Event type: Exhibition

A Civic Role

A new documentary display at the Bluecoat looks at how the Liverpool arts venue has engaged with the city and participated in wider public debates.

In these challenging times, the function of the arts in society is becoming increasingly valued, as well as put under scrutiny. Publicly-funded arts organisations are being challenged to develop new ways to engage with their audiences, to become more relevant to local communities, and to grow their civic role.

As the first arts centre in the UK, constituted in 1927, the Bluecoat has long engaged with Liverpool’s cultural and civic life, providing a home for artists, cultural societies, creative retailers, festivals, and a place for public discourse and social interaction.

The new exhibition, A Civic Role, reflects some of the ways in which the Bluecoat has strived to be more than simply a venue that presents art in its spaces. The material selected to tell this story is drawn from the arts centre’s archive – photos, film, posters, publications and other documents – and offers a glimpse at some of the key strands of the Bluecoat’s civic engagement.

This has taken place both within and beyond the building, interacting with local people in a variety of ways, such as artists’ interventions into the public realm, residencies by artists and academics, leading on debates, and a wide-ranging participation programme with communities.

A range of topics is covered in the exhibition around four themes:

Bluecoat’s contribution to public debate, starting with the study it commissioned from John Willett in the early 1960s, which was published in 1967 as Art in A City, a seminal work that was the first sociological study of art in a single place. While the building was closed for its capital development in 2007, the Bluecoat went on the road to local neighbourhoods to promote the Liverpool Debates, inviting local people to discuss hot topics of the day. And in 2011 it devised a programme, Liverpool, City of Radicals that interrogated the city’s radical credentials.

Bluecoat engaging with the city, through artists’ interventions in the public realm, taking art out into the city in performances and installations in busy city shopping streets or on public monuments. Projects like Peter McRae’ Avenue of Heroes on the steps of St George’s Hall, Mandy Romero’s Queen of Culture during the construction upheaval of Liverpool One, or Richard Dedomenici impersonating Boris Johnson apologising to Liverpool, are represented in photos. While, at the arts centre, Bed-In at the Bluecoat recreated John & Yoko’s famous action for peace, restaged as a series of daily interventions by local people using a bed in the Bluecoat space.

The inclusive city focuses on the Bluecoat’s participation programmes with local communities, both onsite and as outreach, such as artist Humberto Velez’ The Welcoming, staged for the 2006 Liverpool Biennial and involving new migrants to the city welcomed by older established communities; and the Art Valley project with people in Alt Valley.

Global conversations are reflected in the Bluecoat’s engagement with the world through posters for exhibitions by artists from Senegal, China, France, Germany and elsewhere, including an exchange programme with Liverpool’s long-established twin city of Cologne, and the first UK visit by Pop Mechanica from Leningrad’s music and performance underground in a season in 1989 called Perestroika in the Avant Garde.

Though only a snapshot of these cultural programmes, the display indicates how they have aimed to draw attention to issues such as local democracy, housing, public space, the accessible city, sharing knowledge, pathways to creativity, contested histories, and global links.

This is the second in a series of archival displays in the Vide space, situated next to the Gallery, and it follows A Creative Community, which focussed on the Bluecoat as a centre for working artists. The third exhibition, starting in March 2022, focuses on Bluecoat’s colonial legacies.

Bluecoat’s civic role will be further discussed in an associated programme, see www.thebluecoat.org.uk where they invite you to contribute your ideas for a more civic role for the arts centre.

Wedding Open Day

Nestled among acres of beautiful parkland in South Liverpool’s Calderstones Park, their Grade II listed Mansion House could be the unique, magical setting you’re looking for on your big day.

A place unlike any other, the Mansion House is home to recently renovated indoor spaces including a stylish bar and events space – the perfect backdrop to make your wedding feel truly special.

Their events team will guide you around the facilities and catering options, plus, meet local, trusted independent wedding suppliers from photographers and florists to dressmakers and DJs, chosen by them to give your celebration that personal touch.

Book a free ticket to let them know you’ll be attending.

Art in the Mansion: Maggie Hilditch

The Reader is delighted to host exhibition from local artist Maggie Hilditch. This comes as part of The Reader’s work with dot-art to curate a rolling programme of exhibitions of local artists work within the Mansion at Calderstones Park.

The display areas are located within the reception area, hall & main corridor. Art work on display is available to buy via the shop.

About the Artist:

Maggie Hilditch is a painter, craftmaker & art trainer, based in Liverpool. Maggie works in acrylics and oils on paper and canvas, layering colour to form texture and depth. This series features abstracts, land & seascapes and flowers.

Maggie studied Fine Art at Manchester University and Glasgow School of Art, and Fashion & Textiles at Middlesex University (Cat Hill Arts Campus). She worked briefly as a fashion designer before returning to Middlesex University to complete a PGCE in Secondary Art Teaching with Special Needs Education, after which she worked in secondary teaching.

Maggie has been part of the JC2000 Millennium initiative and ‘cre8.ed’ teams (freelance artists, musicians, actors & dancers) teaching values, citizenship, and religious education through the creative arts. For many years Maggie has facilitated and led creative workshops in various settings, including schools, churches, theatres, health facilities and retreat centres. Most recently Maggie has ventured into leading art-based retreats.

http://www.maggiehilditch.net/

The exhibition:

trio: three seasons; three styles

trio: from the Latin ‘tres’, meaning a group of three

trio is a collection of artworks created over the past few years, reflecting three different styles of painting and corresponding life seasons.

Floor Plan: By Ellie Towers and Reece ...

Floor Plan in a brand new site specific installation created by Ellie Towers and Reece Griffiths for Convenience Gallery.

Floor Plan is an attempt to actualise a tangible visual representative of the way childhood memories and activities manifest themselves in the retrospective position of the present.

Rooted in the idea of ‘weekends’ spent as a child, it has grown into something which attempts to reclaim lost places and pivotal events by pushing them into a shape that subverts the absurd, the concrete material and the half-remembered into implicative-fiction and positive productivity.

It is the environmental stand-in of the challenging and questioning of how we choose to perceive and recontextualise the things done to and through us, and what we have brought forward into our contemporary experience.

All donation based tickets funds are reinvested back into their current and future creative programming. This will support them in creating more opportunities for both people in the creative industry and the wider community. All their “In Cahoots” core programming is free to attend and donations are optional.

Floor Plan: By Ellie Towers & Reece Griffiths @ Convenience Gallery

Opening Night and PV @ Bloom Building (CH41 5FQ)

A part of the “In Cahoots” 21/22 programme

Brigitte Jurack: What’s Left Beh...

Brigitte Jurack explores our relationship with animals and their inner lives. Her recent work considers issues around environmental adaptability by focussing on some of the scavengers with whom we share long cultural entanglements, such as crows, foxes and monkeys.

The Williamson is open Wednesday-Friday 10.30am – 5:00pm and Saturday 10am – 4.30pm

Aesop’s Fables have long fascinated Jurack in her artistic practice through their articulation of hybrid identities and the animal within. At a time when we can no longer deny the devasting effect of human activity on our environment, the ethical dimension of this animal turn and the urgency needed to change takes centre stage.

For this solo show, Jurack presents a series of new works in ceramics, watercolour, drawing and film, and “the focus on foxes, crows and monkeys is a reflection on the edges of society, on the clever scavengers who eke a living from the in-between spaces and leftovers from the rest of life” (Colin M. Simpson, Williamson Art Gallery).

A new colour monograph published by Williamson Art Gallery and Manchester School of Art will be available, with essays by Colin Simpson, Lauren Velvick and Dr Danielle Child.

“These works were begun pre-Covid, with the intricate watercolours and drawings all created within the stillness and silence of lockdowns spent in Alternator Studio and Project space, a converted bakery in Birkenhead and my studio and place of making since 2013.” – Brigitte Jurack

Is This It?

Three contemporary artists from Liverpool and Dublin to respond to the simple question ‘Is This It?’ in a new show by Robert Flynn, Margaret O’Brien and John Elcock at The Royal Standard.

Their response to possibly the ultimate question for human civilisation uses space and time as starting point for a joint exhibition of large scale works, featuring static electricity, found objects and video projection.

Margaret O’Brien: ‘Through a constructed repetition, my work explores the concept of tenselessness – a theory that states there is no privileged position in space-time; the same event can occur at different times for different observers in different frames of reference’.

Robert Flynn: ‘DARKMATTER is a series of photographs and installation that delves into the doctored nature of the images of space that we are exposed to and how it shapes our perception of the cosmic void. Due to our limited capabilities to actually see it most images of space that are released are altered and photoshopped, whether for publicity or to study them and to gain a deeper understanding of the data. Ultimately our perception of space is defined by our inability and attempts to perceive and comprehend it.’

John Elcock: ‘Studio-exploration of objects I found at an isolated pilgrimage site on the Isle of Bute emerged into ideas on a universal scale, suggesting answers to our show’s question might be found on a remote Scottish island, as much as a laboratory at CERN’.

A New Day – An exhibition by th...

JourneyMEN aim to save and rebuild men’s lives that would otherwise be lost in the mental health crisis.

Open Saturday 6th November to 21st November 2021, 10am-5pm Wednesday to Sunday.

The aim is to provide an early intervention service that not only works with all agencies and services in our community, but actively channels men to their network before reaching crisis point.

They can then plan a journey with more positive outcomes for each of them. Ultimately they have a vision of better outcomes for all.

Future Ages Will Wonder

From microcellular DNA to the proliferation of digital images, throughout all of time we have used science and technology to collect and share information about who we are. Discoveries have been made, patterns have been formed, and stories have been told, but always by those in power.

But who decides who belongs, and who writes our stories? How can we connect with our ancestry if it has been forgotten by history? To build fairer futures, we must question how the past has been controlled, and who (or what) has been left behind.

Future Ages Will Wonder presents an “alternative museum” of artworks that use science and technology to question our past and offer new ways of understanding who we are and where we belong.

The artworks on display bring together traditional mediums such as textiles, sculpture, and photography with virtual reality, computer algorithms and synthetic DNA to reimagine stories about our past, present and future. Through this wide range of materials and art-making, the exhibition refocuses where we place attention and what we value: reimagining stories about our past, present and future.

Turning attention to alternative histories, the political and ethical issues found in archaeology, botany, genetics and the use of technology in our daily lives, visitors are invited to behold and ‘wonder’ at the advancement of science and technology.

Future Ages Will Wonder will premier three new commissions by artists Larry Achiampong and David Blandy (UK), Yarli Allison (Canada/Hong Kong), Breakwater (South Korea/UK), a new work by Boedi Widjaja (Singapore/Indonesia) alongside works by Ai Hasegawa and Miku Aoki (Japan), and Trisha Baga (USA). The exhibition is curated by Annie Jael Kwan, an independent curator, researcher and educator, who has collaborated with FACT over the last year to develop the show.

This exhibition marks the launch of Radical Ancestry, FACT’s year long exploration into the sense of belonging. Over the next 12 months, a programme of exhibitions, projects, residencies and events at FACT will look at how history, geography, biology and culture shape our ancestral history and question how technology can help us to explore new ways of thinking and experimenting with who we are.

The Liverpool Collection

As we approach a festive season where more of our friends and loved ones can be together after a difficult Christmas in 2020, dot-art are delighted to announce their annual festive exhibition, The Liverpool Collection, at dot-art Gallery.

This exhibition, running from 12th November 2021 – 20th January 2022, brings together portrayals and celebrations of Liverpool by 17 dot-art Member artists. Visitors will find original works and limited edition prints in an array of media from collage to watercolour to ceramics, with the common theme of portraying Liverpool in all its glory.

This winter they look positively to the community and city that has pulled together during a tough 18 months, and celebrate its architecture, music, people, and art.

As an independent gallery in the heart of the city centre, supporting local North West artists, they are proud to show such a display of beautiful, colourful and dazzling references to Liverpool – a city full of art, culture and talent. At dot-art they aim to support the local art scene and collectors; this exhibition includes works to fit all budgets to ensure buying fantastic local art does not break the bank.

They hope the show will create a sense of pride in Liverpool and Christmas shoppers can send prints, artworks, and mementos of Liverpool to loved ones near and far this festive season

With prices starting from just £40, this is a great time to invest in independents and collect local artists. This year they are pleased to exhibit for the first time in their Christmas exhibition, experimental ceramic and iron works by Simon Dredge. Dredge has incorporated found iron fragments from the Cast Iron Shore of Liverpool to wash and glaze the ceramic pieces. Using time, washed up materials and adventurous bisque and glazing techniques, Dredge’s limited works are not to be missed at £50 each.

For those who enjoy traditional sights and street views of Liverpool, Kathy Dereli’s oil paintings capture iconic buildings on a walk around Liverpool. Peering round a corner to the Anglican Cathedral or reaching the peak of Brownlow Hill to spot the Victoria Gallery & Museum filling the sky, these small and delicately hazy paintings feel like a familiar scene to many who wander the city. Prices start at just £150 for these original works.

And for quirky art lovers, they invite you to explore the cartoonish world of Mike Goodwin. These humorous and detailed pen and ink drawings will keep you looking closer, Goodwin’s mesmerizing “Lennon” and dystopian Mersey scene ”Stop It!” will be available as limited-edition prints. Using the background of Liverpool life to imagine his world, often incorporating text, these works will keep you coming back to the music or the joke. All limited-edition unframed prints are £50.

They are certain the Liverpool Collection will have something for everyone, but if you just can’t choose, then their gift vouchers are perfect – they can be used against their online shop or instore artworks. Or for the creative in your life, give the gift of experience with art classes and courses vouchers; their Winter Course programme features photography, painting and textile practical courses to make their own unique creations and go into the new year with new skills.

The exhibition starts on Friday 12th November and runs to Saturday 20th January. Entry is free, mask wearing is encouraged and numbers are limited.

For the first time in almost two years, we will be holding an in-person exhibition launch, on Thursday 11th November from 5-7pm! To ensure they keep visitors safe in their small gallery space, they are asking everyone (even if double vaccinated) to show proof of a recent negative COVID test. All are welcome but please register for a free ticket here: https://the-liverpool-collection-21.eventbrite.co.uk. They look forward to seeing you for some early mulled wine and mince pies!

The dot-art Gallery can be found at 14 Queen Avenue, Castle Street, Liverpool, L2 4TX (just 5 minutes’ walk from Liverpool One). Opening times: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am-6pm

 

Lutyens Crypt visitor exhibition

Following 18 months of closure, one of Liverpool’s architectural hidden gems has reopened its doors. The Lutyens Crypt is launching a brand new exhibition, co-curated by the local community and developed through lockdown.

The Crypt, buried deep under the Metropolitan Cathedral, is all that remains of towering plans for a cathedral for Liverpool, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1930. It was due to become the largest cathedral in the world, but the project was abandoned after the Second World War.

With four vast neo-classical halls featuring intricate brickwork, leadlight windows and vaulted ceilings, the Crypt is an unexpected and ambitious contrast to the striking, modernist cathedral that now sits above it. The dramatic space is often referred to as ‘Liverpool’s third cathedral’.

Members of the public can once again visit the atmospheric Lutyens Crypt – which now includes a permanent exhibition exploring its fascinating story and the cathedral-that- never- was. Co-curated by members of the local community Secrets of the Crypt takes visitors back through hundreds of years of history to discover the people and stories behind this astonishing space, including:

• Apprentice bricklayer 19 year-old Arthur Brady, who was the only man left working on the crypt when his colleagues were called up to fight in WWII. Once he was called up, construction came to a standstill for 15 years.

• The crypt as a focal point for celebration and sadness in the city. It became an air-raid shelter for local people during WWII; and later saw more than 1 million people turning out for the visit of the Pope in 1982 and an outdoor Mass for more than 9,000 people on 16 April 1989, the day after the Hillsborough disaster.

The exhibition forms part of the National Lottery Heritage Funded Metropolitan Perspectives project, which connects members of the local community with heritage and creative professionals to create a range of exciting new visitor experiences within the Grade II* listed Cathedral.

Volunteer and local resident Debi Eastwood says, “I’d not visited the Cathedral before starting this project, but I’ve loved learning about its fascinating history. As part of the project we attended workshops and training days, and spent time in the Cathedral archives. It’s amazing to think that things we discovered have made it into the final exhibition. I’ve made friends and learned so much thanks to this project.”

The second phase of the project – a brand new immersive audio tour of the Cathedral – will launch in mid-October.

Entrance to the Crypt also includes access to the Crypt’s glittering Treasury, which contains a priceless collection of church artefacts and sacred vessels – the largest of such kind in the North West.

The Lutyens Crypt is open Monday – Saturday 10am – 4pm. Tickets are priced at £5 and can be purchased from the Cathedral welcome desk. For more information visit www.liverpoolmetrocathedral.org.uk or email enquiries@metcathedral.org.uk.