The 2004 Liverpool Biennial involved 400 artists over 50 venues, welcomed 350,000 visitors and the learning and inclusion programme consisted of 31 projects with 1500 participants. The Biennale won the Best Event category of the Mersey Partnership Tourism awards in 2002 and 2004.

from 24Hour Museum website...

Leading businesses in the North West of England have awarded the inaugural Lever Prize, an annual award for world-class arts organisations in the region, to Liverpool Biennial.

The North West Business Leadership Team (NWBLT), comprising 27 of the region’s largest businesses in partnership with Culture Northwest, awarded the prize during a formal dinner at the Lady Lever Art Gallery on January 10 2006.

The £10,000 cash prize, which takes its name from the soap magnate William H Lever (later Lord Leverhulme) who was famed for his patronage of the arts, is designed to revive the philanthropic traditions practiced by successful industrialists of the past.

They were impressed by the Biennial’s track record of innovative business partnerships, overseas links and a learning and inclusion programme, which was promoted on the back of a touring exhibition of work.

“I am delighted that the award of the inaugural Lever prize will bring Liverpool Biennial and the most aspirational companies of the North West into closer and more creative conversation,� commented Lewis Biggs, Chief Executive of Liverpool Biennial, “and I look forward to a hugely exciting year�.

From the Arts Council via the Biennial Office...
(I have been invited and will hopefully be able to report back here)

Re: Update on Arts Council support for the Independents.

The Arts Council is looking at ways to provide additional, autonomous, support and advice to the Liverpool Independents strand of the Liverpool Biennial.

The Arts Council's interest in this is in ensuring the public enjoy a quality experience, which as well as the provision of a quality programme, also means that information is centrally coordinated, that invigilation is guaranteed, that opening times are adhered to, etc.

An internal Arts Council meeting on Friday 6th will discuss how this support could be delivered in terms of administration, not funding.

So what is the meeting about?

During previous Biennials several ways of supporting the Liverpool Independents have been tested. It has become clear that there is the need for regular, professional coordinated support.

This meeting is about ensuring that public money is spent well on a quality programme for Liverpool Independents by establishing a professional organisation that will support, co-ordinate and provide advice to individual artists and curators participating in Liverpool Independents. It is our intention is that this organisation will be autonomous, its sole purpose being to support the Liverpool Independents. It will be independently run - separate from both the Arts Council and The Liverpool Biennial.

Who is invited?

The meeting is an Arts Council meeting, to which a small number of curators/artists have been invited to contribute - people who have made a strong contribution during past Liverpool Independents.

What is the meeting not about?

It needs to be made clear that this meeting is nothing to do with who is, or isn't going to be part of Liverpool Independents.

This meeting is not a consultation exercise.

As in previous years Arts Council funding for individual exhibitions or events will be accessed through the Arts Council's grants programme Grants for the Arts scheme which is open to everybody to apply. Advice on how to apply for Arts Council funding is available from the Arts Council on;

Tel: 0845 300 6200
Email: enquiries@artscouncil.org.uk
Textphone: 020 7973 6564

What next?

An open meeting will be arranged in February as a forum to discuss what support is available for all those wishing to exhibit in the Independents.

Sarah Fisher
Head of Visual Arts
Arts Council England, North West
Direct line +44 (0) 161 827 9281
Fax +44 (0) 161 834 6969
email:sarah.fisher@artscouncil.org.uk

Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2006.

New Contemporaries is open to all final year undergraduates and current postgraduates of Fine Art at UK colleges and those artists who graduated in 2005.

The deadline for newcontemporaries 2006 is TUESDAY 31 JANUARY 2006.

As usual the new contemporaries exhibition will form part of the Liverpool Biennial 2006.

See the website www.newcontemporaries.org.uk for full details.