Bluecoat is delighted to launch a new programme that will support and promote the work of Liverpool City Region artists.
The programme will launch with exhibitions from selected artists Josie Jenkins and Kiara Mohamed, before new opportunities for local artists are announced in the new year.
In December, Arena Studios based artist Josie Jenkins is presenting Assembled Worlds, a collection of recent paintings that try to find order in a chaotic world.
Josie said: “It is a huge privilege to exhibit at Bluecoat, following in the footsteps of so many great artists, but even more so as an artist who lives and works in Liverpool. I’m always keen to engage a local audience with my work and this is a fantastic opportunity to do that, through exhibiting in one of the city’s major public art galleries.”
January will see Kiara Mohamed’s new film The Lives We Lead (2020), which captures the everyday events of the first lockdown in 2020, against the global backdrop of Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter. Kiara said: “Showing The Lives We Lead in the gallery is important to me because Bluecoat is the second oldest building in the city and by default an old colonial space.
The film is a celebration of the Black and Brown lives in Liverpool but also an acknowledgement of how far we have yet to go in the UK to bring justice for the lives of Black people. The UK gets to get away with comparing themselves to America and say that we are not racist. The truth is, we are and Black Lives Matter movement is not just for the American people but across the world.”
The exhibitions come as Bluecoat renews its focus on showing work from artists living and working in the Liverpool city region, which will result in a series of exhibitions in the summer. The programme will have a fast changeover to allow for a greater number of artists to be shown.
The emphasis is on existing art works made recently that haven’t been shown in a public gallery or museum before, with support at every stage in mounting their exhibition.
Marie-Anne McQuay, Bluecoat’s Head of Programme said: At Bluecoat we bring together artists from all over the world but we need to renew our efforts to nurture local talent. Josie Jenkins and Kiara Mohamed are testament to the strength of the Liverpool arts scene and we’re delighted to be able to show new work from them.
We also want to make more spontaneous opportunities and slots available as we change the dynamic of our exhibition making in the coming months and years”.
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