BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.5//EN TZID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:12243@artinliverpool.com DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260918T100000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261220T170000 DTSTAMP:20260903T112309Z URL:https://www.artinliverpool.com/events/new-faces-new-focus-stories-we-s hare/ SUMMARY:Open Eye Gallery: New Faces\, New Focus: Stories We Share DESCRIPTION:Launch: Thursday 17 September / 6–8pm / Open Eye Gallery / fr ee\, RSVP\n\nNew Faces\, New Focus: Stories We Share is a collaborative touring exhibition bringing together new creative work by artists and comm unity participants alongside objects and artworks from three museums colle ctions across the UK.\n\nCreated by Open Eye Gallery in partnership with A rmagh\, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and Aberdeenshire Council ’s Museums Service\, the exhibition is part of Art Fund’s Going Places programme – a series of 12 exhibitions touring the UK\, created by muse ums working together to share and celebrate their collections in collabora tion with local communities.\n\nDeveloped through residencies in Liverpool City Region\, Armagh and Aberdeenshire\, the exhibition explores the them e of journeys\, identity and home through the voices of local communities whose stories have not always been represented in museum collections – i ncluding those with lived experience of migration and displacement.\n\nIn Liverpool City Region\, three socially engaged photographers have worked w ith communities to create new work inspired by local collections and parti cipants’ own experiences\; Anoosh Ariamehr worked with communities in Kn owsley\, Nina Karetska with displaced Ukrainian community in Sefton\, and Abdullrhman Hassona with communities in St Helen’s supported by Cafe Laz iz. Their projects have been supported by and developed in partnership wit h Kirkby Gallery (Knowsley)\, The Atkinson (Sefton)\, and The World of Gla ss (St Helen’s)\, where the work will also be exhibited.\n\nIn Armagh\, artists Rosalind Lowery and Catherine Willis\, alongside mentee artists Ma ria McStay and Fionnula O’Gorman\, worked with Polish\, Ukrainian\, Syri an\, and Lithuanian communities. Together with Museums’ Curator Sean Bar den\, they explored the collection and selected objects to co-create artis tic responses that reflect participants’ life journeys. Everyday object s have been interpreted in fresh and thoughtful ways\, revealing new meani ngs through the eyes of the participants.\n\nIn Aberdeenshire\, socially e ngaged photographer Nicole Gildea has engaged newly formed Aberdeenshire c ommunities with heritage collections and photography. With additional supp ort from mentee photographer Max Creamer\, residents across the shire have co-created a body of new photographic work inspired by the diverse histor ic collections managed by Aberdeenshire Council’s Museums Service.\n\nAc ross all three locations\, participants have worked alongside artists\, cu rators and museum teams to explore the theme of journeys – from migratio n and exile to the milestones\, traditions and celebrations that shape our lives – creating new work inspired by museum collections and their own experiences of place\, identity and home.\n\nFor example\, in Armagh\, eve ryday objects from the museum collection sparked memories of home and fami ly. A Harnan stand\, traditionally used for toasting oatcakes\, inspired p articipants to create their own stand to display artworks reflecting their identities and experiences. Through sewing\, sculpture and writing\, they explored themes of home\, heritage and womanhood\, creating pieces includ ing a silk doll and delicate petticoat.\n\nMeanwhile in Aberdeenshire\, pa rticipants have used photography as a tool to explore what it means to mak e your home in a new place\, using historic collections to consider how th e movement of people\, ideas and objects have made this North East corner of Scotland what it is today. Objects selected by participants hold strong cultural resonances and have brought new voices to existing Aberdeenshire collections. For example\, participants felt strong links with local agri cultural objects\, such as an ornamental ‘bothy craft’ horse painting. Additionally\, the group found links with a photograph album produced by local photographer Fred Bremner\, documenting his journey across Kashmir a t the turn of the 20th century\, at just 19 years of age.\n\nAt its heart\ , New Faces New Focus enables communities to tell their own stories thro ugh a process of co-creation and co-curation\, and explore how these stori es relate to local histories\, collections and archives.\n\nSorcha Boyle\, Open Eye Gallery’s New Faces New Focus Programme Manager\, said: “Th e socially engaged approach that underpins this project is an innovative w ay to interpret and build on the collections of our galleries and museums. By placing the voices of the communities at the forefront\, New Faces New Focus asks questions about the stories we are telling\, and importantly\, who is telling them. We hope that this project offers a new approach to e ngaging with cultural heritage that brings new voices into the fore. Worki ng closely with communities and partners across Liverpool City Region\, we have had the opportunity to embed this work in local contexts and create a dynamic constellation of exhibitions.”\n\nJenny Waldman\, Director\, A rt Fund\, said: “New Faces New Focus brings together photography\, muse um collections and personal stories to celebrate the many experiences that shape our communities today. We’re hugely grateful to The National Lott ery Heritage Fund and The Julia Rausing Trust for supporting Going Places. I’d encourage people from Liverpool and beyond to visit the exhibition at Open Eye Gallery as it begins its journey across the UK\, before travel ling on to Aberdeenshire and Armagh.”\n\nSarah Weir\, Museums Services M anager &\; Mark Revels\, Community Arts Officer\, Armagh\, Banbridge an d Craigavon Council\, said: “This has been an incredibly exciting proj ect for the Museum. It has given us a new opportunity to connect with peop le in a truly participant-led way\, opening up the Museum as a welcoming\, creative space for communities from all walks of life. We have thoroughly enjoyed the process and have been delighted to welcome new audiences\, ma ny of whom had never explored the Museum before. Projects like this show t hat museums are not dry or static places\, but vibrant spaces where people can come together\, share ideas\, be inspired and feel that they belong.   Objects were explored and histories unlocked giving way to wonderful st ories of the past where participants connected and shared their own storie s to create works inspired by the Museum’s collection.\n\nGemma Farquhar \, Social Worker\, Aberdeenshire Council\, said: “The project has had a very positive impact on our young people\, giving them opportunities to e xplore museums\, learn about ancient objects\, and take part in creative a ctivities such as making and using pinhole cameras. They have really enjoy ed being able to express themselves through photography and have felt very included and welcomed throughout. Grace\, Nicole and the team have been i ncredibly pleasant\, knowledgeable and supportive\, which has made the exp erience even more meaningful for the young people.”\n\nNew Faces\, New F ocus runs from 18 September to 20 December 2026 at Open Eye Gallery\, Live rpool\, with related displays taking place at The Atkinson\, Kirkby Galler y and The World of Glass. In Kirkby Gallery\, alongside New Faces\, New F ocus\, is the first UK exhibition of Comfort Work by Andrii Dostliev an d Lia Dostlieva. Comfort Work sits within Open Eye Gallery’s Archive and was commissioned for the Ukrainian National Pavilion at the 60th Internat ional Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia\, curated by Viktoria Bavy kina and Max Gorbatskyi. In the video installation\, ten actors from the E U and the UK are hired to perform in front of the camera the roles of thos e types of Ukrainian refugees\, which are preferred by various communities in their own countries.\n\nFollowing its display in Liverpool\, New Face s New Focus: Stories We Share will tour to Armagh County Museum (17 Janu ary – 5 May 2027) and Aberdeenshire Farming Museum (June – September 2 027).\n\nGoing Places is an Art Fund programme made possible with major su pport from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and The Julia Rausing Trust\ , with additional support from a generous group of trusts\, foundations an d individuals. Art Fund is continuing to fundraise to reach the full poten tial of the programme and make the biggest impact for museums and visitors across the UK.\n\nMeanwhile\, our Gallery 3 (upstairs) will show Next Up -2026 (18 September – 1 November) and Fractured Landscapes And How We Heal (6 November – 30 November). ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.artinliverpool.com/wp-content/upload s/2026/09/Home-Carried-with-Us-©-Nina-Karetska.jpeg CATEGORIES:Exhibitions LOCATION:Open Eye Gallery\, Mann Island\, Liverpool Waterfront\, Liverpool\ , L3 1BP\, Liverpool\, United Kingdom GEO:53.40423;-2.994412 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Mann Island\, Liverpool Wat erfront\, Liverpool\, L3 1BP\, Liverpool\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=1 00;X-TITLE=Open Eye Gallery:geo:53.40423,-2.994412 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260329T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20261025T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR