Explore the history of Garston on a family art trail this summer! Let the Garston Ghosties take you on a journey from Garstons distant past to the community’s hopes for the areas’ future – all seen through the eyes of children.
Spirit(s) of Dreams is the culmination of a two-year project between experimental photographer and multi-media artist Miriam Flüchter, children from the Venny (Garston Adventure Playground) and a few Garston grown-ups.
The exhibition consists of a 7 stop trail that will take you along St. Mary’s Road, Garstons High Street, beginning at the Village Motors building and culminating at the old Garston Empire. Along the way you can have fun with family activities at the Coffee Vault and look out for “Garston Ghosties” – little characters that the children at the Venny have dreamt up, that represent the life spirit of their neighbourhood. Can you find them all?
The project looks at how architecture and infrastructure affect communities and encourages visitors to appreciate and celebrate the beauty of Garston and it’s working class history while using their imagination to dream up a colourful future for the area.
The exhibition will be accompanied by the children’s own illustrations, as well as illustrations, graphics and digital art by artist Evyn Seaton-Mooney.
Spirit(s) of Dreams Activity Book (pdf) – an activity book created by Miriam Flüchter and Evyn Seaton-Mooney, with photography, original concept and original artwork all by the children at Garston Adventure Play.
Ghostie Street Map (pdf) – a guide to the Spirit(s) of Dreams exhibition by Evyn Seaton-Mooney and the children of Garston Adventure Play
Miriam Flüchter is a film photographer and mixed-media artist from Germany. She has lived in Liverpool for 7 years and has recently moved to the Midlands. Her favourite mode of transport is the train, because you can see lots of cool animals on your journey. She loves the blondies at the Coffee Vault and her favourite place in Garston is the art room in the Venny.
Evyn Seaton-Mooney is a multidisciplinary artist (that means they like making art in lots of different ways) who has lived in Liverpool for 7 years! 4 of those years have been spent living in South Liverpool which Evyn now calls their home. They love drawing and writing the most and you can usually find them making mini magazines called “Zines” about what it’s like to be Disabled, making linocut prints or writing plays. Their favourite mode of transport is boat/ferry because they like pretending to be a pirate out on the deck. Their favourite place in Garston is the Speke and Garston Coastal Reserve where they spend their summers sitting by the river doodling the view.
The children at the Venny. The kids are a creative bunch and know their way around an analogue camera like any experienced film photographer. They are great at helping each other with their projects, and always come up with fantastic ideas, like the ghosties. No creative challenge is too big for them, be that making sculptures out of masking tape or developing their own film.
Garston residency part of the Culture Liverpool’s Creative Neighbourhoods programme; an ongoing collaborative project for communities throughout Liverpool. It is a series of creative interventions in wards across the city, taking the form of artistic residencies, development of public art, events and creative engagement workshops. This work uses co-creative practices to address the needs of each community at neighbourhood level. This programme is about creative place-making while platforming local voices and stories.
