Category: Culture Radar

This week our Culture Radar guest is Stakeholder Relations Manager at Liverpool John Moores University, Kerry Weeks (pictured above, right).

Loved: I visited the incredible, immersive Beyond Van Gogh event at the ACC last month and was blown away by this unique approach to experiencing art. I expected it to be visually stunning, but the audio really added to how immersive the experience is and took it to another level.

Looking forward to: This week I had a speedy glance around the fabulous Liverpool Art Fair at the Liver Building as I had a meeting there. I’m planning to go back and take my time, because it definitely warrants a proper visit. For a slight change of pace, tonight I’m heading to the Liverpool Indoor Funfair with my wife! We’re huge fans of funfairs and always make an effort to support the incredible showmen and their families to continue this fabulous tradition.

Trivia: My wife and I film and vlog our visits to theme parks and fun fairs in the UK and overseas, including capturing our on-ride experience on coasters and rides. This has become a real passion of ours over the past two years. It’s given us insight to the fascinating life of the showman and immersed us in the incredible community of showmen, workers and enthusiasts around the world. You can find us @themeparksandadventures on TikTok and YouTube.

 

This week our Culture Radar guest is the Founder and Managing Director of Focal Studios, Dennis Outten.

Loved: We really enjoyed the dance, music, arts, theatre, new street art and comedy at New Brighton Arts Festival, which was organised by one of our partners, CChange (Holy Family Multi Academy Trust) who are also based on Victoria Road. It was fantastic to see how their creative curriculum has directly impacted the lives and aspirations of so many young people who performed or took part in the festival. 

We even got to see scouse legends Space play on the main stage with some of our projection mapping onto Good Hood forming an immersive backdrop!

Looking forward to: It’s another shameless plug for a Wirral event but we’re so excited for the Future Now Festival at Future Yard on Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th August. Especially the peerless Wirral-born She Drew The Gun, whose visceral, hard hitting songwriting expounds the wild injustices faced in 21st century Britain after 14 years of Conservative rule. 

The festival has grown so much that it’s taking over Birkenhead Town Hall and multiple venues across the town, promising to be an incredible weekend of musical talent and celebration. Considering its only 1 stop on the train from James Street, there’s no reason for the Scouse psychological divide to hinder attendance across the water! 

Trivia: Focal Studios have recently taken over the upper floors of the old Natwest Bank on Victoria Road, New Brighton, that we’re turning into a Creative Technology Hub. It’s situated above Jayne Casey’s (CREAM, District, Baltic Triangle) amazing new venue and is promising to be an incredible addition to the city region’s most thriving seaside creative community – Costa Del Newbo. We can’t wait to share it with everyone and begin making an impact on the livelihoods of creatives in the region.

We also have an incredible immersive installation opening in Wilkie’s New Palace (the 1920s fronted arcade and funfair) with artist Di Mainstone, which is a real coup for the region. If you haven’t popped over yet to check out the world-class street art, bars/pubs, cafes/restaurants, galleries, seaside heritage and event spaces, grab your sunnies and come check it out. You’ll probably end up moving here with the rest of us!

Our Culture Radar guest this week is Digital Marketing, Communications and Content Producer at Open Eye Gallery, Maria Gulina.

Loved: I love the current exhibition at Open Eye Gallery. It’s called A Place Of Our Own and it brings together the local stories of people across Walton (North Liverpool), Prescot (Knowsley) and Chester town centre. All the works produced are examples of socially engaged projects, meaning that photographers and local communities have come together to co-author work which best reflects their local area. Whilst the three projects show varying views and responses to each location, what connects them is a clear pride in people’s memories and associations with each place.

Looking forward to: I’m really looking forward to the next project we are working on: LOOK Climate Lab 2024! We’ll be bringing together researchers and artists to show how photography can be a relevant and powerful medium for talking about climate change, and the events programme is looking very exciting. Mark your calendars: we’re opening on 18th January 2024.

Trivia: It was sad (but eye-opening) to learn more about Roma and Traveller communities. One of our socially engaged photographers, Ciara Leeming, worked with Roma and Traveller girls and women, to produce a zine and an exhibition. Roma and Traveller communities are already among the most marginalised in Britain – with a life expectancy 10-12 years below the national average. They face a lot of stereotypes, and I hope that our exhibition and the zine with their honest and brave stories will encourage empathy and understanding.