Celebrate Lunar New Year at Bluecoat, and explore the rich traditions of Chinese Calligraphy that dates back 2000 years.
Join Bluecoat for an immersive workshop facilitated by multidisciplinary artist Pei Yee Tong, where you’ll learn about the rich history and ancient techniques of this timeless art form, and be guided through creating your own beautiful artwork to hang up at home.
All materials provided
Sat 17 Feb, 11am – 1pm & 2pm -4pm
Booking Information
They have two sessions available:
Session 1: 11am – 1pm
Session 2: 2pm – 4pm
Ticket Price: £30
Booking required.
https://www.thebluecoat.org.uk/whatson/introduction-to-chinese-calligraphy
Joshua Clague’s and it feels like I just got home, echoes Madonna’s Ray of Light. Clague is interested in enduring memories of the female voice in his life. The exhibition often riffs on the pop-icons and divas that he once emulated. His work lays out how his sense of self changes at different times, in different places.
Clague has a longstanding connection with the Bluecoat. He has had a studio space at Bluecoat since March 2023 as part of the New Contemporaries Studio Bursary and has also used the gallery over the last few months as a space for making new work.
Joshua Clague is a visual artist. Originally from Merseyside, Clague recently graduated from Goldsmiths, University of London. Working with writing, installation, textiles, photography and performance, their work crystallises themes of love, memory, family, fandom and form.
Joshua Clague: and it feels like I just got home
Friday 9th February – Monday 1st April
Free entry.
https://www.thebluecoat.org.uk/whatson/joshua-clague-and-it-feels-like-i-just-got-home
In his exhibition, Thanks for Having Me, Ganjei reflects on vignettes from his life and career as an artist. He has re-staged the market stalls that he began selling his work from; a means of sharing his work that Ganjei has outgrown, and yet can’t let go of.
The deferential title of his exhibition, Thanks for Having Me, reflects back on a life of operating on the margins and never quite being sure where he belongs.
Ganjei has a longstanding connection with the Bluecoat, having designed a commission for the building’s revamped Hub space back in 2021.
Babak Ganjei: Thanks for Having Me
Friday 9th February – Sunday 14th April
Free entry.
https://www.thebluecoat.org.uk/whatson/babak-ganjei-thanks-for-having-me
Bluecoat delighted to share a new outdoor billboard commission by Ottman Said. Said uses abstraction as a way to create beautifully complex landscapes that are rooted in a sense of belonging and place.
Ottman Said is a visual artist. He creates drawings, collages and sculptures, with his own distinct use of line. His recent works are inspired by Liverpool’s iconic waterfront, drawing them as abstracted blocks that seem to jostle for space amongst layers of interwoven line.
Said is a member of Blue Room, Bluecoat’s inclusive arts project for neurodiverse and learning disabled artists, and have been developing their practice in our supported studio project Studio Me. He has received a commission to create a limited edition screen print and postcard for Output’s postal exhibition Studio Me and You, and has recently collaborated with his mentor Bernadette O’Toole to develop his painting practice.
Studio Me: The Billboard Commissions will be featured on the side of Bluecoat’s building, located on Blundell Lane.
https://www.thebluecoat.org.uk/whatson/studio-me-the-billboard-commissions-ottman-said
Bluecoat are delighted to share a new outdoor billboard commission by Tess Gilmartin. Gilmartin’s expressive work features brightly coloured animals and plants, drawing upon her experience of spending time outdoors.
Tess Gilmartin is a Wirral based visual artist. Gilmartin creates drawings and paintings inspired by the world around her. Using bright colour palettes and gestural mark making, Gilmartin makes art to celebrate the things she loves, such as the people, animals and flowers.
Gilmartin is a member of Blue Room, Bluecoat’s inclusive arts project for neurodiverse and learning disabled artists, and have been developing their practice in our supported studio project Studio Me. Through this Gilmartin has received mentoring from acclaimed artist, Tanya Raabe Webber. Together, the artists explored different methods of drawing, mark making and painting.
Studio Me: The Billboard Commissions will be featured on the side of Bluecoat’s building, located on Blundell Lane.
Free entry.
https://www.thebluecoat.org.uk/whatson/studio-me-the-billboard-commissions-tess-gilmartin
Join Bluecoat for the launch of The Lives of Artists, their new season of exhibitions, commissions, residencies, events and workshops. The Lives of Artists asks audiences what might be uncovered about ourselves when we listen to the testimony, histories, and stories of artists reflecting on their lives.
The evening will give visitors a first look at new exhibitions including Joshua Clague: and it feels like I just got home and Babak Ganjei: Thanks for Having Me.
The Lives of Artists will also see the launch of two new billboard commissions by Tess Gilmartin and Ottman Said. Both artists use abstraction as a way to create beautifully complex landscapes.
Season Launch: The Lives of Artists
Thursday 8th February, 6-9pm
Free entry.
https://www.thebluecoat.org.uk/whatson/season-launch-the-lives-of-artists
The Dip into Pride Bath was created by mosaic artist Natasha Ellis after Photographer, Curator and Arts Producer, Laura McCann asked her to produce an interactive installation for Pride 2023.
The aim of the project was to encourage people to immerse themselves in the spirit of equality for all. The DIP Bath will be situated in the window of the main entrance of Museum of Liverpool, as starting point to explore stories from the city’s LGBTQ+ community, already in the venues collections and displays.
This will be one of the last times the installation will be shown in public before it is ultimately auctioned, with all proceeds going to the Liverpool Charity, Sahir.
Join artist Danny Cameron, whose painting is currently featured in the John Moores Painting Prize Exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery, for a painting workshop inspired by his artwork.
For this workshop, Danny Cameron will show you his artwork and talk about his inspirations and processes. This will lead on to creating ideas for your own painting which you’ll get to take home. You’ll use a mixture of materials including brush pens and paint to experiment with the different painting and drawing processes and techniques.
All materials are included and no previous experience needed.
This workshop is aimed at young people aged 16-24 years old who are keen to find out more about different techniques for their future practice, career or for fun, but people over 25 years old are also welcome to book on.
Join Graham Crowley in-conversation with Nicola Selsby – Cunningham, Head of the Walker Art Gallery. Graham is the 32nd winner of the Prize, he has been selected for the exhibition ten times with the first time being in 1976, he was also a jury member for the Prize in 2008.
“I paint shadows. I’m intrigued by luminosity in painting. This is the driving force behind LIGHT INDUSTRY. I’ve 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. This remarkable duality is one of painting’s defining characteristics.
“Creativity and class are long-standing preoccupations of mine and one of the ways that I’ve discovered to navigate these complex issues is by employing a variety of vernacular idioms. In this instance it’s a rather obsolete, low-tech graphic device, the duotone. My intention is to make paintings that are both luminous and their own object. This dictates the way I paint. I apply Paynes Gray pigment directly into the medium. Wet into wet, then glaze.”
Tickets for this talk are £5 and include entry to the exhibition.
