People from Africa and the Caribbean have shaped Liverpool, establishing the UK’s earliest Black communities that can be traced back to the 1730s.
These contemporary photographic portraits, and the conversations that took place during the sittings, offers a new perspective on those seen as part of the Windrush Generation and their descendants.
Learn a new skill this year at one of Bluecoat’s upcoming print workshops.
Get to grips with the basics of etching, one of the oldest printmaking processes, or the popular and versatile process of screenprinting.
Intro to Etching, Sat 11 Feb, 11am-5pm
Intro to Screenprinting, Sat 25 Feb and Sat 11 Mar, 11am-5pm
Tickets: £70. 18+ only
Featuring Amanda Oliphant, Chris Routledge, Simon Cooper and Samantha Danford Jones
“The sea is as near as we come to another world.” – Anne Stevenson
High tides and rolling waves – take in the wonder of our ‘blue world’ through paintings and photographs in “The Sea”. The great beauty of the deep can represent many things; endless possibilities, brewing storms, a calm horizon, or a place of pollution – the artists in this exhibition take on some of these concepts in their artwork.
Chris Routledge – “These cyanotype prints, of Whitehaven and Maryport harbours, are early works from a larger and ongoing series about the Cumbrian coast. These towns were once important ports, but were overtaken two centuries ago by better-connected cities like Liverpool and Bristol. Harbours are always interesting, outward-looking places, but like the past, the sea keeps melancholy secrets.
I spent several hours standing with my large format camera looking out to sea and thinking about all the people who have come and gone through these harbour entrances, of fortunes made and lost, and lives changed forever.”
Amanda Oliphant – “Painting the landscape presents endless challenges, with constant changing weather, light and atmosphere, whether it is on the Wirral Peninsula or along visiting coastlines, I am always being driven by the elements that collide everyday but also by the peaceful serenity of a place, never two days being the same.”
Samantha Danford Jones – “The sea holds an immeasurable presence to me, with a depth and impenetrable life of its own; I have the utmost respect for her mystery which is both powerfully tremendous and fascinating. I have lived near or on the sea my entire life; for me, the flow of the ocean represents freedom, peace, solitude, sensuality and life.
I am always keen to raise awareness and encourage conservation of the ocean by supporting and following organisations such as Mission Blue, led by the legendary Dr Sylvia Earle who campaigns to protect swathes of ocean designated ‘Hope Spots’, around the world, Greenpeace who put huge boulders in the sea to stop trawlers dragging netting and over fishing, Zero Plastic Waste, coral gardeners who are re planting coral around the globe or divers planting mangroves to help protect low lying coastal areas from flood and devastation.”
Simon Cooper – “With these paintings, I’m not truly sure as to what they represent; do they describe better now than then, a situation so dreadful and devastatingly life-levelling that it was extremely difficult to paint whilst experiencing, or do they show what is happening now and which continues to happen every day – that of life flooding in at every opportunity?
They definitely show a massive change of direction within myself and within my art; instead of a frozen moment in time, an ‘Eno-esque’ ambient mood of momentary stillness & stasis that has saturated my work since the mid-1980’s, these new works show movement, albeit upon stormy and tempestuous waters, with swell that threatens to capsize and swallow at any and every moment. My trajectory is altered, destination unknown – yet the content clearly shows a new and very real way forward…”
All artworks are for sale.
Join dot-art for the Private View of the exhibition on Thursday 2nd February from 5pm-7pm.
All welcome, but you must register here: https://TheSeaPV.eventbrite.
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
The exhibition runs 3rd February – 25th March 2023.
Learn more about FACT’s current exhibition from the collaborators themselves! When Our Worlds Meet (2022) is a new work by artist Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley produced in collaboration with The Bandidos, a group of young people from Liverpool.
Throughout this year-long project, Danielle worked alongside the self-titled Bandidos to discover what the group would want and need in their reimagined worlds. Exploring alternative futures and possibilities, they discussed what their realities might be missing and what they would want to include in new worlds designed by them.
For this tour, join members of the group to hear about their involvement in the project and what it’s like to work closely with an artist. Discover how Danielle built the video game artwork around their imaginative visions and how each young person is represented in the game and exhibition space.
This tour will last between 45-60 minutes.
April Lin 林森 takes us on a gameplay walkthrough of The Interface, a chatbot which has taken up residence in FACT’s first-floor gallery.
Using these interactions as a starting point, this group session will delve into conversations about ancestry and belonging.
This event forms part of FACT’s Lunar New Year Celebrations. Discover the full programme here: fact.co.uk/lunar
April Lin 林森 hosts a conversation with their artistic collaborators for The Earthly Realm is Out of Balance – an interactive game that investigates the meaning of ancestry.
Speaking about the process of making the work, they’ll discuss the conversations which formed the basis of the piece, in addition to many of the references included in the “library” which informs the chatbot’s responses.
For this event, April is joined by Yank Scally (Programmer) and Amina Atiq (Interviewee), to touch on the themes of the work, as well as the technical details of how the custom-built chatbot was made.
This event forms part of their Lunar New Year Celebrations. Discover the full programme here: fact.co.uk/lunar
The Encirclement Of Space charts the influence of lace on Michael Brennand-Wood’s work from the earliest examples made as a student in the 1970’s to his most recent commission. The exhibition contains the largest collection of his lace works ever shown together, representing all stages of his lace research.
Many of the works are of a very large scale, in a wide range of media: paper, fabric, thread, metal, mosaic, wood, slate, wax and resin. The works are monumental, exploratory and designed to challenge our perception of what we understand and associate with lace.
As part of the exhibition a brand-new commission specifically for the Williamson will be unveiled. Return to Origin-Musical Chairs is based on our archive of designs and fabric samples from the Arthur H. Lee & Sons fabrics company. The commission was supported by The Contemporary Art Society.
In celebration of Lunar New Year, FACT are teaming up with the Liverpool East and South East Asian Network (LESEAN) to bring you a special programme of events and workshops.
Join East and South East Asian (ESEA) artists and LESEAN members to hear more about Lunar New Year traditions, as we celebrate the Year of the Rabbit together.
LESEAN invites you to learn the art of lantern making alongside your friends and family. Craft lanterns together, while reflecting on resolutions and hopes for the year ahead. This workshop is suitable for all ages and abilities.
Discover the full programme of Lunar New Year celebrations here: fact.co.uk/lunar
Join Metal for a Drawing Social event taking place at Edge Hill Station on Thursday 19 January 5-6.30 pm! This informal event is open to any creatives interested in exploring storytelling through print, zines and comics (18+).
Over the course of the event they will invite you to share your own projects, participate in discussions and enjoy vegan food and snacks.
Head along and bring your own drawings to share during the event!
This short course looks at the portrait as artistic manifesto, addressing a selection of works which reflect the artistic aims of their creators.
Representing a visual equivalent for the written manifestos that characterize Modernism, such works help to shape creative style and identity, define movements, and promote avant-garde ideals and practices.
They will consider a number of artists and works, paying particular attention to periods and movements that made especial use of this form of portrait, such as late nineteenth-century Modernism and 1970s Feminism.
Full fee £26