Community Post Type: News

A new sonic wellness walking tour through Liverpool city centre launches this Autumn. Sound Drops, created by artists Sarah Stephenson and Roger Hill, are a series of audio interventions at six locations through the city centre.

Conceived as a joint project during lockdown, Sound Drops works on a theory that a combination of words, tuned and untuned sound and field recordings could have a restorative effect on people’s minds and spirits when experienced in relation to personal crises or intensely troubling moments. At a period when mental health issues are acute, the Sound Drops offer a moment of mindfulness amid a busy city.

The six Sound Drops are located at Williamson Square, The Athenaeum at Church Alley, Liverpool ONE, Liverpool Parish Church Gardens, Open Eye Gallery, Exchange Flags. Accessed digitally via a QR code, each location has a bench, offering an opportunity to sit and take a moment to pause. Alternatively, the Sound Drops can be accessed and listened to on foot.

Roger and Sarah say,

“We do hope that people will have positive experiences from our work and gain some perspective on their daily life from time spent with the ‘Sound Drops’”

Liverpool BID Company has supported the installation of the Sound Drops. CEO Bill Addy says,

“We know many people struggle with their mental health and have moments in their everyday life where they need to stop, pause and feel calm. These Sound Drops are an intervention in the public realm, not simply to inject our spaces with art, but also mindfulness. Mental health, and looking after our mental health should have no stigma, it should be something we can see and talk about in our daily lives. In creating this route we want to give people an opportunity to focus on themselves, if only for a moment, while we raise the profile of the importance of our mental health as a city”.

Read more here https://www.liverpoolbidcompany.com/portfolio-items/sound-drops/

Listen to the Sound Drops here https://soundcloud.com/user-610293749

Sean Webster is a celebrated UK artist who has risen to prominence through his iconic street art murals in his hometown of Liverpool – courting widespread acclaim and commissions from Robbie Williams, Sean Lennon, Newton Faulkner, Brian Ray, and Phil X of Bon Jovi.

The rising-star has announced a landmark NFT project which will make metaverse history by becoming the first to ban ‘optional royalties’ in a bid to protect the rights of fellow artists and creators.

Titled ‘The Pals Universe’, Sean will be unveiling 4,444 totally unique hand drawn NFTs in his signature ‘doodle’ style which will be available on 11th November. These will be 100% mint free¹  – giving collectors the chance to support Sean’s movement, and to own a rare and coveted piece of art history.

Intended to spark joy and remind us of the greatest of human endeavours (art) in a bleak, grey, political, and economic period of uncertainty, the collection will consist of ‘Pals’ and ‘Foes’ – a series of hand drawn characters, with added generative traits to highlight their unique personality, occupation, ‘superpower’, and style.

‘Pals’ are upbeat, happy little fellas, that are intended to reflect the raw creativity bouncing around inside all of us, whilst the ‘Foes’ are born of Sean’s fears, self-doubt and uncertainty.

The collection will also feature 100 super rare collectable NFTs. These include 10 ‘Super Rare Crazy Pals’, 20 ‘Rare Wild Pals’, 20 ‘Rare Wild Foes’, and 50 ‘Rare Icon Pals’ which are inspired by celebrities and other notable NFT projects.

Speaking about the project, Sean Webster says: “What I fell in love with about NFTs, and the web3 space is the fact that it enables artists to fulfil their creative visions, and to be in control of their destiny, without compromising their work to sustain a career.”

“I began creating The Pals Universe in October 2021 and have been working on it consistently for the last year. A lot of the art was created on the move through urban sprawls so is informed by abstract feelings, treks, and trudges, as well as everyday objects, like buildings, trains and buses.”

“I have plans to develop the project, build the Pals, and bring this IP to the world across many mediums. It’s a free mint project so creator royalties are imperative in helping me build towards this. Certain marketplaces have diverted their model away from supporting artists, which simply will not work for this project, and therefore I am banning those marketplaces. I firmly believe NFTs will only continue to thrive if creators and royalties are respected and defended, so The Pals Universe project has decided to take a stand for all creators.”

Multi-national award-winning organisation Comics Youth CIC are delighted to announce the release of their newest Comic Book, ‘LGBT + Me’, developed in-house by two young people from their Leadership Programme and published under their young person-led Marginal Publishing House.

500 copies will be made available freely for Young People across the City Region and 90 copies will be available to be purchased with a suggested donation via Comics Youth CIC’s website. A free digital download will be made available on Monday the 22^nd of November 2022.

Full Digital Press Release: https://comicsyouth.co.uk/press-releases/2022/11/2/lgbt-me-release-november-2022

A Preview is Available Here: https://issuu.com/comicsyouth/docs/lgbtme_watermarkdigital

A last-minute fundraising drive has ensured that a rare piece of British art pottery has entered the public collection of Williamson Art Gallery & Museum.

The artwork – a large charger plate decorated with angels and the inscription “Peace on Earth and Good Will Towards Men” was made at the Della Robbia Pottery in Price Street, Birkenhead, in 1894. It is amongst the earliest works made at the Pottery and was painted by its founder, Harold Rathbone.

The Della Robbia Pottery ran in Birkenhead from 1894 to 1906, making a significant impact on the art world of the time with its colourful and innovative ceramics, handmade by local men and women who were trained at the Pottery.

The artwork was auctioned at Byrne’s Auctioneers in Chester on Wednesday 28^th September. The Williamson prevailed amidst fierce competition with a £4,800 bid, thanks to funding pledged by the V&A Purchase Grant Fund, the Decorative Arts Society, and Williamson and Priory Friends.

Williamson curator Niall Hodson commented: “When I saw this beautiful plate coming up for auction, I knew we had to do everything we could to bring it into a public collection. We are grateful to the organisations who gave money to enable us to buy it.

“Della Robbia ceramics made and signed by Harold Rathbone are particularly rare, as he generally took on a consultative and managerial role at the Pottery and left decorating work to others. This must have been an important piece to him; perhaps made as a gift for a friend or family member.

The artwork is currently on display in the foyer of Williamson Art Gallery.

https://williamsonartgallery.org/

A powerful new play which asks questions about what is ‘normal’ – and who gets to decide – is touring venues across the north this autumn.

The Possibility of Colour, from the acclaimed Tree Fish Productions, is an immersive and moving insight into the reality of voice hearing, synaesthesia, neurodiversity and forced treatment, and has been created over several years in collaboration with mental health professionals, academics and those who have lived experience of the themes it explores.

The production, from award-winning writer and director Pete Carruthers, will be staged at theatre spaces in Salford, Preston and Ormskirk during November, as well as being broadcast online with a live Q&A session.

And along with the public performances, special sold-out shows for up to 1,350 student nurses will also be held at each venue, funded by Health Education England and forming part of the students’ official training.

Following each performance, audience members will be able to take part in a Q&A with a panel including leading mental health experts and people with lived experience of the play’s themes.

These important discussions will continue to take place as part of a larger national tour being planned for autumn 2023 and spring 2024.

Designed by the AI-controlled ‘Vigil’ Corporation, the Implant is a new miracle device that promises to cure all mental illness.

For many, the Implant is an irresistible guarantee of eternal happiness; a life without suffering. For others though, it’s a terrifying instrument of control, stripping them of what it means to be human, and increasingly forced upon a growing number of ‘compulsory recipients’.

Will Joseph, his sister Aisling, or his best friend Helen, be able to decide which of them, if any, should have the implant? And with the ever-looming presence of Vigil, do they even have a choice?

The production is written, produced and directed by Tree Fish founder and artistic director Pete Carruthers with set and costume design by Carly Altberg, lighting design by Isabel Potter and Carly Altberg, video and projection design by Ed Grimoldby, and original music and sound design is by Patch Middleton. Ally Davies is creative producer.

Its cast includes Pete Carruthers as Joseph, Rachel Marwood as Aisling, Amy Revelle as Helen, Verity Henry as Vigil, Gareth Cassidy as Lucas, Chloe Proctor as Mollie and Orla Mullan as Woman.

Tree Fish Productions is a theatre and film production company based in the north of England which creates high quality work with a mission to inspire greater understanding, empathy and compassion while contributing towards real social change.

The company is passionate about creating work which speaks to people from all corners of society, with a specific focus on reaching those who are in a position to bring about change, from changes in personal professional practice to wider social reforms.

And along with creating independent work, it also collaborates with health and education providers to create powerful, empathic and truthful stories that bring training to life.

Writer and director Pete Carruthers of Tree Fish Productions says: “The play opens up vital conversations about the ways in which we treat people who are deemed by society to be ‘abnormal’ or ‘mentally ill.

“It aims to improve understanding and empathy for others, but also to provoke discussion, reflection, and even policy change, in the long run. We don’t just want to entertain and inform, but also to challenge and inspire the audience.”

To find out more and to book tickets, visit https://www.treefishproductions.com/

There’s nothing quite like a Christmas movie to get us into the festive mood, and film fans will delight in the news that this winter, The Luna Winter Cinema is bringing two whole weeks of magical Christmas movies on the big screen to the beautiful St George’s Hall from the 10^th – 23^rd of December 2022.

The stunning neo-classical architecture of the main hall at St George’s will once again be transformed into a magical winter setting, complete with giant Christmas trees, beautiful twinkly lights, and of course a sprinkling of snow!  After two years away, the warm, cosy surroundings of St George’s, right in the heart of Liverpool’s Christmas market, will make the perfect setting for Luna’s big screen to play host to a programme of every great festive film you can think of!

With sleigh-fulls of fairy lights, festive food and drink and a giant high-definition cinema screen, The Luna Winter Cinema, makes for a truly unique cinematic experience.

The season features a line-up of every classic Christmas movie you can think of – perfect for that festive date night or family break from Christmas shopping, including, Love Actually, The Holiday, and It’s A Wonderful Life, as well as family favourites such as Home Alone, Elf and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

For a comprehensive list of films playing in Liverpool and to purchase tickets, please visit: https://www.thelunacinema.com/venue/st-georges-hall/

Chris Tarrant, unveiled a spectacular projection by Sergey Piskunov at Royal Albert Dock in Liverpool to celebrate the story of Ukrainian caseworker from the Welsh Refugee Council, Vladyslava Zhmuro, as part of the National Lottery’s latest campaign, The People’s Portraits, which is celebrating the amazing work of local heroes across the UK.

The National Lottery is celebrating the work of amazing individuals supporting refugees by unveiling a showstopping projection at Royal Albert Dock Liverpool depicting the story of Ukrainian caseworker, Vladyslava Zhmuro

Broadcaster Chris Tarrant OBE, who welcomed a Ukrainian family into his own home following the outbreak of the war, has teamed up with The National Lottery to unveil the striking artwork at Royal Albert Dock Liverpool

The artwork, created by Ukrainian artist Sergey Piskunov depicts a hyper-realistic portrait of Vladyslava Zhmuro from the Welsh Refugee Council, as a projection on the building of Royal Albert Dock in Liverpool, recently announced as the host city for the Eurovision song contest 2023, on behalf of this year’s winners, Ukraine

National Lottery players raise £30 million per week to support good causes and projects across the UK. The Welsh Refugee Council project has received more than £1.2 million in funding from The National Lottery since 1999.

For the past few months, Collective Encounters has been working with Dr Marcus Collins, AHRC BBC 100 History Fellow and Reader in Contemporary History at Loughborough University, and Dramaturg Dr Alda Terracciano, on a project entitled ‘The BBC and Cultural Change since the 1960s’.

The project involves adapting transcripts from ‘lost’ BBC documentaries from the 1960s and transforming them into a new performance piece called, ‘Auntie [Working Title]’.

Auntie [Working Title] draws on the expectations, contradictions and juxtapositions of women in the 1960s as characterised within BBC archival material. It will be devised and performed by Collective Encounters’ intergenerational group Women in Action with creative support from theatre director Tessa Buddle and writer Amanda Redvers-Rowe.

Over the last year Marcus has unearthed a wealth of BBC social documentary archival material for the Women in Action group to interrogate and explore. This process has enabled the group to identify and pin down five key programmes that tell the story of the distance (or in some cases lack of distance) travelled in terms of society’s expectations for and attitudes towards women and moments when progression has been made on women’s rights and human rights in general. These are

• The BBC Homemaker Competition (1960-61), a televised contest open to married or widowed women that aimed to promote understanding about the qualities that make a good home-maker
• Woman’s Hour: Dropping in at a Meeting of the Family Planning Association (20.10.60), which covers topics such as the dangers of giving contraceptive advice to ‘unmarried girls’ and whether Doctors should encourage ‘less intelligent’ people to have fewer children.
• Four Women in a Man’s World (17.2.66): a series of interviews with professional women with a particular focus on whether a woman can be as intelligent as a man
• 24 Hours: Equal Pay for Women (5.9.68) reporting on attitudes from men and women in industry towards proposed legislation that would bring women’s pay in line with men’s, and
• Man Alive: Living in Sin (2.3.66) interviews with couples who had decided not to have their relationship blessed or formalised by religion or state.

As part of the research and development process Collective Encounters is interested in hearing from people who were involved, or more likely know of family members who were involved, in any of these programmes. In particular, they would like to make contact with family members of the winners of the BBC Homemaker Competition – Agnes Hogarth and Anne Waters. They are hoping somebody may have known these women, or maybe a family member was aware their grandma, aunty or mum had won the competition.  Anyone who has a story to tell about this should get in touch.

A work in progress sharing will be taking place in Liverpool on the 9^th November. Anyone who would like to come along to this, or watch an online live stream, should get in contact with Collective Encounters.

Alongside AHRC (Arts & Humanities Research Council) the project is supported locally by PH Holt Foundation, Liverpool City Council and Arts Council England.