We went to Anfield this evening, not for football but for art. I remember when the only giant around Anfield was a footballer called Ron Yeats – ‘Walk round him, he’s a Colossus’ Shankly would say.
For the past week during the evenings there has been video projections in four of the derelict houses in Granton Road.
Its a lovely piece, we watched it over a few loops and while we were there a couple of local families with all their young kids came along specially to watch it and they loved it, the littlest thought they were real people.
I like the bit where the flowers grow and bloom, eventually filling the whole house. A couple of police showed up as well and explained that there’s a party in the street on Saturday as it’s the last day with barbeque, fair and live music.
Well done Ed Purver and the other artists and agencies involved including the Biennial.
Watch Tim Brunsden’s video here
Text from Biennial website…
Empty properties in the heart of the regeneration zone, have been occupied by the giant ‘ghosts’ of those who once lived there.
The illusion has been realised through a large-scale video installation created by Brooklyn-based artist Ed Purver with local young people aged 11-17 as part of Liverpool Biennial’s On the Street. The launch took place on Friday 16 April attended by members of the local community, friends and family of the young people and those supporting the project.
The work can be seen on Granton Street, L5 from 16 to 24 April from 5pm until late, launching a three-year programme of creativity and community engagement in the Anfield and Breckfield areas.
Artists and architects will work with young people (currently not in education, employment or training) to re-imagine the area, exploring the potential of redundant spaces and buildings and temporarily taking them over. The scheme is part of Find Your Talent, a government initiative which aims to get young people into cultural activities.
International visual artist Jeanne van Heeswijk from Amsterdam and Brooklyn’s Ed Purver are working on the project. Local professionals contributing include architect Marianne Heaslip, graphic designer Mike Carney, artist Nicki McCubbing and Steve Leech who works in new media.
The core focus of On The Street is young people from Anfield and Breckfield and how they connect with their neighbourhood. The project aims to make a positive impact environmentally, socially and economically by giving them access to opportunities and the tools to develop new skills. It is encouraging young people to think productively about their urban environment and how they can contribute to its future. It will also give them the power to try out some of their ideas and make them a reality.