Who is CAN LCR? It’s kind of hard to define as it is still very much a work in progress. Circular Arts Network LCR, was born out of many conversations over the last few years, and is more of a What than a Who – a collection of folk trying to do good stuff together.
Named after the wider Circular Arts Network, established in Glasgow and trialled in Yorkshire to deliver a new piece of open source software, which is, essentially, a bit like Freecycle for the Arts.
Initially, CAN LCR grew from various discussions between artists, friends and colleagues across the Liverpool City Region, maybe most notably, a local lack after MPAC’s city centre materials shop closed down a few years ago. Ever since, there’s been a real need and desire to set something new up within the creative community. Something more suitable for 2026.
Partly this project is an evolution of Culture Skip, a notice board listing in Uncover Liverpool’s community pages. One of the earliest conversations about it was with Uncover, mutually understanding that there was more to be done to make that resource more accessible.
The network, as it is now, has developed significantly from those early chats, two unsuccessful funding bids and a lot of trial and error later. CAN LCR started (officially, at least) as a pilot for circular materials and production models during Independents Biennial 2025 [more on that elsewhere in the paper]. By the end of the summer, not only had we had a successful run of delivering materials for a festival and working with one of the widest live networks of artists in the region, we’d also finally been successful in securing some funding.
Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority (‘Mr. Wa’, to give them their more affectionate title) funded the start-up of a repair and reuse initiative across Liverpool City Region. We didn’t know exactly what model this might take at the time, so this gave us invaluable time to try out various methods.
We started by renting a few different spaces across the region, intentionally spreading ourselves thinly to try out different types of operation to see what worked and didn’t. It was an experiment, and an opportunity to explore and discover what CAN LCR could look like in practice. During this time we asked many multidisciplinary volunteer-led organisations and community groups specialising in repair and reuse what support they needed to continue or to carry on their invaluable work.
The two main issues were lack of regular skilled volunteers, and/or public awareness of the events and other related local resources. So we focused most of our energy on promoting these projects to engage more interested participants on opposite sides of the repair process, both fixers and beneficiaries.
That culminated in Make, Do & Mend March, a printed calendar and online programme of repair and reuse groups across the region, which has subsequently become a new online home for all of the regular & recurring events our partners are doing.
Whilst also trialling a mixture of in-person destash exchange events & pop-up swap shops in various venues and locations over the last few months, and finally, recently implementing the CAN software that gave us our name, on our website (CircularArtsNetworkLCR.co.uk)
In terms of who we are… There are many people behind the scenes of the Circular Arts Network LCR but it’s not yet a formal group. It is a true network of like minded individuals and partner organisations. However, we are currently defining the group’s core principles and values and establishing it as a Community Interest Company. If you are interested in getting involved, now is the perfect opportunity to be part of this movement.
You could really help define the shape of what we are, and the vision of what it will become. This community-led organisation that serves the creative industry as well as helping provide solutions for the unnecessary waste of local businesses and residents alike. This may look at different aspects or help to solve various problems within the arts and culture sector and the wider public. We will endeavour to find new and exciting ways to share resources and materials. knowledge and expert skills and across our communities, engaging with the public to raise awareness and create positive behavioural change around the reuse and repair across the local boroughs and beyond.
We look forward to collaborating further with the friends and partners included in this issue, whose tireless work has helped us though our first year, to establish what felt like an overwhelming ambition twelve months ago. Now, as part of a national and global movement, we can promote the idea that we can disrupt the status quo of the disposable nature of a broken consumerist system that needs dismantling and repairing.
We have many exciting plans in the pipeline that we can’t wait to share with everyone soon. Watch this space for more news and ways to get involved.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
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Sanna King, @circularartsnetworklcr
