Community Post Type: News

Are you a lover of crime fiction?

Make CIC residents Crime-Ink have just launched their online prescription service so you can get exciting thriller novels delivered straight to your door!

Their prescription boxes can also make a great gift!

Check them out here.

Birkenhead’s industry-leading community music venue, Future Yard, is set to play host to a trio of exciting summer events in August.

Kicking things off with the free entry Festival Days on 05.08, CRATE Market also returns on 19.08 alongside an exclusive headline performance from Dur-Dur Band International, before the bank holiday arrives to wrap-up proceedings on 25.08 with the Future Now Weekender + Pat Nevin World Cup 5-a-side Tournament.

Alongside the usual programme of exciting national and international artists set to perform at Future Yard, the venue is preparing for the busiest period of the summer that culminates with the annual Future Now Weekender.

August @ Future Yard Includes…

Festival Days #2 | 05.08.2023

• Blue Jean

• Hannah Weedall

• Liverpool Indie Choir

• DJs

• Family Activities

• Food + Drink from FY Bar + Kitchen

• Zest Limoncello

• Glen Affric Takeover

• More TBA

More Details Here.

CRATE #8 + Dur-Dur Band Int. | 19.08.2023

• Vinyl Fair

• Craft Beer Market

• Dur-Dur Band International (Live)

More Details Here. Dur-Dur Band International Tickets Here.

Future Now Weekender + Pat Nevin World Cup | 25-27.08.2023

• The Bug Club 25.08

• Christian Lee Hutson

• Personal Trainer

• Treeboy & Arc

• Seal Cub Clubbing Club

• Sylvie

• BODEGA 26.08

• Baba Ali

• Bo Ningen

• Butch Kassidy

• Heartworms

• Spielmann

• Tapir!

• Wesley Gonazlez

• Local emerging artists on both days

• 5-a-side Football Tournament 27.08

More Details and Weekend + Day Tickets Here.

Pat Nevin World Cup Details (including how to enter) here.

Reaching its 10th edition this summer, Liverpool Disco Festival embodies the enduring spirit of a truly iconic party whose roots run deep in upbeat, vocal, glitter-infused house and disco.

The festival has been honoured to bring inspiring new artists from across Europe along with Stateside soulful genre legends to create a kaleidoscopic get together which continues to cross genres and boundaries.

Liverpool Disco Festival’s tenth edition takes place on Saturday August 19th at CONTENT. Across the day and night, celebrated live performers and disco diggers will unite in a vibrant celebration. 

Chicago House Legends Ten City makes their debut with a full band and will be performing their stand-out tracks including That’s The Way Love Is, My Piece Of Heaven, Right Back To You, Whatever Makes You Happy and Devotion. Byron Stingily, an integral part of Ten City, will also be performing his solo hits Make Me Feel Mighty Real and Get Up Everybody. The true voice of Soulful House Kenny Bobien (Father/Brighter Day) will be joining Ten City and Byron on stage for what will be an unmissable show of quintessential house music artists. 

NYC disco legends and LDF favourites Odyssey return to Liverpool Disco Festival with a full band to perform their hits Going Back To My Roots, Inside Out, Sex in The City series Native New Yorker plus classics from Chic, Sister Sledge and more.

The bands are joined at CONTENT by John Morales of 1970s NYC Studio 54 fame who has been a resident for LDF since its inception in 2016 and bids farewell to his faithful crowd as part of a worldwide retirement tour.  In addition, Glitterbox and Defected’s Kirollus and Marcel Vogel are supported by Rahaan, Malfalda B2B Rebecca Vasmant, Sy Sez, Morgan and Dharma Collective.

As part of the weekend’s extended festivities, LDF host their traditional ‘Welcome To The Disco Session’ on Friday 18th August and Sunday ‘Sign Off’ Session on 20th August respectively at the wonderful surroundings of The Botanical Garden. Main event ticket holders for Saturday’s event at CONTENT gain exclusive complimentary entry for Friday and Sunday’s parties.  

James Morgan, Liverpool Disco Festival’s founder, says: “It’s been a rollercoaster ride since hosting my first party in my adopted city of Liverpool way back on a Sunday night in 2007 with Louie Vega in the basement of the Magnet. The venue and experience produced a drive in me to extend and push the soulful sound of disco and house throughout the city and further afield. Our bi-annual main Disco Festival events are the cumulation of that and it’s clear to see that it brings a lot of people a huge amount of joy as they dance, hug, smile and connect positively via the unifying message which Disco & House music undoubtably bring in abundance.” 

Liverpool Disco Festival was formed in many late night sessions at The Magnet as Hustle, where James nurtured a sound which had until then never really taken hold in Liverpool or at that juncture in a festival capacity elsewhere. Since inception successive years have drawn in ever more bigger and diverse crowds and created a uniquely fun and friendly party which continues to chart its own course. 

The tenth edition promises to be the best Liverpool Disco Festival to date. 

Liverpool Disco Festival, Saturday 19th August, CONTENT, Cains Brewery Village, Stanhope St, Liverpool, L8 5XJ

Ten City and Odyssey live, plus John Morales, Kirollus, Marcel Vogel B2B Rahan, Malfalda B2B Rebecca Vasmant, Sy Sez, Morgan and Dharma Collective.

Doors Open: 2pm – midnight

Tickets and info at: https://www.skiddle.com/g/liverpooldiscofestival

The Walker Art Gallery has announced the five paintings shortlisted for the John Moores Painting Prize 2023.

They are: Social Murder: Grenfell In Three Parts by Nicholas Baldion, Light Industry by Graham Crowley, Stochastic 14 by Emily Kraus, Other Light by Damian Taylor and Champagne Cascade I by Francisco Valdes.

The shortlisted works are among 70 paintings to be shown in the John Moores Painting Prize 2023 exhibition, at the Walker from 16 September 2023 to 25 February 2024.

The first prize winner, to be announced on 14 September 2023, will receive not only the £25,000 first prize, but also the honour of joining an esteemed list of UK based painters who have won the Prize over the past 65 years. The winning painting will be acquired by the Walker Art Gallery and join its world-class collection, while the artist will also have a future solo display at the gallery. Each of the other shortlisted artists will receive £2,500.

The winner of the Lady Grantchester Prize for recent graduates, those who are within five years of graduation, or students who are currently in their final year of a UK-based arts-related course, will be announced alongside the First prize winner on 14 September 2023. They will receive £5,000, a residency and £2,500 worth of art materials, supported by Winsor & Newton. 22 out of the 70 exhibiting artists qualify for the Lady Grantchester prize this year.

Visitors to the exhibition will also be invited to vote for their favourite painting to win the popular Visitors’ Choice Award, sponsored by Rathbones. The winning artist will receive £2,023

Shortlisted artists and their work:  

Nicholas Baldion – Social Murder: Grenfell In Three Parts 

Nicholas Baldion has exhibited work throughout the UK, including at Mall Galleries, the People’s History Museum and The Jewish Museum in London. A social realist concern has always been the basis for his work.

Social Murder: Grenfell in Three Parts tells the story of what happened before and after the 2017 fire at the Grenfell Tower in London. The middle panel shows the tower on the night of the fire. When the triptych is closed, the green heart – a symbol of Grenfell – is visible. The writing on the reverse was added by members of the local community nearby to Grenfell Tower. It stands as a testimony, which is to be added to as the painting continues its journey.

Graham Crowley – Light Industry 

Graham Crowley’s work has been shown extensively in England and Europe, including exhibitions at the Venice and Paris biennales and at The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. He is included in a number of public collections and has also completed several large-scale public commissions. Crowley worked originally as an abstract painter but began to paint figuratively in the 1970s.

Light Industry is inspired by luminosity in painting. The artist has always been fascinated by paintings like those of Manet. The way in which the image and the painting as its own object can be seen simultaneously – fused together as a single, luminous entity – is one of painting’s defining characteristics.

Emily Kraus – Stochastic 14  

Represented by The Sunday Painter Gallery in London, Emily Kraus received her Painting MA from the Royal College of Art in London (2022) and a BA in Religious Studies from Kenyon College (2017). Kraus has an extensive background in meditative, yogic and somatic practices which impacts the pace and movement with which she creates.

Kraus works inside a cubic scaffold structure around which she stretches a canvas loop. It is a shelter, a constraint, a tabernacle and a boundary. The mechanism itself — rolling bars and canvas with no end — is a metaphor for the cyclical world. To create an organic image within a rigid system whose nature is to make repetitive marks requires listening, attention and rebellion.

Damian Taylor – Other Light 

Damian Taylor works in London, in a studio beside the River Thames. He studied at Chelsea College of Art, followed by an MA at the Slade School of Fine Art, and holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford, where he currently teaches. He has received fellowships from Oxford and Yale and published in journals such as October, Oxford Art Journal, British Art Studies, and Sculpture Journal.

Other Light is described as “something about time and something about light,” and about unfixing historical attempts to fix things that are always in motion. It explores layers and sedimentation—sedimentations of organic life, rock, paint, time, along with painting and what it can be in a world saturated with images on screens. The painting is about photography and its history, magic and banality – and a little bit about men explaining things to women.

Francisco Valdes – Champagne Cascade I 

Francisco Valdes is a Chilean-born artist, based in the UK. He holds an MFA from Goldsmiths College in London where he currently lives and works. From 2003 to 2005 he attended the postgraduate studio programme at the Jan van Eyck Akademie in the Netherlands. Since 1990 he has held more than 20 solo shows.

Champagne Cascade I combines textures, surfaces and colours to produce sensations that images and figures alone would never reach. It explores the photographic medium from different angles, often disregarding its usual applications and choosing to subjectify other aspects apart from the content, such as techniques, materials and processes.

The 2023 jury – Alexis Harding, Chila Kumari Singh Burman MBE, Marlene Smith, The White Pube and Yu Hong – chose the prize winners and the long list of other exhibiting artists from more than 3,000 entries – the most the John Moores Painting Prize has ever received. From large scale canvases, bold in brush strokes and colour, to exquisitely detailed pieces, the exhibition covers a wide range of styles, united by their use of paint.

The full list of artists exhibiting in the John Moores Painting Prize 2023 is here.  

The John Moores Painting Prize has awarded more than £685,000 in prize money across 31 exhibitions, which have showcased more than 2,350 works of art. It presents a rich history of post-war painting in Britain. The first exhibition was held only six years after the Walker Art Gallery re-opened following the Second World War.

Past prize winners include David Hockney (1967), Mary Martin (1969), Lisa Milroy (1989), Peter Doig (1993), Keith Coventry (2010), Rose Wylie (2014), Michael Simpson (2016), Jacqui Hallum (2018) and most recently Kathryn Maple (2020). Sir Peter Blake, winner of the competition’s Junior Prize in 1961, is Patron of the Prize.

2020 John Moores Painting Prize winner Kathryn Maple’s winning painting ‘The Common’ is now part of the permanent collection at the Walker Art Gallery. She also held her first solo display at the gallery, Under a Hot Sun, earlier in 2023.

For further information on the John Moores Painting Prize 2023 exhibition and to book tickets, visit www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/jmpp-2023

From Friday 8 September, FACT will launch four new digital artworks by Liverpool and Manchester based artists Dongni Liang, Nicole Prior, Charlotte Southall and Ellie Towers.

Working across film, alternative reality, performance, games, textiles and sculpture, the FACT Together 2022 artist cohort consider the different ways technology affects our collective existence and respond to experiences of togetherness across physical and digital formats.

The display runs from 8 September – 8 October and is a focal point to engage with the works, as well as gain further insight into the artists’ practices.

Since 2020, FACT has supported 20 emerging artists from the North of England and provided over £30,000 in grants as part of its FACT Together residency programme. This exhibition marks an important moment ahead of the opening of Studio/Lab in October 2023, a space dedicated to supporting researchers, curators and artists to create new works and present and test ideas.

Nicole Prior (Manchester) investigates the intersection between art, digital technology and human behaviour. With a focus on the impact of surveillance and data collection, Prior’s “digital experiments” raise questions around data ownership and consent in commerce.

As an outcome of her FACT Together residency, Prior presents LAB_our (2023) an interactive website and digital installation. Within the work, Prior raises questions around how our data is used now, and may be used in the future. Visitors to the website and gallery installation are invited to interact with her playful website, which mimics the trend-focused marketing language used by big corporations to encourage data collection. Her film adopts the visual language of surveillance footage to draw attention to how often our movements are captured without our knowledge or explicit consent.

Dongni Liang (Liverpool) presents Kudzu Whispers (2023), an online collection of video works, speculative fiction and audio. Within the work, Liang blends archival imagery and computer generated footage to reimagine the Kudzu plant’s migration story within the Stanley Dock area of Liverpool, an important site for trading during the height of the British Empire.

Long used in traditional Chinese medicine, Kudzu was introduced to the West in the early twentieth century and later considered an invasive species. The work reflects on the responses and rebellions of natural ecosystems alongside the construction of urban landscapes. By imagining the Kudzu plant growing in Liverpool’s North docks and abandoned factories, Liang asks visitors to consider the closely intertwined relationship between the natural and human environment, and to rethink perspectives on movement and migration.

Charlotte Southall (Liverpool) works across textile, video, sculpture and memes, to explore the idea of post-digital identity. To conclude her residency, Southall presents The Perfect Influence (2023), a multimedia presentation building on her digital clone, SkinnyChip2, initially developed in 2019.

Southall’s practice is rooted in the intimate relationship between our physical and digital selves, and how our online presence can be manipulated and capitalised on. By training a chatbot with advertising data and influencer content from Instagram, the artist has given SkinnyChip2 a new-found persona. This advancement of SkinnyChip2 using AI is presented in multiple works that play with the tensions between what is considered real in the digital age.

Ellie Towers (Liverpool) combines handmade elements, 3D-rendering and stop-motion animation to present Rest Rooms (2023), a film inspired by lost public places in Liverpool. Depicting a journey through underground and hidden spaces, the film evokes the nostalgic feel of a misremembered video game.

Towers invites viewers to explore the anxieties, functionalities, and joys of community spaces. Through anecdote, reflection, and memory, the work calls into question the role of preservation and creation, as you contemplate the intricate relationships we have with public and private places.

Ellie Towers, FACT Together 2022 Artist, said: “Creating within the FACT Together residency has not only elevated my practice but has also opened up many new opportunities and ways of thinking. The unwavering support and confidence provided within the programme has strengthened me as an artist, while the time and financial aid has allowed me to venture into exciting and less familiar processes like stop-motion animation and integrating my installation making into film.”

Lesley Taker, Studio/Lab Manager at FACT, said: “Our ongoing FACT Together residency has proved an incredibly exciting way to work with emerging artists across the North. It’s given them – and us – the room to experiment, play, and try out new things. This year it has been amazing to see how the artists engaged with concepts of liveness and performance, and the ways digital spaces affect our identities – both positively and negatively.”

For more information visit fact.co.uk

Slavery Remembrance Day 2023 will look at the theme of transformation through a series of lectures, workshops, and performances, as National Museums Liverpool, Liverpool City Council and other partners across the city observe this important date in the calendar.

This year, Slavery Remembrance Day is a week-long series of activities from Sunday 20 August to Sunday 27 August, as the city comes together to reflect, remember and encourage learning.

Since 1999, Liverpool has marked Slavery Remembrance Day on 23 August. This is a significant date as it commemorates an uprising of enslaved Africans on the island of Saint Domingue (modern Haiti) in 1791. The date has been designated by UNESCO as a reminder that enslaved Africans were the main agents of their own liberation.

Liverpool was the European capital of the transatlantic slave trade, responsible for half of Britain’s trade. The ships set sail from Liverpool with goods and franchise, which were exchanged for enslaved men, women and children on the west coast of Africa who were then taken across the Atlantic on a horrendous journey known as ‘The Middle Passage.’ Slavery Remembrance Day acknowledges this major period of trauma and injustice in world history which is too often forgotten – or not even acknowledged.

Michelle Charters, Trustee at National Museums Liverpool, said: “As someone who has been involved with NML’s, International Slavery Museum (concept and growth since 1994), it is good to see that the 2023 Slavery Remembrance Day has expanded its activities this year.  Going forward, we are committed to ensuring this comprehensive partnership approach continues to develop and grow. We thank all contributors and partner organisations who, over the last 24 years have played their part in ensuring we continue to reflect, remember and acknowledge our ancestors.”

Each year Slavery Remembrance Day invites a keynote speaker to deliver the prestigious Dorothy Kuya Slavery Remembrance Memorial Lecture. This year, Professor Hakim Adi, Professor of the History of Africa and the African Diaspora at the University of Chichester will deliver the lecture – a key part of Liverpool’s Slavery Remembrance Day programme, which takes place at Liverpool Town Hall on Tuesday 22 August.

A Walk of Remembrance and libation ceremony will take place on Wednesday 23 August. Starting at 12pm from Williamson Square, the walk takes people on a journey through Liverpool, highlighting areas of historical significance across the city, with performances at various places including the Bluecoat and Liverpool ONE, with a performance by Katumba. The event ends with a libation ceremony at Canning Dock.

Other events throughout the week include curator talks from National Museums Liverpool, including ‘Carving Out Truths’ – exploring the links between Walker Art Gallery’s sculpture gallery and the slave trade, and the opportunity to meet the International Slavery Museum’s curatorial team to find out about their research on collections, and what they can tell us about slavery and its legacies.

Claire Benjamin, Head of Learning & Participation at National Museums Liverpool, said: “Slavery Remembrance Day allows us to consider the many legacies and achievements of people of African heritage throughout the diaspora. It is also a time to reflect on the continuing fight against racism today. While Transatlantic Slavery is over, the foundations on which it stood have not been fully dismantled.

“We are honoured to once again be a part of the city’s Slavery Remembrance Day commemorations, bringing the city together in remembrance and action.”

For full listings including information on other artists talks taking place and details of all events, please visit: www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/SRD.

The Beatles Story invites you to celebrate International Beatleweek with a whole host of free events in their Fab4 Café and Discovery Zone at the historic Royal Albert Dock.

‘Come Together’ to learn about and enjoy the story of your favourite band with the people who lived alongside them. You will have the opportunity to meet John Lennon’s sister Julia, and friends of The Beatles Mike and Bernie Byrne, who will be signing copies of their books.

Include the whole family, too, with fun educational workshops in The Discovery Zone, including crafts, music, storytelling and more!

Julia Baird: My Brother The Poet

20th August 2023 1pm The Fab4 Café, Royal Albert Dock

Julia Baird – author, teacher and John Lennon’s little sister – invites you to explore John’s life and words at The Beatles Story in the lead up to International Beatleweek.

The Beatles Story’s Nick Hale will be reading extracts of John’s work, with Julia providing insights into the meaning of John’s words and into his life at the time of writing. The event will be an insightful and moving exploration into the work of one of the 20th Century’s most famous poets, John Lennon.

Stick around after the talk for live music and cocktails – and you’ll also have the opportunity to meet Julia and purchase a signed copy of her book ‘Imagine This’.

Julia’s book ‘Imagine This’ is the true story of John Lennon’s childhood and reveals the full extent of the pain and difficulties – as well as the happier times – that living inside of John Lennon’s family brought. The book is available to buy on site in their Fab4 Store.

Live music: ‘The Global Beatles’ and ‘Mike Byrne & the Sunrockers’

25th August 2023 1pm The Fab4 Café, Royal Albert Dock

in their mutual love of The Beatles, ‘The Global Beatles’ have Come Together from Canada, the UK, and the USA to perform at The Beatles Story this International Beatleweek. Expect a music-filled afternoon and enjoy the sounds of Merseybeat musician Mike Byrne and his band the Sunrockers!

Stick around to get your copy of ‘The Birth of The Beatles Story’ signed by authors Bernadette Byrne, a Cavern regular who went on to date both George and Paul, and Mike Byrne, a fellow Merseybeat musician and acquaintance of The Beatles. The book is the story of their amazing and uniquely personal journey. They not only witnessed music history being made but they went on to build The Beatles Story. The book is available to buy on site in our Fab4 Store.

Open Mic and The Beatles Story pub quiz

Sunday 27th August 10am – 6pm The Fab4 Café, Royal Albert Dock

The Beatles Story invites you to enjoy free entertainment – or why not join in! The award-winning attraction is hosting an open mic day packed with music, fascinating talks, and more – and you’re invited to come along and show off your talents! The event is suitable for all ages, and the attraction’s Discovery Zone will be hosting free craft activities for families. Find out more…

If you’re interested in performing, simply come along on the day and book your slot with a member of staff.
Stick around and test your knowledge with The Beatles Story pub quiz! There’s no need to book, so turn up and enjoy the free quiz – the winning group will receive a gift hamper of Beatles goodies! The quiz will begin at 4:30pm. Find out more…

Discovery Zone free educational workshops

Every day in the Summer holidays 11am – 3pm The Discovery Zone, The Beatles Story

Here Comes The Sun! Come Together with all the family this August at The Beatles Story’s Discovery Zone and enjoy a series of FREE Summer workshops. Join in with an exciting range of activities including crafts, music, storytelling and more. Award-winning ‘The Beatles Story’ on the Royal Albert Dock is the perfect family day out to learn all about Liverpool’s famous Fab Four sons, after which you can relax and listen to your favourite Beatles’ songs in the

Beatles-themed Fab4 Cafe. Evoking the spirit of the 1960s with hints of Abbey Road and Revolver under Cavern-club style arches, sit back and enjoy speciality coffees and fantastic pastries. Finish your perfect day by browsing through a fantastic range of gifts and souvenirs available in the Fab4 Store. There’s something for all the family this summer at The Beatles Story.

Here Comes The Gin!

The Beatles Story is proud to have developed a range of four fab flavoured gins with the locally-based Murphy’s Gin. While you’re at The Fab4 Café, you can try the brand-new bespoke flavours and buy your favourite from The Fab4 Store!

To buy tickets to The Beatles Story exhibition, visit beatlesstory.com

The Grand Central Dome in Liverpool’s Renshaw Street has already proved to be a huge hit with partygoers intent on a great night out, all based around live music and DJ events, and the buzz is already building around Stardust, who will be hosting one of their legendary nights there this autumn.

Stardust is the brainchild of two of the city’s most successful promoters, Pez Tellett and Peter Wilson, who have both earned solid reputations for attracting the very best talent. 

Stardust has already enjoyed a hugely successful run of events, building its own global following after already hosting internationally renowned and recognised artists such as Purple Disco Machine, Mousse T, Dr. Packer, Danny Krevit, Full Intention, Lenny Fontana, Late Night Tuff Guy and The Reflex, to name but a few. This next event is one which is already creating a huge wave of excitement. 

Devoted to music lovers who are all about infectious disco and house energy, the night will be an unforgettable event filled with mirror ball beats, non-stop dancing, featuring a stellar line up designed to draw in the most discerning of crowds. The confirmed acts are the best-of-the-best, with Dimitri From Paris in place as the headliner. This elegantly devoted dance music fanatic has a career which has already spanned three decades, and is a cult figure for dance music connoisseurs. His eclectic taste, which he will be bringing to Stardust, takes inspiration from 70’s funk and disco, through to house, with reference to 50’s and 60’s cult movie soundtracks. From Ibiza to Tokyo, via the Royal Albert Hall, Dmitiri From Paris brings his own uplifting sensibilities, which has seen him delight the crowds at Glitterbox this summer at The Superclub Hi.

Melon Bomb have already built a determined following and after a busy summer in Ibiza and Croatia, as well as hearing their mixes in the dance tent at Glastonbury. This team will also be bringing their explosive vibe to the Stardust event. An award-winning collective of Paul Reynolds, Scott Gray, Ben Santiago and Corbi, Melon Bomb bring with them a wealth of experience and their own unique take on straight-up house music, blended with elements of funk and disco. 

Ralphie Dee will be bringing his own legendary status with him to the event. With a covetable CV spinning back to New York’s legendary, original disco days, back to the venue where Saturday Night Fever was filmed, the soundtrack of which really launched disco as a worldwide dance movement, the 2001 Odyssey Disco in Brooklyn. His career starting at just 16 meant that Ralphie Dee’s pioneering style has taken him though the 80’s to the 2020’s, having collaborated with the finest names as well as being awarded a Legends of Vinyl DJ Hall of Fame award.

A spokesperson for Stardust adds: “This city is one which loves a party, and so it doesn’t really obey rules about seasons ending – it’s all about extending the disco vibe all-year-round.

When it came to working with a location which would be able to host this amazing Stardust event, there was really only one venue we had in mind: The Grand Central Dome. With a state-of-the-art sound system, updated lighting and venue amenities, as well as a new air-conditioning system, we needed a space which could accommodate world-class DJ sets as well as a major crowd. Its stunning original 1920’s features also add a sense of history and embrace a theatrical atmosphere.

Here at Stardust we are delighted to have signed such prestigious headlining acts for our night, each with their own flavour and reputations. Most of all, we are pleased that Liverpool as a city holds its own against some of the leading dance locations around the globe, and Stardust at The Grand Central Dome will give everyone something to look forward to this autumn.

We know the crowd will give our talented headliners a warm welcome, and in return will be provided with the best night out that the dance world has to offer.”

Stardust’s event will take place on Saturday 21st October 2023 at Grand Central Hall, Renshaw Street, Liverpool.

Ticket information is available here: https://skiddle.com/e/36398433

 

One of Europe’s first ever giant outdoor digital billboards, the Liverpool Media Wall, has been a city beacon for 15 years. Last week, the British grime artist Stormzy and Rockstar Energy took over the Wall for an interactive digital concert.

After 15 years as the Gateway to Liverpool, thousands of campaigns and two £1 million facelifts, the legendary Liverpool Media Wall, Ocean Outdoor’s first ever large format full motion screens, deserves its moment in the spotlight. So here are 15 milestones and special moments which define the Liverpool Media Wall, its originality, place and purpose.

Top of the Pops. Measuring a mighty 30.36m long and 6.58m high, the unmissable Liverpool Media Wall (LMW) was first unveiled on July 22^nd 2008 with big brands like Coca-Cola, now official partner of Liverpool FC, among the first advertisers.

That was the year Liverpool was European Capital of Culture, the LMW adding to the international reputation of Liverpool as a modern, forward-thinking city.

Ocean’s first large format full motion digital screen was originally designed as a façade along the Lime Street entrance to St John’s shopping centre. It’s a one-of-a-kind bespoke City Gateway which sits directly facing the entrance / exit to Liverpool Lime Street.

From Usain Bolt and Stormzy to Kermit the Frog, a plethora of famous faces, stars and legends have lit up the Liverpool Media Wall which reaches more than one million people a fortnight.

The Liverpool Media Wall not only walks the walk, it talks the talk. In 2009 Virgin Trains advertised their fast connections to London by “talking” to people who were passing by, delivering personalised messages in real time.

In 2013, the LMW became a permanent fixture, receiving a £1million upgrade using smart technology to reduce its running costs and power consumption. Better screen resolution also improved the viewer experience.

For the People. “The Liverpool Media Wall has become part of the fabric of Liverpool. It forms part of Liverpool’s annual Remembrance Day Services and is used to mark important events like the 30^th anniversary of the Hillsborough Disaster. In its role as a community noticeboard, the Media Wall will continue to support causes that are important to the city and people of Liverpool,” says Susan Finnigan, Commercial Director, Culture Liverpool.

Lest We Forget. On November 8 2015 the Wall broadcast a specially produced film made by Welton Media, telling the story of Liverpool’s involvement in the Great War, featuring photographs of local people and their role in the war effort. This was the first time that long play content had been designed specifically for broadcast through DOOH.

The LMW continues to push boundaries. In 2017 it was transformed into a vast virtual tank using CGI to raise the plight of Orcas being held in captivity. Created on behalf of The Born Free Foundation, the work went on to win a prestigious industry Cannes Lions.

Liverpool in lockdown. During the pandemic, the LMW joined other landmarks saying thank you to local heroes and key workers on the frontline who had gone above and beyond to keep the city going.

So what lies ahead for the next 15?

Mark Williams, Executive Director, RivingtonHark, said: “An integral part of St Johns, the iconic Liverpool Media Wall is designed to welcome everyone to a creative, friendly and diverse city. Ocean have been great partners to work with and have enthusiastically partnered with us in supporting Liverpool through all major events that have impacted the city. Over the next 15 years, working together, we will continue to deliver long term value to all stakeholders, the wider community, Liverpool City Council and the people of Liverpool.”

Video: Happy 15th Birthday Liverpool Media Wall on Vimeo