Issue #24 - September 2021 News, Reviews & Listings for visual art in Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral.
Cover image: Detail from On the Bright Side, by Jon Edgley at Convenience Gallery
Art in Liverpool, issue #24, September 2021 Editorial:
Collaboration is tough. It’s a revolving series of compromises, and requires mutual understanding, and the ability of all parties to listen to the fears of others, and for each to accept the skills, and skill gaps, of those they’re working with.
So I’m writing this month’s editorial between edits to articles, and reflecting on what we didn’t focus on in the original articles. How well the artists, curators, venues, participants, and in some cases funders, have worked together.
For both of the above, the collaboration seems natural. Basically, reliant on actually getting on, and caring about each other as individuals. For others, those collaborations can be more subtle - in some cases, so subtle the collaborators never actually meet - as is the case with Very Public Art, where the collaboration is between the artworks rather than the artists. The playfully guided tour of Liverpool city centre is made up of independently produced works, which have accidental relationships with each other (and have, individually, been the products of collaboration).
The next page is Dead Pigeon After all, the nature of collaboration Gallery (a collaboration in itself in its best form is to combine between Jayne Lawless, Josie expertise to deliver something Jenkins and Catherine Dalton) otherwise undeliverable. who have worked with a team of photographers collaborating on We’ve been good at it, and we’ve education and their own recovery, been bad at it. I lose patience, or who are in a gallery that came about collaborators lose patience with me. because they bumped into Pete and There are countless projects I’d love Helen who owned an incredible to revisit, having learned more about building. Yes there are simple roles the challenges of collaboration, with for each, but it’s more than facilitato a more patient head. But they’re rs+artists+building=success. My point, if I have one, is that it can gone, so I’ll look to the future. take time to find the right way of It’s a similar story at Convenience working together. I’m currently exceptionally excited Gallery for Jon Edgley’s solo show about something that might not (cover story). It’s Jon’s name on the even happen. I started this week a posters, but the effort of Andrew normal amount of excited, but then Shaw & Ryan Gauge to activate serendipity raised its head and a ideas and set them into a year long team appeared. programme sets the tone.
Art in Liverpool magazine is a monthly newspaper and calendar about visual art in the Liverpool City Region / To contribute, or submit your events and exhibitions, email: info@artinliverpool.com / We’re here to support galleries and creative spaces, so make sure to keep us up to date about your events at least two weeks in advance of each issue. / If you’d like even more of a presence in the magazine we have advertising available every month, and take bookings well in advance. For details on pricing and deadlines contact Patrick: patrick@artinliverpool.com
Issue #24, September 2021: Editor: Patrick Kirk-Smith Contributors: Kathryn Wainwright + Laura Marie Brown + Gary Lambert All advertising, sponsorship, distribution & event enquiries should be sent to info@artinliverpool.com / Art in Liverpool C.I.C. / Company No. 10871320
One Day at A Time Boys. Launch night photography by Gary Lambert, @glamgigpics
Review: One Day at a Time Boys, by Sam Batley & Dead Pigeon Gallery, at Earth at The Bakery
It doesn’t remotely matter if you’ve got formal training as an artist in order to be one. What matters is an open mind to new ways of thinking, and being open to sharing that thinking. One Day at a Time Boys is probably the most obvious evidence of that I’ve ever seen.
something was wrong.
Something was wrong enough for them to stop and say “I need help to get out of this”. And through that they’ve restarted or recovered their life, not just their health. And the way Damien John Kelly House works is to create community. It’s so apparent in all of the images that When you remove fear of judgement, they’re by a group of people who, anyone can tell their story more for the most part, get on with each effectively, or help others tell theirs. other immensely. Sam Batley has been through the same journey as Ian, Wayne, and all They’re a team, and for this show, a the others in the project. So there’s team led by Sam Batley whose had the chance to come through what no judgement from the off. they’ve been through, and to go The exhibition starts with a group of back and introduce creativity into residents from Damien John Kelly their lives, just as it was for him. House, an abstinence-led residential At some point in the process behind recovery centre in Wavertree. this show, the artists, photgraphers, One of the most powerful thoughts and human beings who made it, which recurs with this show is that looked up and realised they were at the time these lads started taking creating art, and sharing their stories these photos, they’d got to a point through it, not just sitting through in their life where they’d decided another workshop.
I missed the last show by Dead Pigeon Gallery, so I was determined to see this. Just round the corner from my old house, curated by Sam Batley, whose own journey to this exhibition has been just as important as the others whose work he has pulled together. -Words, Patrick Kirk-Smith Images, Gary Lambert, @ glamgigpics One Day at a Time Boys was at Earth at the Bakery for one week. It’s closed now, but you can still see some of the work in an exhibition by Sam Bately running at Open Eye Gallery until 19th September
Image: install of Jon Edgley, On The Bright Side. Courtesy of Convenience Gallery
Review: Jon Edgley, On the Bright Side at Convenience Gallery When you woke up today, did you see the positives ahead of you, or worry about the next step you had to take? Do you look on the bright side, or get bogged down by the stuff on the other side? With so much exposure to extreme emotions, we’re increasingly susceptible to generalisations to get us through. A quick google on improving stress levels tells you to drink green tea, assert yourself, and rink more liquids.
Like the artist says in the exhibition The shows are polished, and statement, the answer to life isn’t considered. Jon Edgley’s installation always: live, laugh, love. is precise. It understands every potential type of engagement, and Once in a while, it’s just: stop asks its audience to follow a simple for a bit. And the installation at set of instructions. Convenience Gallery is a chance to do that. The result is a gentle activity which gives you space to engage. Pick up On the Bright Side is a single a pencil, pick up some paper, trace installation rather than an exhibition. images from the 360 degree, 8ft It’s bold, and immediate, and above lightbox, and you’re done. You’ve everything else, a perfectly realised got a print. Cheap, easy, engaging, idea. sorted.
By the time you read this the show is over, but it’s part of a wider programme at Convenience Gallery. In Cahoots is a mash of ten exhibitions, a series of walks, talks Jon Edgley’s solo show, On the and film screenings, all produced by Bright Side, questions 21st century Andrew Shaw and Ryan Gauge who positivity, and in a really immediate have built the gallery into a space way gives its users a chance to do where you expect to be re-taught something physical as a distraction. how independent spaces can work.
Worth mentioning in this article is the nature of print. We’re so used to print workshops involving screens and vacuum tables, or presses, rollers, and shelves full of inks. But when you strip print back to its utter basics, it is mark making and repetition. I’d never really considered that until this show, and it was a hugely relaxing exercise.
I know there’s a chance I’m over simplifying, but there’s a purity to the process of this work that matches the exhibition’s motivations perfectly. The show is a questioning of positivity, how we use it, how we need it, how we misuse it, or just misunderstand it and whether, sometimes, “Look on the bright side” isn’t the right advice. Whatever the answer to the bigger questions Edgley is asking, I left feeling a lot more positive than when I went in. -Words, Patrick Kirk-Smith Jon Edgley’s On The Bright Side has ended, but the In Cahoots programme continues at Convenience Gallery until May 2022
Left: Focus by Sumuyya Khader, 2021. Right: Identity by Sumuyya Khader, 2021. images courtesy of Bluecoat
N ew s Sumuyya Khader’s ‘Always Black Never Blue’ to show at the Bluecoat in October The Bluecoat is delighted to present Sumuyya Khader’s solo exhibition, Always Black Never Blue. Her work reflects on contemporary life in Liverpool, exploring people and place through illustration, drawing, print and painting. The exhibition opens to the public from 15 October 2021 – 23 January 2022. The exhibition marks Khader’s first UK solo show in a public gallery and brings together work produced across her career to date. This includes a recent return to painting, the medium that first drew her to art, an artistic development that has been supported by a residency at the Bluecoat in the months leading up to Khader’s exhibition.
Her work often features restorative green spaces, relaxed interiors and still life, including details such as house plants layered with patterns and markings. The spaces she depicts celebrate the lifegiving properties of plants and greenery, and through their precisely detailed compositions, also advocate for a great sense of care for our surroundings and our neighbours.
I’m excited to present a body of work that looks at celebrating Black joy and explores how we can protect the bodies within our community.” Khader is an artist of empowerment, both through the combinations of text and images in her work and also through the action she takes beyond her studio. Recent projects have included establishing Aspen Yard, an artist studio based in Toxteth, Liverpool; and Granby Press, a community print shop built as a resource for the local community to print zines, newsletters, flyers and artworks. In October 2020, Khader curated Celebrating Black Liverpool Artists, an outdoor exhibition on the facade of the Bluecoat as part of Liverpool City Council’s Without Walls programme, which celebrated the work of 5 Liverpool artists and highlighted the lack of visibility for the work of black women in the city.
Khader’s portraits focus on Black subjects and talk to Black lived experience and identity. Her celebration of people and places is often combined with powerful text, such as ‘STAND UP, SPEAK OUT THIS IS A FIGHT FOR US ALL’, ‘WE FIGHT’, and ‘SAY IT LOUD, I’M BLACK AND I’M PROUD’ reflecting the urgency of the fight against racism and Khader’s paintings and illustrations the erasure of Black voices, particularly capture fleeting moments and snapshots in Liverpool. of daily life, originally captured by the artist photographing the world around The artist Sumuyya Khader says of the her. Khader transforms these snapshots exhibition: -into her compositions, often by flattening images and mixing in abstract shapes, “I’m thrilled to be offered the opportunity Opens at Bluecoat, 15th October 2021 to exhibit my work in my hometown. colours and rhythms. After a highly politically charged year
image courtesy of Bluecoat
As part of a new programme centred around the Bluecoat’s cultural legacies, a new exhibition, A Creative Community, will launch on 8th September 2021. The Bluecoat has been a home for working artists for over a hundred years. From the first group of artists who occupied the former school building in 1907, through to the present day, this ‘creative community’ remains at the heart of the Bluecoat, with some 20 artists and creatives occupying studios today. A Creative Community will tell the story of these artists through material drawn from the art centre’s extensive archive. Formally established in 1927 as the UK’s first art centre, the Bluecoat is housed in central Liverpool’s oldest building which has a long and complex history. The Cultural Legacies programme focuses on the Bluecoat’s wider impact, starting with its support for artists. Two further focuses, the civic role of the arts centre, and interrogating colonial legacies, will follow between November and March 2022. All three are intended to explore the idea of the arts centre as providing space for critical reflection and engagement. The exhibition reflects a key aim for the Bluecoat as an arts organisation: to ‘unlock
creative process’, and it provides a behind the scenes glimpse of this happening.
is crucial for every artist. This exhibition is a celebration of these creative communities that help us all to flourish
Bryan Biggs, Director of Cultural Legacies at the Bluecoat says: To accompany the display, Merseysidebased international artist, Leo Fitzmaurice, “We associate groups of artists taking who has been resident at the Bluecoat for on and reviving vacant buildings as a over three years, has curated a collection recent phenomenon, but this story started of historical exhibitions and other images at Bluecoat in 1907, and continues for our online archive. He says of the today. Artists have been the lifeblood of collection: the building and they played a key role in securing its future as an arts centre. “Having had a relationship with The Today, with such an active creative Bluecoat since leaving art college, both community of artists, designers and other showing in exhibitions and more recently practitioners, the Bluecoat is proud to be as a studio member, I have chosen to base able to maintain a hub for working studios my selection from the archive on the works in the heart of the city.” that have stayed with me over time. This collection is, in a way, as much an account As well as revealing the heritage of artists of my interests as an artist as it is a record working in the building, the display will of the Bluecoat’s history.” also feature the Bluecoat’s ‘extended family’ of artists-in-residence and Accompanying the exhibition is an online printmaking studios, and a new series programme that will contribute to a of photos commissioned from current conversation around artistic practice in the occupier Sophie Traynor provides an Liverpool City Region. opportunity for the public to get to know Laura Brown, co-author of a recent report the current cohort of creatives. on studio provision in the city region, will One of these, textile designer Nawal be developing a short film inviting a range Gebreel, whose innovative scarves and of artists and art studios to share their wraps sell internationally, says: experiences. This will inform a discursive event in October, considering the Being a member of the Bluecoat’s creative challenges and opportunities that artists community has played an important role and art studios in the city region face. in the development of my artistic practise. Being in the same physical space as other artists and exhibitions provides continual fresh ideas and inspiration, something that
image courtesy of National Museums Liverpool
National Museums Liverpool announce Transatlantic Slavery and Legacies in Museums Forum
resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement due to the continued racially motivated violence against Black people across the world, and the immense response from the public and inside the cultural sector, demonstrated the vital need for information around the subject. A new national forum with a Many museums have started or are focus on Transatlantic Slavery and in the process of planning reviews of Legacies in Museums launched on their collections and interpretation 23rd August 2021, to coincide with to better understand and explore links to Transatlantic Slavery and its Slavery Remembrance Day. legacies and links to the histories of Led by National Museums Empire. Liverpool in partnership with Black Cultural Archives, Bristol The public is increasingly turning to Culture, Hull Museums, Glasgow museums for better understanding Museums and Museum of London, and clear action. There is further the Transatlantic Slavery and recognition in the museum sector Legacies in Museums Forum is the that although a lot of work is being first national network of its kind to done across the UK to review and share current discourse and support deepen understanding of collections, a narrative thread to fully represent the buildings they are housed and the communities they engage with, there slavery and its legacies in the UK. is no collective dialogue to talk about There has never been greater this or the plans for development. demand to understand the origins of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and The Transatlantic Slavery and discuss its legacies. In 2020, the Legacies in Museums Forum will
act as a central point for making connections and shared learning through regular activities and amplify the work being done across the UK. A further priority focus will be the emotional and mental impact this work is having on both practitioners, stakeholders and the wider public.
as together we move forward in addressing our past.” The Forum is open to all museums, galleries, archives, heritage organisations and their community partners.
Two free events will take place in Liverpool later this year. The official Laura Pye, Director of National launch event will take place on Museums Liverpool says: “We are 8 November to coincide with the delighted to launch this forum which annual conference of the Museums will explore the positive work that Association and the second event is already underway throughout will be a one-day symposium on the UK to highlight the history and 10 December at the International profound impact of the transatlantic Slavery Museum and online. slave trade. This forum will also To find out more and register your provide a safe and much needed interest to become a member: support network for museums who are focusing their efforts to better www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ tell, engage and contextualise this tslforum horrific part of our history, which is often ignored. By addressing this complex topic collectively, we can further spark discussions and transparent dialogue and continue to improve awareness within the sector. I look forward to working with our founding partners and wider sector
Andrew Edwards working on Bob Marley statue. image courtesy of Positive Vibration
Bob Marley statue to be unveiled in Liverpool for Positive Vibration Festival
After a turbulent and difficult year for everyone, divisiveness has come to define a lot of public discourse. It was for this reason that Positive Vibration Festival came up with the idea for a Bob Marley statue. The universality of Bob Marley’s message of love, unity and hope is much needed, and the festival wanted to pay tribute to that message and hopefully inspire people.
Positive Vibration Festival have commissioned a 7ft tall statue of cultural icon, Bob Marley. The artwork is to be created by sculptor Andy Edwards who is well known in Liverpool for After seeing the impact that Andy his brilliant Beatles statue on Edwards’ Beatles and Mohammed Liverpool’s Waterfront. Ali statues had made, the festival approached Andy through Castle After a 2-year hiatus, Positive Fine Arts Foundry and have worked Vibration Festival will be returning collaboratively to make the idea a to Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle this reality. September 10 – 11 after successfully negotiating their way through the The Bob Marley statue will global Covid-19 pandemic and are undoubtedly become one of ready to put on their biggest event Liverpool’s most iconic public to date. Headliners include, Asian artworks and will mirror the success Dub Foundation, Mad Professor, of other artworks around the city Benjamin Zephaniah, Hollie Cook such as The Beatles statue, the and Liverpool’s own, Levi Tafari. Superlambanana and the Liver
Wings.
Tafari.
In addition, the build of the statue has been assisted by local community groups such as the young people of Staged Kaos who visited the Foundry to help the artists structure and finalise the sculptor.
The return of The Art of Reggae, the annual exhibition strand of the festival is a collaboration between the International Reggae Poster Contest and Positive Vibration.
The artwork will be placed on Jamaica Street opposite the Jurgen Klopp mural on a plinth supplied by Baltic Creative. It is yet another fantastic artwork to be featured in the Baltic Triangle and is sure to attract even more visitors to the area.
The exhibition will showcase some incredible reggae-inspired posters, designed by illustrators & artists from all over the world, and opens alongside the launch of the statue in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle. --
The Bob Marley statue will be Find out more, and book tickets for unveiled on Thursday 9th September Positive Vibration via their website: in time for the festival launch and www.posvibefest.com the opening of the Art of Reggae Exhibition at 92 Degrees Coffee. The unveiling of the statue will be the centrepiece of the evening, which also include music from local DJs, as well as a speech and performance from legendary Liverpool poet, Levi
Sundays in Town This summer, spend your Sundays exploring the city. Whether it is an afternoon at an exhibition, lunch with the family, a wander down the waterfront with friends or a little retail therapy, Sundays are for relaxing. Liverpool BID Company has launched a new campaign, called Sundays in Town, to showcase the breadth of offer from Liverpool city centre’s cultural, retail and hospitality firms. Domestic tourism has risen by 51% in 2021 compared with last year, and there’s a desire to explore the world on your own doorstep. The beauty of Liverpool is that there’s something for everyone. With galleries and museums reopening, there are plenty of exhibitions to explore for culture buffs. At Tate Liverpool, Lucian Freud’s Real Lives tells the story of the iconic artist through his portraits. At the Museum of Liverpool discover the history and culture of
the city through the decades. In September, the largest UK retrospective of the artist Sickert opens at the Walker Art Gallery.
If it is a leisurely lunch or evening meal with family and friends you want, there is plenty of choice. From bottomless brunches to Sunday Roasts, gather everyone together for a bite to eat Art is dotted around Liverpool’s streets, so you and a couple of drinks. can curate your own culture walk. The latest sculpture on The Liverpool Plinth is Jimmy by While we still have a little sunshine, heading Faith Bebbington. Inspired by the working horses outdoors might be a preferred option, and of Britain’s waterways, the sculpture overlooks Liverpool is a walkable city. Have you ever the Leeds to Liverpool canal on the city’s just spent the afternoon exploring the beautiful waterfront. Joining the Fab Four on the Pier Head buildings and architecture of the waterfront, of this summer is reggae legend Bob Marley with a William Brown Street and St George’s Quarter? new statue commissioned by Positive Vibrations. How about Castle Street and inside the historic Commercial District? You’ll find hidden gems Retail offers extend from small independents to like Queens Avenue, the stunning Martin’s Bank international brands. Bold Street is home to some building and Exchange Flags by the Town Hall. of Liverpool’s most characterful stores, including By foot or by bike, it is a great option for a Sunday the radical bookshop News from Nowhere, or afternoon in the fresh air. design loving Utility. A wander through Liverpool ONE will bring the latest fashion styles straight to To find out what’s on, visit sundaysintown.co.uk your wardrobe.
Detail from Kimathi Donkor’s ‘UK Diaspora’. image courtesy of National Museums Liverpool
Review: Challenging Histories, International Slavery Museum International Slavery Museum’s new collection display shares a mass of artworks collected over the last four years. Collections displays can be stale, and feel like dusted off pieces of irrelevant past, but the pace of this show is reflective of the pace of changing cultures. The best illustration of this is the exhibition is Alice Kettle’s Cotton Slave Adam; Cotton Slave Eve. The work combines textiles, text, stitch and drawing to highlight similarities between 18th Century cotton trades, and those of today. Adam, made from an old cotton table cloth, coated in cloth related to the products he would have farmed. Eve, made from modern cloth shares the story of a modern mother, supporting her child
through factory labour.
This archive being in view, in a space designed to teach, gives us The purpose of collections is often that chance to view our own history to ensure we don’t forget our past, in a new light. for better or worse. This connects traditional collections to modern More importantly, it does that perception. With work made by through art. artists still working today, still responding to these subjects, they Francois Piquet’s Timalle, in all its are references for ongoing archives. visceral stature, is probably the most recognisable work in this collection. The power of the show though isn’t It’s a combination of performance in its presentation of these moments and sculpture, who’s taped up in time, its in the questions it asks of expression shares desperation. The our understandings of them. Kimathi performance shows Piquet, a white Donkor’s UK Diaspora shares French man, living in the Caribbean, portraits of the most prominent transform Timal (small male) into figures in western history, and Timalle (suitcase) over 6 minutes. reminds us how little we are taught, The purpose of the work as I gathered or how white washed our curriculums was similar to Alice Kettle’s, in that are, or how we are subliminally led it came about through a frustration to see these people as founders of over the skewed teaching that the modern life and celebrate them in abolition of slavery created a world our day to day, whether they are without slavery. Forced labour, or monarchs or presidents. Artists like labour which dominates its workers Donkor challenge our relationship exists all over the world, but in a with these figures. mixed society, particularly in what Piquet references as a the ‘multi-
polar’ society he inhabits, it’s difficult to truly repair and repent for something if we believe it to be over, when it is not. It’s through the impact of these works, and the voices of the artists themselves, that this exhibition evidences its importance. Without it, we would be looking at more artefact, more objects branded as archives. This show transforms the dialogue of the International Slavery Museum into an space to reframe today. -Words, Kathryn Wainwright This is a permenant display, opened in July 2021, find it at the International Slavery Museum
A task:
Hi, I thought I’d throw something out there, because we had loads of reviews, but all of them were of shows that will be over by the time you read this paper (August is a weird month, because everything sort of stops, and then September sees in the next season of shows for the big galleries). I just wanted to throw a task out there to readers, not a task that needs anything sending back, or any evidence, just something to do today, tomorrow, this weekend, whenever. Just find something positive to say to an artist or a curator about their work. It could be the smallest exhibition at your kid’s school, or a feedback from online for Tate Liverpool. Send something positive, because it can be a really lonely time for an artist when a show is open. Their work exists in a still space, viewed by audiences from all over the world, and they lose control of how their audience sees it. And there’s nothing like reading about a positive response to brighten up a day. So brighten up someone’s day, and if you liked their show, find the contact details for the artist, the curator, or anyone around, and let them know. That’s it. It might just make a difference to someone’s day. And if you can’t get to a gallery this month? You know when the till staff at Aldi, B&Q, Wilko, etc. say there’s a feedback form to review their service? Fill that out instead. It makes a difference.
The Book of Kells, folio 8r, 9th Century
An Exploration of Medieval Influence in the Private Press Movement, by Emily Fairchild Emily Fairchild was awarded one of Art in Liverpool’s Publication Awards in partnership with Liverpool Hope University. This is a shortened version of her 2021 dissertation study.
^ The Hours of Jeanne de Navarre, 14th Century
The full study can be read at www.artinliverpool.com/features/emily-fairchild-private-press
^ The Book of Kells, folio 57v, 9th Century
William Morris’ lecture, The Ideal Book (1893), delivered at the Bibliographic Society in London has provided a direct insight into Morris’ views in this area. As he speaks particularly about the use of illustration and typography, I was able to draw from these thoughts and further my exploration Illuminated manuscripts are handwritten, hand- of his perception of beauty in books and how bound and often hand-decorated in gold, silver craftsmanship may have contributed to this. or other bright pigments. Many manuscripts date back to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance but The making of manuscripts was a tedious process. a surprising amount still survive today. Producing It took days for parchment to be made from manuscripts involved a painstaking process of animal skins by stretching, scraping and drying making parchment, copying the text onto the the skin to achieve a smooth page which could pages by hand with a quill and then decorating then be cut down to size. Though each skin may and illuminating the pages with intricate designs only yield a few pages, those pages were strong and illustrations, in some cases with the careful and long-lasting if well kept, and this is shown in the many surviving manuscripts in museum application of gold leaf. collections today. One of the most famous and My aim in this study is to explore and analyse oldest surviving manuscripts in the world is The the use of illustration and decoration in medieval Book of Kells. manuscripts and create a discussion on how these elements come together to form what are Folio 8r of the Book of Kells is an excellent considered to be quite beautiful books, touching example of the sheer amount of detail that could be also on typography. I will be considering the achieved in medieval manuscripts, which would influence of the medieval on William Morris’ have depended on the type of text, the skill of the work, making connections between illuminated artists and the wealth behind it. The composition manuscripts and private press books, comparing of this page is for the most part neatly packed into between examples from different presses to a rectangular shape, with a couple of illustrative evaluate evidence of medieval influence and the elements extending out into the border. effect of personal ideals on design choices. “No photographic reproduction yet invented has the weight, texture, uneven surface, indented ruling, thickness, smell, the tactile quality and patina of time of an actual medieval book…” (de Hamel, 2016)
Folio 57v is a text page with intricately illustrated and painted capitals which mirror the immense detail of Folio 8r. The initials are not perfectly formed; the one disadvantage of the amount of white space on this page being that flaws are very easily seen. However, I feel that this adds quite a charm, as do the painted spaces in between certain letters. William Morris took inspiration from medieval manuscripts by picking and choosing elements rather than purely copying styles and techniques. The arts and crafts movement emerged in the 1860s with the aim of raising design to the level of art and was driven initially by Morris & Co. By the 1880’s, Morris had started to extend his love of the medieval towards a need to improve the state of books at that time. The industrial revolution had given rise to new technology and the mass production of many things, including books. Morris was apparently unsatisfied with this, having in his mind an ‘ideal book’ that he would begin to strive for by the inception of his Kelmscott Press. In 1888, Morris attended a lecture given by Emery Walker before the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. William Morris’ personal ideal, his ‘ideal book’, was as follows:
^ Doves Press, The English Bible, 1903-1905
^ Kelmscott Press, News from Nowhere, 1892
^ Ashendene Press, The Song of Songs which is Solomon’s, 1902
“By the ideal book, I suppose we are to understand a book not limited by commercial exigencies of price: we can do what we like with it, according to what its nature, as a book, demands of Art. But we may conclude, I think, that its maker will limit us somewhat; a work on differential calculus, a medical work, a dictionary, a collection of statesmen's speeches, of a treatise on manures, such books, though they might be handsomely and well printed, would scarcely receive ornament with the same exuberance as a volume of lyrical poems, or a standard classic, or such like.” (Morris, 1893) Morris wanted to produce books without the need to maximise profits, leaning again towards those values in nature that he had learned years prior from art critic John Ruskin, which had fuelled his work during the arts and crafts movement. This “truth to nature is seen quite clearly in the motifs used throughout the Kelmscott editions.
however it is still clearly readable and nothing like the mazes of pattern that are presented in the Book of Kells. I think it is significant that the need was felt by Morris and fellow printers to draw back to history in a time of industrial progression – to strive for beauty in books may seem a little arbitrary when they can be produced more easily and quickly than these private presses made them. However, I think, as there was the with arts and crafts movement, there was perhaps greater meaning in this, though I could not say if it was intended or not.
While the private press movement may not have changed the way we make books, and the production line still plays a role to meet demands, there is still some great importance within the movement. In the long run, books that are printed in a press by hand, decorated with care and also bound by hand will stay a rarity due to the The first thing that is noticeable on this spread from convenience of mass production and computer the Kelmscott edition of News from Nowhere is aided design. the plentiful illustration. The foliage twists and turns and seems to be of complicated design, The private press movement has created a
pocket in time containing something I would myself consider quite beautiful – the insistence of art in conjunction with functionality that is untouched by the greed we see today from the many companies selling mass produced products. It was an honourable attempt to push against the ugliness of those mass-produced books. As beautiful as they were, the average person may not be able to afford to buy them, and they would never take over the cheapness and convenience of their opposition.
The Hours of Mary of Burgundy, 15th Century
Holiday Home, by Richard Woods
Very Public Art Very Public Art feels right. You know? Like a listening project rather than a show and tell. It feels local, and relevant to its time and its place. I’m usually a pretty vocal critic of municipal art. It too often ships in international artists when local artists could do the work better, and not just listen to communities, but represent them. But Very Public Art is a showcase of local community vision, produced by local artists. It’s large scale, interactive, and set up to stop you in your tracks. I went for a slow walk around the installations (they’re not all there at once, with each opening at different times, so I’ll be back next month for the rest), and at each of them, there were people taking selfies with the work, or pictures of the kids lined up
in front of them.
girl) are reunited between heaven over the next few months in public and earth by a bridge formed by a spaces including Hope Street, the It’s easy to see why, because they’re flock of magpies. Pier Head and around St George’s intriguing, out of place, and inspire Quarter. day dreams. Whether it’s Laura Holiday Home, the house in Brownhill’s magpies flying over Liverpool ONE, is created by artist The only criticism I’ve got of these china town, or the fairy tale house Richard Woods, based on a typical installations is that there’s not been in the middle of Liverpool ONE, British bungalow. Less poetic than nearly enough noise made about there’s a huge mix of installations Laura Brownhill’s work, this gets them yet. They’re not here forever, and events coming up over the next straight to the punchline: “Perhaps and when they’re gone, they’re couple of months. we have never felt more connected gone. So don’t miss them, get out, to the places that we live. Perhaps we and see some public art by some of The magpies, otherwise known as have never bene so bored by them.” the region’s best artists. Cowheard and the Weaver Girl, are part of a an immersive outdoor stage, The house, which is like something -produced by Laura Brownhill in a cartoon threw out into the real collaboration with DoES Liverpool world, is just joyful. It’s a separation Words, Kathryn Wainwright and Simon Armstrong, from Design from reality, without bowing to Find out more about Very Laser Play. The stage sets a scene the repetitive adage of escapism. Public Art and keep up to date from the mythological story of the Because it’s ok to be bored by home. on the programme at www. Chinese festival Qixi, and invites We’ve never spent so long there. cultureliverpool.co.uk/very-publicaudiences to step into the artwork, And we’ve rarely been so aware of art and into the story. The magpies, just the physicality of the space around fyi, form the loveliest part of this us. story – where two lovers (Zhinü, the cowheard, and Niulang, the weaver There are more installations to come, and they’re rolling fairly flexibly
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W O hat n ’s Exhibitions Arena Grounded Gallery: Ali Barker: Music-Colour-Paint until 12th September Music-Colour-Paint is an exhibition of Ali Barker’s abstract paintings expressing music in colour, accompanied by a residency in the Arena Grounded Gallery. ArtHouse Gallery: Portraiture in Oils by Neil Prior until 11th September Neil Prior, a professional portrait artist now living in Southport after retiring in 2018 as a police officer with the Leicestershire Constabulary, will be bringing together a large collection of his original oil paintings in a 3-week retrospective at The ArtHouse in Southport. Bluecoat: Bluecoat Platform until 26th September 2021 New family-friendly sculpture designed by artists Simon & Tom Bloor with children from Bluecoat’s Out of the Blue after school arts club. Bluecoat: Tony Phillips: 12 Decades until 29th September 2021 Tony Phillips’ etching series 12 Decades continues a survey of modern history that has occupied him over the last 40 years.
dot-art: Grasses, Trees, Flowers and Seas until 23rd October Seeing the summer out with a splash of colour, dot-art’s new exhibition Grasses, Trees, Flowers and Seas celebrates the natural beauty of the world around us through a collection of paintings by artists Hilary Dron and Steve Bayley. Hope Street: Very Public Art: From Now On until 6th October 2021 From Now On is an artwork consisting of 4 giant letters: H,O,P & E which have been filled with donated items that hold a personal ‘pandemic story’ to people from across the city. Hub Studios Gallery: Breaking Labyrinths: A Collage + Walking + Video Projection until 15th September This pop up project was devised to connect a diverse range of international artists together with an audience during a period of isolation. International Slavery Museum: Challenging histories: Collecting new artworks Permanent Display Contemporary artworks responding to the history of transatlantic slavery and its legacy International Slavery Museum: Lambeaux (scraps) by Gilles EliDit-Cosaque Permanent Display A moving journal, filled with personal and historical photographs, it’s also a Creole diary – not in a geographical sense, but rather a state of mind, referring to the concept of creolisation. Liverpool City Centre: Statues Redressed until 1st October This summer, Sky Arts will follow a collection of inspiring artists in a unique project as they creatively reimagine some of Liverpool’s most iconic statues for Statues Redressed, giving them a whole new look by dressing them up or creating art around them.
Liverpool ONE: Very Public Art: Holiday Home until 5th September 2021 Holiday Home, created by artist Richard Woods, is modelled on an everyday British bungalow scaled to a third of its size. The size makes it doll-like and intimate, but architectural in feel not like an architectural model. Made solely from wood and built off-site, it is lifted into its intended location. The artist, who usually replicates recognisable objects with vibrant colours and prints, was inspired by his 1970s childhood home interior and interests in home renovation, DIY culture, and notions of taste. Museum of Liverpool: Liverpool 8 Against Apartheid until 1st February 2024 The story of how Liverpool’s Black community supported the antiapartheid campaign in the 1980s. Museum of Liverpool: COMING HOME: Jem Wharton until 9th January 2022 This portrait of 19th century boxer Jem Wharton by Liverpool artist William Daniels is on display in the Museum of Liverpool’s The People’s Republic gallery.
Sudley House: Home and Away until 1st September 2021 The display will include two works by John Atkinson Grimshaw as well as Jean-Léon Gérôme, Thomas Creswick, Frederick Goodall, Charles Trevor Prescott. Tate Liverpool: Lucian Freud: Real Lives until 16th January 2022 The first significant presentation of Lucian Freud (1922 – 2011) artworks in the North West in over thirty years. Tate Liverpool: Artist Rooms: Louise Bourgeios in Focus until 16th January 2022 Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010) is widely recognised as one of the most important figures of modern and contemporary art. Her work ranges from large-scale sculpture and installation to painting and printmaking. Tate Liverpool: Don McCullin until 5th September 2021 Discover the work of legendary British photographer Don McCullin (b. 1935). See more than 250 iconic photographs captured over the last 60 years.
Open Eye Gallery: Whose Land is it? until 19th September 2021 Whose Land Is It? brings together three Australian artists approaching the idea of the landscape and the elements of it which may have previously escaped our attention.
Tate Liverpool: Democracies until 11th September 2022 This display brings together artworks that look at what it means to live in a democracy. A democratic society is based on equality, protecting each person’s individual rights.
Open Eye Gallery: Sam Batley: One Day at a Time until 19th September 2021 A project that tells the story of life after addiction, informed by people in recovery. The stories are told through documentary, film, photography, art and poetry. Through this lens, the project gives voice to what it means to be in recovery, how community brings us together and how new interests and beliefs shape us and inform our values.
Tate Liverpool: Whose Tradition? until 11th September 2022 Different world cultures have always been a source of inspiration for many artists throughout history. Although this has led to important artistic developments, it is a complex story that has rarely been carried out on equal terms. Tate Liverpool: Aliza Nisenbaum until 15th September 2021 Discover how artist Aliza Nisenbaum depicts key workers from Liverpool in her new painting.
Tate Liverpool: Emily Speed 5th August - 11th October 2021 Speed’s practice considers how a person is shaped by the buildings they have occupied and how a person occupies their own psychological space. The Atkinson: Captain Pugwash & Friends: The TV and book creations of John Ryan until 28th December 2021 The exhibition includes examples of John Ryan’s artwork for the Eagle as well as graphics for other successful TV animations including ‘Captain Pugwash’, ‘The Adventures of Sir Prancelot’ and ‘Mary, Mungo and Midge’ The Atkinson: Natural High until 19th March 2022 Reconnect with nature in this contemplative exhibition of British landscape scenery from The Atkinson’s fine art collection. The Atkinson: Paul Kenny: Seaworks until 23rd October 2021 Working without a camera, Paul Kenny creates abstract compositions on small glass plates with objects found on beaches and crystallised sea water. The Atkinson: Flavours 7th August - 4th September 2021 Flavours will be the first combined showing of the work of Carole Dawber, Caroline Kaye and Lisa Langan. The World of Glass: Little Wonders until 3rd September 2021 With so much to see and be inspired by, this exhibition is sure to delight young families throughout the summer. Victoria Gallery & Museum: Nature v Humans until 25th September 2021 Sometimes nature unleashes forces that humans cannot control like volcanoes, wild gales or global pandemics. At the same time, we are increasingly aware of the ways that humans impact negatively on the environment.
Victoria Gallery & Museum: The Art of Ruin until 11th June 2024 There are strands of Italian landscape painting which celebrate the ruinous and crumbling. It was a taste that emerged in Rome in the mid-1600s when visiting archaeological sites and collecting ancient artefacts became popular. Victoria Gallery & Museum: A New Beauty until 15th June 2023 A display exploring the evolving ways that physical attractiveness was depicted from the late 1800s. Walker Art Gallery: Charles Shannon and Charles Ricketts until 30th September 2021 Four artworks – one painting, two delicate drawings and one lithograph – explore some of the people, ideas and themes that influenced their work. Walker Art Gallery: Holo Programme 155 Permanent Display Holo Programme 155, by Liverpool artist Frances Disley (born 1976), is a new acquisition for the Walker Art Gallery’s collection. The installation takes inspiration from Star Trek’s ‘Holodeck’.
To find out more about each of these events head to: www.artinliverpool.com/currentexhibitions
Events & Workshops Merseymade: Paint & Prosecco 3rd September, 6-8pm Start your weekend off with a creative bang! Come along by yourself or with friends and enjoy painting whilst sipping some fizz and having lots of fun! All art materials and equipment will be supplied along with the fizz (most importantly!) BOOK (£30): www.merseymade. uk/book/?event_id=NTA0MA= Eden Tearoom and Galleries: Eden Nature Writing Workshop 5th September, 12-4pm Join writer & creative practitioner Bernadette McBride for this nature writing workshop at the beautiful Eden Tearoom & Galleries in Newburgh, West Lancashire. BOOK (£25): www.eventbrite. co.uk/e/eden-nature-writingworkshop-tickets-164828248729 Pink Sands Studio: Pause for Living CBS Gallery, 9th-26th September Pink Sands Studio, 18th September - 3rd October Pause for Living, by Roxy Topia and Paddy Gould. Split over two different venues, CBS Gallery (Liverpool) and Pink Sands Studio (Birkenhead), the two shows are themed as seasonal issues, Spring/ Summer and Autumn/Winter. Make. North Docks: Drink and Draw 9th September, 6:30pm If you enjoy doodling and sketching and just want the chance to do some life drawing in a friendly relaxed atmosphere then come and check out our monthly class. The session will take place in our bar area swith a complimentary glass of wine. BOOK (£12):www.eventbrite. co.uk/e/drink-and-draw-9thseptember-tickets-156684261845
Wirral Open Studio Tour 11th & 12th September Now in its 11th year of celebrating visual arts across the peninsula, this free event will see around 70 artists and makers open the doors to their houses or studio spaces. The Tour gives visitors an exciting opportunity to talk first-hand to the artists and to view their work in the environment in which it is created. Details: www.wirralarts.com Northern Lights: dot-art Club (10-13 year olds) 12th September - 17th November Every child is an artist and dotart Club is specifically designed to help children aged 10-13 years grow their artistic skills and build a lifelong love of art by exploring a range of art mediums, including pencil and paint. BOOK (£97): www.eventbrite. co.uk/e/dot-art-club-10-13-yearolds-tickets-166156232765 FACT: Uncertain Data 15th August - 3rd October Uncertain Data brings together four artists in residence at FACT, whose work interrogates the trust we place in the data that governs us. How do our feelings, emotions and reactions affect how we experience the world? Uncertain Data brings together four artists in residence at FACT, whose work exposes the complex layers defining the data that governs us, and questions the trust we place in it. St George’s Quarter: Very Public Art: Winds of Change 17th September - 5th October Winds of Change was commissioned by St George’s Quarter and designed by DoES Liverpool in collaboration with Simon Armstrong from Design Laser Play. It is a working windmill installation that celebrates the past, present and future of St George’s Quarter, its links to industry and the development of the city of Liverpool as a whole.
Walker Art Gallery: Sickert: A Life in Art 18th September - 27th February ‘22 Largest retrospective of the artist’s work to have been held in the UK for more than 30 years. The exhibition will showcase around 100 loaned paintings and 200 drawings. The Walker holds 349 of the artist’s drawings, which is the largest collection in the world. Most of these have never been displayed before. Together, they demonstrate the varied, yet vital, role that drawing played in Sickert’s artistic practice. Make. North Docks: Liverpool Collage Club 18th September, 1-4pm Once you’ve tried collage you just can’t stop! That’s definitely true for the Cut Out Collage community that’s growing every day. Liverpool Collage Club is a place to meet, make collage together and to learn awesome new techniques. It’s a space for every ability, every style and everyone. BOOK (£25): www.eventbrite. co.uk/e/liverpool-collage-clubtickets-127003110723 Kirkby Gallery: 19th Knowsley Open Art Exhibition 20th September - 20th November Visitors to the exhibition have the opportunity to cast 2 votes on the same voting card for their favourite artworks on display; one vote for an artwork by an adult, and one for a young artist (under 18), as indicated by a coloured label. Convenience Gallery: Convenience Life Drawing 21st September 6:30-8@30pm Convenience Gallery CIC host a monthly life drawing session. This takes place in the bar/ coffeeshop at Bloom too, so you can get a drink whilst you work on your drawings. This is a session for people of all levels. It is untaught so that means bringing along whatever materials you want to work with. BOOK (£12): www.eventbrite. com/e/convenience-gallerylife-drawing-tickets167709263923?aff=erelexpmlt
Collective Encounters (Online): OPEN SPACE: Co-Production, Power Sharing and Shared Decision Making 23rd September, 10:30am-1pm Join us to discuss how coproduction and power sharing works in action We will open this event with provocations from our guest speakers based on their diverse experiences putting co-production and shared decision-making into practice. Throughout the session we will get to grips with the complexity of power sharing. BOOK (£donation): www. eventbrite.co.uk/e/co-productionpower-sharing-shared-decisionmaking-open-space-eventtickets-156114050327 Tate Liverpool: Emily Speed 25th September - 2nd January ‘22 Join us for Emily Speed’s first major, solo exhibition in a UK gallery Known for her work examining the relationship between the body and architecture, Emily Speed will develop a new commission for Tate Liverpool in 2021. Speed’s practice considers how a person is shaped by the buildings they have occupied and how a person occupies their own psychological space. Collective Encounters (Online): ARTS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE: Snapshots of Practice 30th September, 7:30pm Join Collective Encounters for an evening of quick-fire presentations by people passionate about using the arts for social change. The showcase is a great way to grow your ideas, share and celebrate your achievements, rage about something or highlight something that needs to change. Presenters will show up to 15 slides about their theme, project, issue, community, infatuation and/ or themselves. Each presentation will last no more than 5 minutes. BOOK (£0): www.eventbrite. co.uk/e/arts-for-social-changeshowcase-tickets-156120459497
Ca lls
bs Jo JOB: Artistic Planning Assistant, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Liverpool Philharmonic are excited to welcome applications for the role of Artistic Planning Assistant. The successful post-holder will be responsible for providing outstanding customer service for welcome visiting artists, and attend to their needs whilst working for Liverpool Philharmonic. This will include attendance at rehearsals and concerts. DEADLINE: 10th September 2021 APPLY: www.liverpoolphil.com/ about-us/careers
JOB: Artistic Planning Assistant, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Liverpool Philharmonic are excited to welcome applications for the role of Artistic Planning Assistant. The successful post-holder will be responsible for providing outstanding customer service for welcome visiting artists, and attend to their needs whilst working for Liverpool Philharmonic. This will include attendance at rehearsals and concerts. DEADLINE: 10th September 2021 APPLY: www.liverpoolphil.com/ about-us/careers
JOB: Box Office Manager, The Reader Organisation Despite the drastic reduction in activities in and around lockdown restrictions, the box office processed over a total of 2,900 tickets in FY20-21. 9 Due to this growing need for box office support across the organisation, The Reader is now looking for someone with hands on experience of setting up a high performing box office function within a creative and dynamic organisation. DEADLINE: 6th September 2021 APPLY: www.thereader.org.uk/job
JOB: dot-art Gallery Manager Role dot-art wishes to appoint a Gallery Manager to run our public facing exhibition space and support the Managing Director and Project Manager in the administration and marketing of a wide range of activities and projects. These include our support services for visual artists, art classes for adults, annual Liverpool Art Fair and dotart Schools, our annual, inter-school art competition. DEADLINE: 6th September 2021 APPLY: https://form.jotform.com/ dotart/gallery-manager-2021
Administrative Officer (Training), National Museums Liverpool Colleagues from across the NML team make a difference every day, creating memorable experiences for everyone and challenging expectations. We pride ourselves on being a place for everyone, but we are always aiming higher, aspiring to be representative of the communities we serve. DEADLINE: 6th September 2021 APPLY: www.liverpoolmuseums. current-vacancies.com
JOB: IT Technician, The Reader This role will provide extra resilience for The Reader’s IT Team while we introduce a new team structure. You’ll bring your experience of IT hardware and software to the role to make sure key tasks get achieved to time, and that our systems keep up with emerging requirements from colleagues, and site users. DEADLINE: 18th September 2021 APPLY: www.thereader.org.uk/job
For applicants: Jobs & Calls are submitted and collated from around the North West, and edited into short briefs for this newspaper. Head to www.artinliverpool.com/opportunities to find full details on how to apply.
JOB: Creative Director, Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse theatres are a local artistic force with national significance and an international reputation. e&P’s two theatres are united by a passion for the art-form, a love of Liverpool and a belief that theatre can transform lives. e&P is now seeking candidates for the exciting new post of Creative Director. This post-holder will be a key member of the Executive Team and will lead e&P artistically into a new era. DEADLINE: 10th September 2021 APPLY: www.saxbam.com/ appointments JOB: Education and Learning Officer, Norton Priory Museum and Gardens Norton Priory Museum and Gardens is looking for an Education and Learning Officer to bring our past alive for learners of all ages. We’re looking for an enthusiastic individual to develop, promote and manage our education and learning offer, for schools as well as for adult learners. DEADLINE: 5th September 2021 APPLY: https://www.nortonpriory. org/job-vacancies.php
CALL: Digital Commission, Convenience Gallery We have created a commission opportunity of £350 for artists based in the UK to develop a body of work using digital formats responding to the theme of In Cahoots and community. This work will be exhibited on our website and will have the opportunity to be projected locally here in Birkenhead too. DEADLINE: 30th September 2021 APPLY: www.conveniencegallery. org/digital-commission CALL: Unwrap the Image: Commission for an Artist and/or Photographer, Signal Film and Media Accepting proposals for creative projects from Photographers or Artists who will work collaboratively with local people to produce a new artistic commission that responds to the Sankey Family Photographic Collection. DEADLINE: 6th September 2021 APPLY: www.signalfilmandmedia. com/unwrap-the-image-artistcallout/
Store Manager, Csss Art Manchester As Manager of our Manchester store, you will be working as an integral part of the company retail management function. You will lead and inspire your team to achieve and exceed sales and profit targets DEADLINE: 6th September 2021 APPLY: www.cassart.co.uk/ customer/careers
For recruiters: To submit creative opportunities, email info@artinliverpool.com Please be clear about rates of pay, and deadlines for application in your email. We do not promote unpaid work unless it is clear in its intentions.
theatkinson.co.uk 01704 533 333
The Atkinson Lord Street Southport PR8 1DB
Red Rum 3 July – 30 October 2021
Free Entry
This exciting new exhibition pays homage to one of Southport’s greatest history makers, the incomparable Red Rum.