Monthly Archive for October, 2007

Geology Rocks! – at World Museum Liverpool

geology-1.jpgWorld Museum Liverpool will be full of rock stars this weekend as the National Geology Festival comes to town. It promises to be a gem of a day as dinosaur displays, hands-on family sessions led by the young geologists group Rockwatch and live video links to other museums are on offer this Saturday 3 November 2007 from 10-4.30pm.

The Geology Association will also be giving free lectures in the Treasure House Theatre from 2pm on Saturday. Professor Bob Spicer from the Open University will be tackling some of the issues surrounding how we predict climate change and Professor Jim Rose from Royal Holloway College will be examining the earliest Humans that lived in Britain.

Pictured here is Curator Alan Bowden examining a huge ancient fossil from the geology collections.

World Museum Liverpool

Arena & 50 Parr St Charity Art Auction – Nov 9 2007

ARENA STUDIOS with 50 PARR STREET STUDIOS

Presents

CHARITY ART AUCTION at 33-45 Parr Street
Friday 9th November 2007

Arena Art and Design Association and 50 Parr Street is offering this fantastic opportunity
to buy artworks from some of the city’s most exciting artists.
Held for the first time in 3345, the perfect venue to display and auction innovative artworks,
this is a chance to walk away with incredible art by local artists.

Previews from 5pm
Auction starts at 6pm

To preview the works for auction and the artists involved please visit www.myspace.com/arenastudios

For further information on Arena Studios, 50 Parr Street and 3345 please visit
www.arena.uk.com
www.myspace.com/50parrstreet
www.3345parrst.com

Arena Studios
4 Jordan Street
Liverpool
L1 0BP
0151 707 9879

MTV Annual Awards Coming to Liverpool 2008

MTV Networks International (MTVNI) today announced that Liverpool will be the host city for the fifteenth annual MTV Europe Music Awards in 2008.

This will be the third time that the UK has hosted the Awards. Previously the event has been held in London (1996) and Edinburgh (2003).

The 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards will be broadcast live across all platforms on Thursday 6th November 2008.

“It is fantastic to be back in the UK and it is only natural that Liverpool should host the fifteenth annual Europe Music Awards. Not only is it the European Capital of Culture next year but the influence of its rich music heritage is still felt today,

Artwork of the Day – John Everett Millais

vanessa_john_millais.jpg

Liverpool artwork of the day – Wednesday October 31 2007. ‘Vanessa’ (1868) by John Everett Millais (1829 – 1896) in Lady Lever Gallery

This painting was George Holt’s first major acquisition for Sudley. He paid £1575 for it in 1885 when it marked a distinct move upmarket in his art collecting. Henceforward, he would concentrate – almost exclusively – on ‘blue chip’ artists marketed by his preferred dealers, Thomas Agnew and Sons.

By the time he painted this work, Millais had abandoned his youthful Pre-Raphaelite principles in favour of popular subjects that showed off his bravura handling of paint. This is a fancy portrait of an artists’ model posing as the lover of the 18th century writer, Jonathan Swift.

Lady Lever

News on the Liverpool 08 Ballot

News on the Liverpool 08 Ballot

The Liverpool 08 Ballot has now been held. All those who registered for tickets will be informed – whether successful or not – in the next few days. Further details will be announced in due course.

I got email to say I’ve been successful – so I got a huge credit card bill several months before the events. Hope its worth it.

www.liverpool08.com

Turner Prize Public Programme at Tate Liverpool

Artist Talk Mark Wallinger
Wallinger talks about his Turner Prize 2007 exhibit, among other work including the piece he was nominated for – State Britain and the work that featured in his exhibition at Tate Liverpool in 2000 – Credo.

The Auditorium, Tate Liverpool
Thursday 1 November, 18.00 – 19.30

Artist Talk Richard Grayson on Mike Nelson
Richard Grayson, a noted spokesperson on the work of Nelson and also a good friend of the artist, talks about the inspiration behind Nelson’s installations focusing on the current Turner Prize 2007 work, but also referring to past work and work in progress by the artist.

The Auditorium, Tate Liverpool
Thursday 8 November, 18.00 – 19.30

Artist Talk Nathan Coley in conversation with Declan McGonagle
Coley discusses his projects about the built environment and the experience of being nominated for the Turner Prize with Declan McGonagle, who as a former nominee has a long history with the prize.

Thursday 22 November, 18.00 – 19.30

This talk will be held at School of Architecture, Liverpool University
In collaboration with CAVA, the Centre for Architecture and the Visual Arts, Liverpool University.

Late at Tate Liverpool Art and the City
Get involved in the debate about contemporary art, Liverpool and regeneration. View films about the city curated by the City in Film research project (Liverpool University), take in neighbouring Site Gallery’s Shrinking Cities exhibition and end the night enjoying a performance by Liverpool’s home grown Hot Club de Paris.

Thursday 29 November
From 18.00 – 21.00

In Conversation Are you ready? [LATE AT TATE]
What does the arrival of Turner Prize 2007 mean for Liverpool and what is the relationship between contemporary art and the city? This discussion moderated by Roger Phillips of BBC Radio Merseyside between representatives of contemporary art collectives, arts institutions including Liverpool Biennial and development groups such as Liverpool Vision and Grosvenor will discuss contemporary art and the city, peoples’ expectations for 2008 and if Liverpool is ready for its year as European Capital of Culture.

Thursday 29 November
18.00 – 19.30

This talk will be recorded and broadcast on BBC Radio Merseyside

All Turner Prize events priced £7, £5.50 (concessions), £4 (members)
and to be booked by calling Tate Liverpool on 0151 702 7000

http://www.tate.org.uk/liverpool/

2000 Pansies Planted as Memorial to Homophobia Victims

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Artist Paul Harfleet helps Merseyside Police plant pansies

An unusual sight this, some of Merseyside’s top Police officers on their knees planting flowers. Although a serious topic everyone was enjoying the event and the line of pansies running like a scar across the gardens looks really cool.

Artist Paul Harfleet revisits locations where homophobia has been experienced and plants pansies. These self seeding pansies act as a living memorial to this abuse and operate as an antidote to it; some pansies wither whilst others thrive in car park borders and windswept road verges. Each Pansy’s location is named after the abuse received, photographed then posted on his website:. What began as a small-scale autobiographical artwork has grown into an international project, which has been included in festivals in Manchester, New York and London.

For Homotopia 2007, Harfleet will plant 2000 pansies in St John’s Gardens; the installation will visually dissect the park creating a memorial to a homophobically motivated murder. Paul enables others to get involved by distributing pansies to the public who will make symbolic plantings across Liverpool.

On Sunday November 18, Paul will be hosting the ‘Pansy Giveaway’ He will be on Church Street in the centre of Liverpool from 2pm-4pm to distribute pansies and to chat about the project to interested passers by.
The ‘Pansy Giveaway’ enables the public to become involved in the project. By symbolically planting pansies either at the site of homophobic experience or in window boxes/garden borders the pansy is imbued with significance altering the ordinary activity of planting a flower as a way to offer support to The Pansy Project and the homophobia it comments on.

For further information visit
www.thepansyproject.com
thepansyproject.blogspot.com

Generously supported by Merseyside Police

Face of the City – Drop in Day – Wed Oct 31 2007

Paul Miller will be promoting the Face of the City project at Radio Merseyside Studios in Hanover Street this Wednesday October 31st 2007

He will be there from 10am until 5pm, to answer questions.

Do call in if you are at all interested in this project which is asking Liverpool’s city centre working community to create their own artworks and display them at their own workplaces as part of the Cities 2008 Cultural celebrations.

http://www.liverpoolfh.org.uk/