Wirral Arts Audit

Published by Ian Jackson on March 16, 2010 19:50 in News. 1 Comment

Call to all you Wirral arty people…

Wirral Council’s Arts Unit is currently undertaking an audit of arts activity across the borough of Wirral.

They are looking for venue managers, professional artists, community arts practitioners, arts organisations and members of the general public who are interested in taking part in arts activities to fill out a short questionnaire to feed into their study.

Although the activity is ongoing, those who reply by Wednesday 5th May 2010 will be entered into a draw to win 2 tickets to either a private viewing at the Williamson Art Gallery or a show of their choice at the Floral Pavilion, New Brighton.

If you are interested in sharing your thoughts, please e-mail Sarah Kerton, Arts Development Officer at sarahkerton@wirral.gov.uk

Published by Ian Jackson on March 16, 2010 19:50 in News. 1 Comment

Hollywood Homeless at St Lukes

Published by Ian Jackson on March 16, 2010 18:56 in Art Review. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

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I’m sure this exhibition is finished now, which is a shame because it was very good as well as being a very worthwhile and interesting project.

The photographs and performance were by a group of over 20 homeless people, many of whom you may have seen sitting on the steps or in the gardens around St Luke’s church. They worked with Urban Strawberry Lunch and the photography group Fab Collective and it seems all parties got a lot out of the project.

We certainly enjoyed the show, some amazing pictures and music. Please read the full details on the fab collective website

While the Fab Collective’s exhibition Up to something was at St Luke’s last summer we spent a lot of time with members of the local homeless population. So when our hosts at St Luke’s, Urban Strawberry Lunch, asked us to help out with the Hollywood Homeless project we jumped at the chance.

Hollywood Homeless is a music and photography project made possible by the Employable Communities Fund. For the photography side of the project, members of the Fab Collective have worked with and mentored project participants. A selection of photographs taken by the homeless participants were exhibited at St Luke’s (the ‘bombed out church’) from 6th to 13th March. If you missed the exhibition you can still see the photos on Flickr.

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Published by Ian Jackson on March 16, 2010 18:56 in Art Review. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Ancient Egyptian Adventure reaches the final chapter

Published by Ian Jackson on March 16, 2010 18:16 in News. 0 Comments Tags: , .

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MUSEUM DRAMA ENDS
Ancient Egyptian Adventure reaches the final chapter

More than 6000 children across Merseyside went on an Egyptian adventure – without even leaving their schools! They all took part in Ancient Egyptian Adventure – The Secret of the Jewelled Heart, an ambitious collaboration between National Museums Liverpool and theatre Hope Street Ltd that draws to a close this month.

Actors performed the atmospheric show to children inside a ‘pyramid tomb’ stage set, as part of a day of ancient Egyptian activity. The theatre and museum worked together to find new and innovative ways of exciting young people about ancient history and museum collections. The unique ‘spectacle’ has been taken into 60 selected schools in Liverpool, St Helens and Knowsley. The experiment is part of the government’s Find Your Talent pathfinder which aims to get young people into creative and cultural activities.

Continue reading ‘Ancient Egyptian Adventure reaches the final chapter’

Published by Ian Jackson on March 16, 2010 18:16 in News. 0 Comments Tags: , .

New dot-art Show Starts: Paul Shiers – Translucence and Saturation

Published by Ian Jackson on March 16, 2010 15:21 in Art Preview. 0 Comments Tags: .

New dot-art Show Starts Today – Paul Shiers – Translucence and Saturation, 15th March – 23rd April 2010 | Liverpool Art Lovers.

I keep meaning to mention the Liverpool Art Lovers blog. It’s run by the folk at dot-art so naturally devotes plenty of coverage to their own events but it’s a good read overall with news and reviews of other visual art happenings of interest to Liverpool art lovers.

dot-art’s Spring show features a new collection of abstract work by Wirral based painter Paul Shiers. These vibrant, dramatic and multi-layered works embrace a variety of media and techniques, exploiting the possibilities and qualities of acrylic paint but also introducing elements of enamel, oil and watercolour for specific effects.

It is Paul’s opinion that abstract art is the most free form of painting on canvas. Forming ideas for paintings from a variety of different sources, he enjoys the experimental side of painting using lots of different techniques to gain a satisfactory conclusion to a piece of work.

Published by Ian Jackson on March 16, 2010 15:21 in Art Preview. 0 Comments Tags: .

Galleries Invited to be in Own Art Scheme

Published by Ian Jackson on March 16, 2010 14:53 in News. 0 Comments Tags: .

I’d like to see more Liverpool galleries taking part in this scheme – the more the better.

The application period for galleries wishing to join the Own Art scheme is now open. The closing date for applications is 26 April 2010.

Who can apply?

Membership of the Own Art scheme is open to the following types of organisation:

  • Commercial art galleries
  • Not for profit galleries, museums and artists associations
  • Local authority funded galleries and museums
  • Specialist art colleges and higher education establishments
  • Internet based galleries whose registered offices are based in England

Please note that we are unable to consider applications from individual artists or from businesses that promote the work of a single artist only.

Continue reading ‘Galleries Invited to be in Own Art Scheme’

Published by Ian Jackson on March 16, 2010 14:53 in News. 0 Comments Tags: .

Walker Art Gallery Short-Listed for Art Fund Collect

Published by Ian Jackson on March 16, 2010 11:38 in News. 0 Comments Tags: , .
Jacqueline Ryan Sea Brooch, 2008 18ct gold and vitreous enamels Height 65mm Width 65mm Depth 40mm Courtesy The Scottish Gallery

Jacqueline Ryan Sea Brooch, 2008 18ct gold and vitreous enamels Height 65mm Width 65mm Depth 40mm Courtesy The Scottish Gallery

More exciting news from the Walker…

Four North West art institutions in the running for national contemporary art prize

Independent art charity The Art Fund, and the Crafts Council, today announced that four museums and galleries in the NorthWest have been short-listed to take part in Art Fund Collect, a nationwide initiative championing contemporary craft and increasing its presence in UK collections.

The four institutions from the North West are: Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool; Manchester Art Gallery; Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester; and Harris Museum, Preston. Eleven museums and galleries have been short-listed in total, out of 21 applications from across the UK.

Now in its third year, Art Fund Collect offers a fund of £75,000 for curators from UK institutions to select and acquire outright a unique work from COLLECT, the Craft Council’s international art fair for contemporary objects, which takes place at London’s Saatchi Gallery in May.

Art Fund Collect will take place on 13 May at COLLECT. On the day, short-listed curators will be granted special advance access to the fair, ahead of private buyers and VIP guests. They will have one hour to race around the fair and cherry-pick an item to acquire for their museum’s public collection.

The expert panel of judges will examine their choices and decide who will win a share of the £75,000 prize from The Art Fund.Winning curators will be able to buy their chosen piece outright on behalf of their museum or gallery.
TheWhitworth Art Gallery was among the winners of Art Fund Collect in 2008, a possible double win could be in store this year. The Harris Museum, Preston was shortlisted in 2008 and 2009 but is yet to come away with a prize. This is the first time that the Walker Art Gallery and Manchester Art Gallery have been short-listed to take part in Art
Fund Collect.

Robin Emmerson, Head of Decorative Arts at the Walker, will take part in Art Fund Collect on behalf of his institution. He said: “We are very excited that we have been short-listed for Art Fund Collect this year. This is a great opportunity for Liverpool to bid for a really astounding piece of new work – and if we get it, it will be free to see.”

http://www.artfund.org/

Published by Ian Jackson on March 16, 2010 11:38 in News. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Liverpool International Photography Festival Gets Go Ahead

Published by Ian Jackson on March 16, 2010 11:15 in News. 0 Comments Tags: .

Some exciting news for Photography fans…

PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL IN LIVERPOOL GETS GO AHEAD

Liverpool is to stage its first-ever international photography festival, entitled Look2011.
The festival will take place at galleries and exhibition spaces across Liverpool and Merseyside and will showcase significant new bodies of work by emerging and established photographers from both home and abroad. Look2011 will launch with a four-day event in May 2011 featuring exhibition openings, artists’ talks, workshops and will
play host to the 3rd National Photography Symposium.

Dedicated to pushing the boundaries of contemporary photography and developing ideas around our collective photographic future, the theme of the Look2011 festival will be social justice and photography as a ‘call to action’ and is designed to increase participation and awareness of the issues and practices of photography to audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

The festival has recently received generous funding and support from the Arts Council and is currently embarking on recruitment of an Artistic Director and a Festival Manager to be appointed in May 2010.

Key partners already in place include venues such as the Bluecoat, National Museums Liverpool, the Open Eye Gallery and also include the photographers’ network Redeye, Magnum Photos, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and Liverpool City Council.

Colin McPherson, chair of the Look2011 organising committee said: “This is a decisive moment for photography in Liverpool and I am delighted that we have secured funding and support to allow us to stage this exciting event. I am sure it will be a significant part of the cultural landscape of Liverpool, Merseyside and the North West in 2011. The themes of the festival and the events which are being planned to allow for participation and interaction with the world of photography and will aim to educate, inform and stimulate debate.”

With a number of photography commissions on offer, Look2011 will also seek to create a legacy of original and exciting work from the festival.

Further details and confirmation of the events and dates will be released in due course. In the meantime details regarding employment opportunities with the festival can be found by
visiting www.look2011.co.uk or you can follow us on Twitter: @look2011.

Published by Ian Jackson on March 16, 2010 11:15 in News. 0 Comments Tags: .

Mersey Basin Exhibition at JMU Academy

Published by Ian Jackson on March 16, 2010 11:01 in Art Review. 0 Comments Tags: , .

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This interesting exhibition about the Mersey Coastal area ends this week, it’s well worth a look. Some of the facts which are presented in various media are quite fascinating.

Mersey Basin an Exhibition
at The Art and Design Academy, Liverpool John Moores University
1 – 19 March 2010
A cross-disciplinary exhibition bringing together newly commissioned work by 11 UK-based artists – exploring the themes of rising sea level and flooding from a regional perspective, in the broader context of climate change. This exhibition is presented by High Tide.

Aesthetic environmental activism
Sci-art collaborations
Grass roots engagement
Visualised ecological futures

Artists: Àgata Alcañiz , James Brady, Stuart Carter, David Haley, Gordon MacLellan, Jacqueline McCormick, Janette Porter, Tim Pugh, Scott Thurston, Elizabeth Willow, Robyn Woolston

For full details visit the website: http://www.hightideuk.org/

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Published by Ian Jackson on March 16, 2010 11:01 in Art Review. 0 Comments Tags: , .