book a space for the class, just drop in and get straight to work! All craft supplies are provided by the course, and the museum only requires parents to supervise their children during the session. 

And what is the idea of the workshops? The World Museum Liverpool mainly draws inspiration from their current collections. Therefore, children will be making artworks that reflect on particular displays, for example, a live Aquarium installation or a permanent exhibition of Ancient Egypt. Craft at the Museum is simply a creative, playful, and educational way to introduce children to a world cultural heritage.

To find even more creative events, check out our What’s On section.

By Francesca-Lily McIntosh

Jump back into live theatre in 2022 with this useful guide to get you started. Here are six shows that Liverpool has to offer this year, ranging from family productions to comedy shows and historical adventures – there really is something for everyone!

Liverpool Empire Theatre

With its central location on Lime Street, the Liverpool Empire Theatre now stands as the largest two-tier auditorium in the UK, seating 2,348 people. Now full of life once again, here are just two of the many shows Liverpool Empire has to offer in 2022.

Jersey Boys

Wednesday 26th January – Saturday 5th February 2022

The award-winning musical Jersey Boys returns to the Liverpool Empire to kickstart 2022. Based on the story of the 1960s rock band The Four Seasons, Jersey Boys features all of their popular hits along with an insight of how Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons came to be.

Tickets start from £13.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Tuesday 22nd – Saturday 26th February 2022

Be one of the first to see this brand-new stage musical, rumoured to transport you into a world of fantasy and magic. Adapted from one of Disney’s classic movies of the same name, Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a family-friendly show that follows three orphaned children and their journey after discovering witchcraft and magic.

Tickets start from £13.

Everyman and Playhouse Theatre

Liverpool’s Everyman and Playhouse theatres came together in 2004 under the same management and alongside theatre productions, the theatres create endless opportunities for young people aged 14-25 with their award-winning Young Everyman Playhouse (YEP) programme. Here are two showings suitable for an older audience at the Everyman and the Playhouse.

Cherry Jezebel

Tuesday 8th – Saturday 26th March 2022

Enter the world of drag artist Cherry Brandy, her best friend Heidi, and their queer family in this new drama at the Everyman. This story is said to celebrate queerness whilst exploring the struggles of growing up queer in Liverpool and building a place of safety and belonging.

Tickets start from £10, suitable for age 16+

Sheila’s Island

Tuesday 5th – Saturday 9th April 2022

Described as ‘the Office meets Lord of the Flies meets Miranda’, Sheila’s Island is a new comedy at the Playhouse. It follows the characters of Sheila, Denise, Julie and Faye and their disastrous team-building weekend, with Sheila stranding the team on a Lake District Island. 

Tickets start from £10, suitable for age 13+

Royal Court Theatre

The Royal Court theatre is also located in central Liverpool and promises a great night out with a pre-show cabaret style dining experience. Not only does the Royal Court produce eight long running shows a year but it plays its part in the community, offering free acting classes for all abilities; the Royal Court Youth Theatre and a community choir which anyone can take part in.

Offered Up

Wednesday 22nd June – Saturday 9th July 2022

Fancy a historical adventure? Showing at Liverpool’s Royal Court Studio, Offered Up is an exciting thriller set in 1645 during the English Civil War. It follows an innkeeper and his daughter’s struggles during the war and their additional problems brought to them by guests.

Tickets start from £10.

YNWA: Let’s Talk About Six…Baby

Friday 29th July – Saturday 27th August 2022

Finally, for the football fans of Liverpool, YNWA is a show that dives into the history of Liverpool Football Club. Celebrating Liverpool’s sixth UEFA Champion’s League trophy, YWNA has been said to be the ‘ultimate show for Liverpool fans’ as it brings 125 years of football history to life.

Tickets start from £14.

To discover more theatre shows and much more visit our What’s on section.

By Radka Hostašová

January is a time of new year’s resolutions, significant changes and fresh beginnings. For those who have decided to embrace more creativity and bring original ideas to life, Liverpool has something to offer. Besides a variety of art and craft classes organised by different cultural venues around the city, independent community organisation Writing on the Wall has prepared a great opportunity for creatives with a passion for writing. 

Based in the Toxteth area, Writing on the Wall has a history of celebrating diversity and togetherness through writing. The key idea is to support people who are facing social exclusion caused by long-term unemployment, cultural inequality or any kind of abuse. Their latest program called Write to Work is a 12-weeks online course focused on developing writing skills and exploring the area of publishing. The entire course consists of writing workshops, social meet-ups and one-to-one classes. Moreover, participants will get a chance to learn from successful authors coming from different backgrounds and with particular areas of interest. 

Composing a piece of writing does not necessarily mean becoming a novelist. These days, creative writing exists in a limitless number of forms, such as social media and blogs, adverts, reviews, or screenplays. Within the 12-weeks program, Write to Work will cover the basis of all the areas mentioned above and beyond. However, most importantly, the main aim of the course is to provide support to all attendants throughout their creative journey and offer a safe virtual hub, where everyone can freely share thoughts and ideas. 

Write to Work starts on the 8 February and will be held entirely online. Applications are now open, with the deadline to apply the 26 January. All the details and criteria for eligibility can be found on the Writing on the Wall’s website.  

By Radka Hostašová

On a scale of biological evolution, scientific discoveries and technological progress, a life cycle of a human is nearly negligible. Although it is us humans who stand behind all the inventions and ideas that contributed to the world’s development, our names will become forgotten. Why is that? Perhaps while the technological devices or scientific methods play significant roles in the present and in the future, humans remain left in the past. After all, isn’t oblivion one of the biggest concerns of human society? However, it is in our nature to keep trying to leave durable traces, that will remind the future generations of how we lived, where we belonged or what we valued. 

To reflect on the dialogue between the past and the future, FACT Liverpool’s exhibition ‘Future Ages Will Wonder’, combines traditional museum artifacts, such as photography, sculpture or textiles with the elements of science and technology. The project’s idea is to put a focus on the perception of reality influenced by past stories. In other words, the things and values created in the past determine the form of our lives in the future. The exhibition commissions the work of several national and international artists, each referring to a different era whilst using particular media and creative techniques. By presenting ‘Future Ages Will Wonder’, FACT Liverpool has also entered a 12-month cycle called Radical Ancestry, that will explore how history, geography, biology, and culture shape our history. 

As the description of the event might sound a bit abstract, these are a few examples of what you can experience while visiting the exhibition. One of the commissioned artworks created by Japanese multimedia artist Miku Aoki studies artificial life and immortality. Her installation made of embroidered fabrics, yarns, photographs and furniture portrays the curiosities of scientific clones and mutant specimens. 

Those who prefer humanities rather than science might enjoy a multimedia installation by Chinese – Canadian artist Yarli Allison, that reconstructs Liverpool’s Old Chinatown and pictures a story of lost Chines sailors. Through other interactive projects displayed in FACT, Allison also communicates the sense of belonging and withdrawal both related to migration. 

As the name of the event suggests, the aim of the new exhibition is to arouse your curiosity and make you wonder. It involves a number of complex audio-visual compositions supported by additional texts. However, visitors are not expected to entirely understand every part of the concept. Instead, ‘Future Ages Will Wonder‘ encourages the audience to engage their imagination and evaluate the past.

The exhibition opened its door to the public on the 28th of October 2021 and runs until the 20th of February 2022. 

For more information visit www.fact.co.uk/event/future-ages-will-wonder

By Tilly Foulkes

This year Knowsley will be the Liverpool City Region Borough of Culture. 2022’s Borough of Culture theme is storytelling and Knowsley will be focusing on the stories of the people who live there and the places that are important to them. This will include explorations of local folk tales and traditions, fantastic light installations and unique gallery exhibitions. Each demonstration invites you to share your own stories about what makes the area the place that it is.

What’s On:

A New Dawn

Kicking off the sequence of events, A New Dawn is a remarkable set of light installations. Choreographed illuminations will be projected onto town centres, public buildings, landmarks and residential tower blocks, bringing to life the architecture of the borough. 

All events are free, however tickets are necessary. New Dawn’s highlights include:

Tall Tales (4 & 5 February 2022)

Merecliff – a residential tower in Stockbridge Village – is to be illuminated by a large-scale community artwork. The animation will tell the story of local people and communities, and will be accompanied by a soundtrack to add an extra layer to the work.

This exhibition will be brought by Illumios for two nights only in February; made in partnership with Knowsley Council, ForHousing and the local community.

Aqualux ( 14 – 28 January 2022)

Exhibited in Kirkby town centre for two weeks, Aqualux is a giant light installation that includes 48 containers holding the annual average water consumption of one person. By night, the illuminated artwork will be switched on and guided by music, in a bid to prove we must protect our water supplies.

The show will debut on Friday 14 January at 4pm. This will include performances from Spark illuminated drummers.

The Magic  Wood: A Fire Garden by  Walk The Plank (21 – 23 January 2022)

Halewood’s Court Farm Woods is to be transformed into a magical pageant of light and music for three consecutive evenings. The paths will be lined with copper flowers that exhale fire, complexly carved flaming flower boxes, and sculptural trees that will reconstruct the space into a magnificent outdoor gallery. 

A spectacle unique to Halewood, the exhibition will feature performances from Bring The Fire Project and music from harpist Rebecca Mills.

Gaia (28 January – 18 February 2022)

Gaia is a touring artwork created by Luke Jerram. Set to come to Kirkby’s St. Chad’s Church in the new year, the piece is a large-scale replica of the earth, using detailed imagery from NASA to recreate the planet’s surface. It serves as a unique opportunity to view our planet.

BAFTA award-winning composer Dan Jones has created a surround sound composition to accompany the art.

Submergence (12 – 26 February 2022)

Submergence is an immersive walkthrough experience displayed at Sherbourne Square in Huyton Village Centre. It consists of thousands of specific points of suspended light. Visitors are able – and encouraged to enter the artwork themselves to experience the light and illusion created.

Huyton will also be home to a second light installation still in development by  Squid Soup – more details to be announced soon.

New Dawn Light Spectacular at Knowsley Hall (18 & 19 February 2022)

The New Dawn programme will come to a spectacular climax over two consecutive evenings in February at Knowsley Hall. Delivered by video projection artists Illuminos and accompanied by an atmospheric soundtrack from renowned composer Patrick Dineen the spectacular will create a unique and memorable moment for all visitors.

Quentin Blake (17 January to 16 April 2022)

Kirkby Gallery’s first exhibition of the year will be ‘Quentin Blake: Illustrating Verse.’ Sir Quentin Blake – who has worked with the likes of Roald Dahl and Sylvia Plath – has personally selected 120 of his best illustrations, accompanying everything from comical poems to ballads. 

The Owl and the Pussy-cat Trail (Dates TBA soon)

Unknown to most; Edward Lear’s classic poem ‘The Owl and the Pussy-Cat’ was written at Knowsley Hall. This, and Lear’s other connections to the borough are to be celebrated throughout 2022 – most notably with a huge sculpture trail, featuring 16 pairs of owls and cats.

The organisers are keen to work with local creatives to bring Knowsley’s cultural identity to life through these magical sculptures. Local artists are encouraged to get involved!

The Opening of the Shakespeare North Playhouse (Summer 2022)

Completing the Shakespearean triangle, the Shakespeare North Playhouse is set to open in the summer of 2022. Not only will the Playhouse be host to brilliant Shakespearean drama; it will also have a programme of performances and cultural activity that spans many art forms and appeals to different audiences.

For more information visit www.shakespearenorthplayhouse.co.uk

Knowsley Flower Show and Feel Good Festival (6 & 7 August 2022)

Floral displays and family activities inspired to boost your wellbeing and mental health, the Knowsley Flower Show and Feel Good Festival is a free and fun event set to return on 6th and 7th of August at Court Hey Park, Huyton.

Celebrating Sport (Dates TBA soon)

With many local sporting legends to celebrate, Knowsley will be holding a borough-wide relay to celebrate their great achievements – which span from Olympic medal winners to European cup trophies!

Award Winning ‘As you write it’ Pieces (Dates TBA soon)

During the opening season of the new Shakespeare North Playhouse, the Playhouse will host exclusive award-winning performances by the young people who took part – and won – in the national competition run by BBC’s The One Show.

Ticket information available closer to the time.

National Gallery Masterpiece Tour (10 October – 17 December 2022)

Renowned artists will be displaying their work in Kirkby Gallery from 10 October 2022 until December 17. The exhibition will include work by Cezanne, Degas and Renoir, with the gallery being one of three places chosen across the whole of the UK to host the National Gallery Masterpiece tour of Degas’s ‘Helene Rouart in her Father’s Study’. 

This exhibition will coincide nicely with the international touring exhibition from Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum – ‘Making an Impressions: Prints by Manet, Pissaro and their Contemporaries’. 

These works will be found on the first floor of the Kirkby Centre, opening times being  Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm; and Saturdays 10am to 1pm.

For more information about Knowsley Borough of Culture 2022 head over to www.cultureknowsley.co.uk