In 2023, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) will be celebrating its 125 Anniversary. The work of LSTM has saved millions of lives, kickstarted extraordinary medical breakthroughs, democratised care across the globe and won a Nobel Prize.
The city of Liverpool is proud to be the home to LSTM – a city of music, storytelling and culture of which scientific discovery and creativity is at the heart.
To mark this extraordinary anniversary, but more importantly to look forward to what LSTM is hoping to achieve in the future, LSTM and Culture Liverpool have come together to create a unique arts and engagement project – Alchemy.
What is it?
Alchemy will bring together up to 10 extraordinary scientists with 10 leading artists to collaborate and create a series of new public realm commissions
These artworks will each tell the story of the research and development the scientists are working on and in doing so create exciting and accessible ways for audiences to engage in the work of LSTM.
Individually these works will be a deep dive into the art of science, yet collectively will tell a story about human ingenuity, creative curiosity and the joy of discovery.
Why are they doing it?
Alchemy will achieve a number of aims:
- Celebrate and showcase the incredible work of the global scientific communities in LSTM in pushing forward the boundaries of medical science.
- Create a platform for a wide and diverse range of artists
- Be a key building block in the evolving narrative of Liverpool as a centre for culture and science
- Create a unique and compelling ‘outdoor gallery’ which will move the audience around key parts of the city centre which relate to the subject
- Create a launching off point to inspire a wide range of audiences to find out more
- Create a ‘global gallery’ to engage audiences in LSTM partner organisations across the world
What are they looking for?
They are looking for artists who:
- Have a history of creating high quality work for the public realm
- Are willing to work in collaboration with a scientist from LSTM to co-create a concept
- Have a history of producing work at scale and which is widely accessible
They have a particular interest in working with artists from;
Liverpool City Region
The countries in which LSTM operates – particularly in Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia including Malawi, Kenya, South Sudan and Zimbabwe.
They are looking for responses from; painters, film makers, graphic designers, games makers, sculptors, muralists and everything in between
Timeline
Expression of Interest from artist – Friday 24 June
Please send an email which includes:
Name
Where you are based
A portfolio or link to artist website
A short paragraph on your work and why you are interested in this project
Submit to eliza.willis@liverpool.gov.uk before 12.00 on Friday 24 June
Artists shortlisted and confirmed – Friday 1 July
Initial meeting with scientists – w/c 25 July
Stage 1 development – August – October
Please be aware you will need to be available for either in person or virtual meetings with the scientist you are working with during this period.
Initial proposals and costings – November
Final works commissioned – December
Artwork installation – May 2023
Alchemy opens – Friday 26 May 2023
Runs until end of 2023