Art in Liverpool Magazine, issue #13, March 2019

Issue #13 - March 2019 News, Reviews & What’s On. Your monthly update on visual art in the Liverpool City Region

Cover Image: Detail from Fred. This issue is dedicated to the Art in Liverpool Fiesta, who distrubted the first year of this magazine before leaving us after the twelfth issue.

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Art in Liverpool magazine is a monthly newspaper promoting visual art across the Liverpool City Region.

Art in Liverpool, issue #13, March 2019

Published by Art in Liverpool C.I.C. and written by contributions from our partners, supporters and most importantly, volunteer writers, who add a unique voice to arts writing in the UK, thinking differently about what actually matters to people visiting galleries. With issue #1 published in March 2018 we’ve got a lot of growing to do, and if you want to be part of that, get in touch: info@artinliverpool.com Equally, 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 Fred, the Fiesta, loaded with 3,000 newspapers, ready for a very rainy delivery back in April 2018. He served us well.

Last week, we lost our car. Seven years, and jointly, mine and my partner’s first car, and the vehicle that enabled this paper to be distributed around the region. We live nowhere near the centre of Liverpool, so getting in is difficult at the best of times, and getting in without Fred, the Fiesta, has been a genuinely painful experience. issue #13, March 2019 Editor: Patrick Kirk-Smith Contributors: Charlotte Hill, Lorraine Bacchus, Sophia Charuhas, Moira Leonard, Carol Emmas Advertising, sponsorship, distribution, stocking & event enquiries should be sent to info@artinliverpool.com Art in Liverpool C.I.C. Company No. 10871320

We don’t live next to a train station, so rely on busses, and never before have I experienced quite how hard it is to see art if you don’t drive. It’s not that the public transport in the city is failing, it’s that the creative industries has been built around those who have access to everything. A few years ago, the buzz word in the arts was STEAM, claiming that Art should have the same footing as Science, Technology, English and Maths in the public education system. Today, it’s access. Things change quickly in the arts, moving with or against the flow of popular or political cultures. Right now though, visual art in particular feels like its leading the way rather than following. Galleries large and small are putting access at the top

of their agenda. It differs from diversity in that it’s a broad brush approach to creating opportunities in the first place, rather than aiming existing offers at particular communities. Access might not always be quite as literal as not being able to turn a key in the fiesta and drop off papers, but in our case this week it very much is. It’s not just about the car though, it’s about the alternatives. We have access to busses, so could legitimately drop off a few hundred at a time and spread the distribution load over a few days, or, we could pay for a distributer. But despite the fact they do a brilliant job, and are well worth employing if you can, they’re not in our budget, because access to public funding isn’t available to support small arts organisations in sudden need. If something goes wrong, and it regularly does, for a small organisation it’s difficult to make right, and relies on the generosity of others. Too often, that generosity is from other’s who are just as in need of support. There are dozens of small organisations focussed on visual art, that provide the base for emerging and early career artists to develop their work, and build their

reputation, and it’s that initial point of access to the arts that requires constant focus. That ongoing work (the boring bit behind the scenes) is as we are constantly learning, the hardest part to sustain. Our work is reliant on being able to move around the region, and in supporting others in doing the same. Whether that’s connecting artists to opportunities, or audience to exhibitions, the fundamental reason for being of Art in Liverpool is to get people from A to B in service of the arts. Perhaps it’s because I’m not used to the busses, but getting from Kirkby Gallery to Corke is incredibly difficult without the car. I’m not trying to make a point with this editorial, just remembering a car that was incredibly good at taking me from A to B.

This issue is dedicated to Fred, who took us up the highest road in England, helped start a magazine, and moved half of the Independents Biennial around the city.

Review: She’s Eclectic – Women Artists of the VGM Collection In the short time I have been living in Merseyside, I have already established a routine of popping into the Victoria Gallery & Museum whenever I am in Liverpool city centre. The reason for my visits is to spend a few minutes with Elisabeth Frink’s potent sculpture, Gogglehead 1967. It is usually located on the first floor landing – not an ideal position because one can’t walk around it to see it from all angles, but great that it is always on show. However, this time the Gogglehead was not in its usual location … momentary disappointment evaporated when I realised that, of course, it would form part of the exhibition I had come to see. And there it was, in the middle of the main gallery space so that, for the first time, it was possible to see the back of his head. Frink said that the Gogglehead series became a symbol of evil to her. This is intriguing and why I like coming back to this sculpture because to me he looks vulnerable, another way in which Frink often portrayed men. The goggles do prevent eye contact and therefore confer an advantage over the viewer but instead of being sinister black, the goggles are polished to gold. This has the effect of softening this fiercely male head and leaving it rather exposed. Many contemporary artists might take issue with the segregation implicit in the title of this show, but one of the 35 here is Susan Hiller and she had no problem with being categorised as a ‘woman artist’. She evidences this in a quote from The Guardian’s obituary of her (she died on 29 January this year): “To be a woman and an artist is a privileged position, not a negative one. When I speak of being a woman artist, I’m suggesting a position of marginality is privileged. If you are marginal, you know two languages, not just one. And you can translate and bring into language insights that have been previously unarticulated. So I consider, like being a foreigner, being a woman is a great advantage.” Hiller is one of several world-famous artists on show – others include Bridget Riley, Gillian Ayres and Fiona Banner. Sharing the space with them are artists who are less

known, some who were lauded in their time and quite a few with a direct connection to Liverpool. The gallery notes are brief but spark interest, and further research into these women’s lives reveals extraordinary stories of achievement outside of their art practice as well as through it - Hilda Watts Bernstein, for example, campaigned against apartheid in South Africa and was awarded for her work on gender equality and democratic freedom; and Elisabeth Vellacott who kept painting through hard times to have her first solo show in her 60’s and was still producing work into her 90’s, when she finally received acclaim. There is an etching of her in the show by Liverpool-born Evelyn Gibbs, who herself inspires admiration for all she achieved and campaigned for: painter, printmaker, portraitist, war artist, illustrator of children's books and pioneer art educationist. The Curator of the Exhibition, Dr Amanda Draper, explains that she was keen to reveal the interesting lives behind these women artists, as well as showcasing their work. Another impetus behind it was to pay homage to the late Linda Nochlin, whose 1971 essay Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists? triggered a reappraisal of the male-dominated art world. Even so, there is still disparity; the VGM, for example, has 3,750 works in its collection but only just over 200 of them are by women. Dr Draper says that this representation, around 5.5 percent is quite a good average for a public institution. The piece by Banner is Runway Show, 2017, which is visually compelling in its melding of materials - Letraset on a piece of aircraft fuselage. Anyone familiar with Banner’s work will know that this combines two of the elements most identified with her practice. It also packs her customary punch, this time with the poem it carries - a scathing commentary on the fashion industry’s use of very young and vulnerable catwalk models – thus making a play on the word ‘runway’. On the opposite wall is a huge, abstract oil painting on canvas, which Dr Draper tells me has not been exhibited since the early 1990’s. Having retrieved it from the Gallery’s store and removed the swathes

for being the sculptor who designed the golden BAFTA Award trophy in the shape of a theatrical mask. Liverpool is fortunate to have examples of her work permanently on view at the University’s School of Civic Design. There, the carved handles on the main entrance door are hers, as is the sculpture in a small courtyard at the rear of the building. It is called The Quickening (1951) and is a most tender rendition of a hand protectively holding a dove. The sculpture, carved from a single piece of white Spanish marble, is all sensuous curves and rounds, perhaps reflecting the title, which is a term most often used to describe the first foetal movements a pregnant woman feels. This feeling is also sometimes called “a fluttering”, which anyone who has held a small bird will know. It struck me again when viewing this exhibition how easy it is to take for granted that national museums and galleries would always be able to acquire artworks for everyone’s enjoyment. But these days the commodification of art means an increasing number of works end up in private collections and once this happens there is the danger that they will never be seen in public again, except when they come up for auction to be sold at an even higher price.

but at least there is the possibility of them being shown – as in this exhibition where some of the works had not been on display for many years. The piece by Banner is the gallery’s latest major acquisition. Dr Draper explains that it was added to the collection last year (2018) with the support of the Londonbased Contemporary Art Society. A charity to which art institutions pay an annual fee and in return the Society purchases important works of art to be placed in public collections. Dr Draper says that in her opinion public institutions would find it difficult to continue acquiring new contemporary works without the help of the CAS. This really is an eclectic exhibition, as its title proclaims, and as such it will appeal to a wide range of tastes. I’ve been to see it on several occasions and each time it has surprised me with a detail I hadn’t registered before. It is well worth a visit, not least because you never know how long you might have to wait before some of the works are shown again. -On until end of April 2019. Words, Lorraine Bacchus

Of course there is the argument that public galleries are also guilty of acquiring works that then hardly ever see the light of day

of plastic, Dr Draper was delighted to find it in good condition. She had to do some detective work to locate the artist, Dr Peggy Postma, who revealed that she had side-stepped her artistic practice to retrain as a Clinical Psychologist. She added that her art hasn’t been completely left behind, that the two careers are inextricably linked because her creative way of thinking makes for a valuable tool in her clinical field. Dr Draper’s wall note on her states that horses influenced her paintings. I was pleased to

read this because the painting had echoes of the superb sculpture on another of the Gallery’s first floor landings – Horse IV by William Tucker. One of the rewards of going to wideranging exhibitions such as this is coming upon artists for the first time. So it was for me with Mitzi Solomon Cunliffe, whose striking inter-weaving tubular sculpture, Loose Strife (1951), is shown in the main gallery. Internationally, she is most famous

images, from left to right: Dorothy Adamson, Near Bidston Wirral, 1925: Main Gallery view, VGM; Evelyn Gibb, Etching, Self Portrait, 1927; Gillian Ayres, Fountain, 1967.

Review: Light Blue, at The Royal Standard Sometimes you forget you missed your inner child, until an exhibition brings it out of you. Light Blue did that for me. Light Blue questions how the five senses help us to explore our emotions. The colour featured in the title and on all four walls was chosen because it has been argued that it can slow our heart rate. The other features of the exhibition were chosen to induce a similar feeling of relaxation, or calm. All four artists come from quite different backgrounds, and thus created diverse art works. They are all highly interactive, like the magnetic balls which spin around plastic rings, by artist, Kitty Jones, who studied comfort objects as potential anxiety control for adults. I have to admit I was rather confused by escapologist Alex Margo Arden’s contributions to the show, which includes swords hanging from ropes and marionettes lying on the floor, but at the very least my curiosity was peaked. The scented installation by Hannah Bitowski involves fuzzy full-head covers that smelled of pleasant, sweet things that visitors could enjoy touching, sniffing, and

even wearing. It is meant to raise questions of comfort and safety within public spaces. Ambient sounds created by musical artist Michael Lacey accompany bean bags. The sounds include guitars and analogue synthesizers, and aim to be emotive, dronelike, and densely layered with countermelodies. At first glance, the installation looks like a strange playroom, but the artists put a great deal of study into how to create objects that can enhance wellbeing, unlock memories, or raise questions of public safety. WHISC (Women’s Health Information & Support Center) has paired with The Royal Standard to host yoga sessions and other wellbeing activities as part of this installation, putting to use the calming atmosphere within the four blue walls. It is definitely worth a visit, and time should be allowed to interact and let the atmosphere of the exhibition sink in. Light Blue aims to question how the world as we perceive it can affect us both physically and emotionally. Perhaps the best way to do that is to return to a childlike feeling of curiosity.

-Light Blue at The Royal Standard runs until 24th March 2019 Words & images by Sophia Charuhas

Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing review by Moira Leonard 12 sketches in 12 galleries in 12 UK locations gives 12 unique opportunities to see incredible sketches by Leonardo Da Vinci, precious works that can normally only be seen by special appointment with Windsor Palace as part of the Royal Collection Trust. All 144 works are on public display simultaneously throughout the country until 6 May 2019, however this review concerns only ‘Leonardo Da Vinci: A Life in Drawing’ at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. Curated by Xanthe Brooke, Curator of European Art at National Museums Liverpool, this exhibition forms part of the celebrations marking 500 years since the legendary man’s death. I was going to say artist, but, as these sketches illustrate, he was also an architect, musician, engineer, anatomist, botanist and so much more. On entering the gallery an introductory quote reads ‘There was (not) another man born in this world who knew as much as Leonardo, and not only of sculpture, painting and architecture, and that he was truly a great philosopher’. King Francis 1st of France (1517-19). Each sketch has its own story and Brooke tells me that Leonardo started many projects, studied them in minute detail, and often never finished the final work. Or those that he did finish sadly perished over

the next few hundred years. This is why his sketches are so important to us now, and the Royal Collection Trust holds 700 of them. Alongside the displays of sketches and their own interpretation, the exhibition goes on to illustrate more of Leonardo’s general history including several interesting facts about the Mona Lisa. I wasn’t aware that between 1600 and 1620 many copies of the Mona Lisa were painted in the French Court and one of these hangs proudly in the Walker Art Gallery (Room 2 if you want to track it down). I also learn that in 1911 the original Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in Paris and at the time Picasso was wrongly suspected of its theft. It was eventually located two years later in Florence, with an Italian Glazier. Surely there’s a film script in there somewhere? This exhibition also traces links between Da Vinci, Liverpool and key artists connected with his life including Michelangelo; Raphael; and Bartolomeo di Giovanni. This is a clever tool that enables you to delve deeper into the story should your curiosity be aroused, and mine certainly is… So, what sketches can you expect to see at the Walker Art Gallery? I don’t want to spoil the experience for you, however, highlights that catch my imagination are:

‘Anatomy: The Muscles of the Upper spine.’ These are studies for a proposed book that could have changed the face of biology and medical science, however, the book was never finished. I ask Xanthe about why this was the case. ‘Well’, she explains, ‘Leonardo worked with an esteemed professor at an Italian University in Milan and attended all his human dissections (20), but sadly this professor died of the plague so Leonardo’s access to bodies ended as a result. Therefore, he left the project behind and went onto the next thing’. The mind boggles as to what could have been achieved if he had continued with this thread. ‘A River Landscape’ 1511-13. This is tiny tiny tiny (about 2inches square) but totally stunning. It makes me think about his eyesight, he must have had perfect vision – I have to put my reading glasses on to see it properly. There is an enlargement right beside the sketch so you can see the detail, however it does not compare to the exquisite miniature by Leonardo’s own hand. It illustrates how a breath-taking landscape can be captured just by a few marks on a piece of paper. I keep going back to this one, such was the wonder it inspired. ‘Geometrical diagrams, the solar system, a horses head and various notes’ This is displayed in a glass frame in the centre of the room so you can see both sides of the paper. The lines on the reverse seem to complement the dimensions of the

horse, almost as if they were drawn on a lightbox. Again, I ask Xanthe if this was just a coincidence. She tells me that he had started off tracing the horses heads and looking at the scientific trajectory, but then seems to have been distracted and went on to study why the moon has different phases, believing at the time that the sun revolved around the earth….and yes it was just coincidence about the placing of this study over the drawing of the horse…. but it matches perfectly. Yet more to marvel about. This is another sketch I keep returning to. To sum it up, I love this study into Leonardo’s wide range of interests, and it makes me want to plan the next few weeks traversing the country to see the other works…oh and I am also reading Leonardo’s biography to find out more about this ‘infinitely curious, easily distracted, vain and vegetarian 16th Century man.’ Sounds like a line from a song. If he had lived today, would he also have been a rock star too I wonder? I could go on, but I won’t, I would just recommend that you go and experience it for yourself. -Leonardo Da Vinci: A Life in Drawing, until 6 May, Walker Art Gallery Words and images by Moira Leonard

NEWS

Must-see objects by Charles Rennie Mackintosh will be displayed outside of Scotland for the first time The Walker Art Gallery is set to hold a major exhibition exploring the life and work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928) and his contemporaries, presenting many objects which have never before been displayed outside of Scotland. The Walker will be the only English gallery to host the exhibition. Charles Rennie Mackintosh: Making the Glasgow Style, a Glasgow Museums touring exhibition, runs from 15 March to 26 August 2019. The exhibition takes place during what would have been Mackintosh’s 150th year (b. 7 June 1868) and features more than 250 objects, ranging from ceramics and embroidery to stained glass, metalwork and architectural drawings. The Glasgow Style, a distinctive variant of Art Nouveau, grew out of the technical studios of the Glasgow School

of Art and the radically original work of a group of brilliant young designers. They embraced the freedoms offered by the Aesthetic Movement and educational reform.

combined with archive footage of the School, the exhibition provides a unique insight into the artist’s inimitable approach to design.

Alyson Pollard, Senior Curator, National Museums Liverpool, said: “The work of Charles Rennie Macintosh spans many disciplines, from interior design to architecture, and so we’re looking forward to showing visitors the impressive breadth of his work, as well as its enduring influence.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh: Making the Glasgow Style presents the very best of Glasgow’s internationally important civic collections, drawing from those of Glasgow Museums and The Mitchell Special Collections and Glasgow City Archives. It also includes some important loans from The Hunterian, University of Glasgow, Glasgow School of Art and from private collections.

“As a city, Liverpool shares many similarities with Glasgow, from its industrial heritage as a port city, to its cultural heart and history of producing talented creatives. We’ve greatly enjoyed working with Glasgow Museums to bring this wonderful show to Liverpool, which we’re sure will be extremely popular with visitors.” Specifically, the Glasgow Style developed out of a meeting of minds between Mackintosh and James Herbert McNair, who worked together at an architects practice, and the sisters Frances and Margaret Macdonald. Mackintosh and McNair attended evening classes at Glasgow School of Art, where the sisters were students. Together, they became known as ‘The Four’. The Four’s close relationship and deep understanding of one another developed into romance for McNair and Frances, who married in 1899, and for Mackintosh and Margaret, who married in 1900. The Mackintoshes often worked together harmoniously on different projects, inspiring and supporting one another. Work by all four artists features in the exhibition.

Councillor David McDonald, Chair of Glasgow Life and Deputy Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “We are delighted to loan this magnificent exhibition to National Museums Liverpool to continue the celebration of Glasgow’s great cultural icon, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. “The exhibition gives fans of Mackintosh the space and time to enjoy a wealth of stunning artworks and objects, many of which have never before been shown outside of Glasgow. At the same time it enables us to share the Glasgow Style story, influence and legacy with a whole new audience. “Glasgow is proud of its extensive art collection, considered one of the finest in Europe. Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s ground-breaking work is synonymous with Glasgow and lauded internationally so it is only right that we widen the access to these works so people across the country, and indeed the world, can enjoy them.” To find out more about the exhibition, and to purchase tickets, visit liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mackintosh

A sense of energetic joy, humour and personal expression can be seen in many early works made in the Glasgow Style. Furniture had presence and personality, while walls were stencilled with an abundance of stylised natural forms. Surfaces were frequently inlaid with texture and colour. Mackintosh himself took inspiration from many sources including traditional Scottish forms, Japanese simplicity, geometry and nature. He analysed, drew together and refined ideas to create inventive three-dimensional forms and harmonious design schemes. From the age of 28, Mackintosh began to undertake the interior decoration for the artistic tearooms run by Glasgow businesswoman Miss Catherine Cranston. These fantastical spaces gave him an important outlet to develop his visual language and imagination. The exhibition will showcase panelling, furniture and light fittings from many of these Tearooms, as well as a section from the Chinese Room of the Ingram Street Tearooms, which has not previously been displayed outside of Scotland. Mackintosh went on to design the new Glasgow School of Art, completed in two phases from 1897-99 and 1907-09. As the building grew, so did the facilities, equipment and the range of subjects taught. The complexity and sophistication of the building design, combined with his determination to push boundaries, created something truly inspirational.

image credit: Peter Sedgley, Colour Cycle III 1970, Tate © Peter Sedgley

The building, which suffered tragic loss through two fires in 2014 and 2018, would become his masterwork. In displaying a selection of Mackintosh’s architectural drawings,

image credit: Peter Sedgley, Colour Cycle III 1970, Tate © Peter Sedgley

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100 years since suffrage: Open Eye Gallery stages all-women portrait takeover To mark 100 years since some women achieved the right to vote, an all-female photography initiative has created new portraits of the UK’s women MPs, shot exclusively by women photographers. These will be displayed in a free public exhibition at Liverpool’s Open Eye Gallery, opening 28th February. ‘209 Women’ is a national artist-led project to celebrate the centenary of women’s suffrage and champion the visibility of women, particularly in environments that are still largely male-dominated. A collective of 209 women photographers from all across the UK has formed, volunteering their time to make and mark history. The exhibition launched in the Houses of Parliament on December 14, 100 years to the day since the first women voted in a UK general election. The free exhibition will run until 14th April. Helen Pankhurst, great granddaughter of leading suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, said: “The exhibition will for once put women centre stage, acting as a reminder to never leave women out of the equation, on behalf of all citizens but particularly the 51% of the population who have been so unequally represented. “To represent and be presented for what we are – as women, by women – is a very special thing. This is what 209 women is all about.” 209 Women is delivered in partnership with Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool City Council, The Royal Photographic Society and The Sorority. It is presented as part of a year-round programme in partnership with Culture Liverpool, to champion the achievements of women and highlight the ongoing need for gender parity.

Northern artists to be commissioned for the New Creatives project Emerging artists will be commissioned to make fresh and innovative short films, audio and interactive works in a new talent development scheme being launched today by BBC Arts and Arts Council England, with Newcastle’s very own Tyneside Cinema

image credit: Peter Sedgley, Colour Cycle III 1970, Tate © Peter Sedgley

The project is presented in association with luxury brand Aston Martin Lagonda and the Power of Women TV Series, and supported by Montessori St Nicholas school. The core team behind the exhibition is Hilary Wood (Founder/Director of ‘209 Women’ and photographer), Tracy Marshall (Director of Development and Partnerships at Open Eye Gallery), Cheryl Newman (Artist, curator and former Director of Photography of the Telegraph magazine) and Lisa Tse (Brand Consultant, TV Producer and founder of women’s club The Sorority), and is supported by Ambassador Rosemary Reed, Executive Producer and Founder of the

Power of Women TV series.

being chosen to represent the North of England.

to develop professional and creative skills, and to encourage them to push their own creative boundaries, reach new audiences and reflect their experiences of living in Britain today.

New Creatives will give artists aged 16-30 the chance to develop their technical and creative skills and have work commissioned for BBC platforms. The programme will particularly focus on giving opportunities to young artists from backgrounds that are currently underrepresented in the arts and broadcasting. Tyneside Cinema are one of five regional lead organisations (named New Creatives Network) with a remit to reach young talent and to provide a pathway into the sector, providing opportunities for young artists

Hilary Wood, founder and curator, said: “The idea for the exhibition came from my own experiences of gender inequality. I’ve worked mainly in male-dominated fields for the past 18 years. I’ve got two daughters and I wanted to be part of changing things so that they grow up in a society that is more gender equal. Since 1918, 4,503 men have been elected to the UK parliament – compared to just 491 women. On the centenary year of women’s suffrage, I wanted to celebrate how far we’ve come, but I also want to bring awareness to continued

The Tyneside Cinema is known in the North for its extraordinary work with young people and creating pathways for growth in the film industry. As such it was recognised by the Royal Television Society who presented the team with an award in recognition of success in talent spotting and developing the next generation of film-makers. In particular, the cinema was considered to have excelled in their production of 72 short films for Channel 4’s Random Acts – a

gender inequality by championing the visibility of women in power. This exhibition will bring visibility to those women that are part of making the fundamental changes to women’s equality.” Although the suffrage movement achieved the first votes for women, there is still a long way to go to cement a culture of true gender equality across all spheres of society in the UK, particularly in positions of power. Women MPs only form 32% of the House of Commons.

cult short film strand that showcased the talents of 16 to 24-year-olds from across the region. The four other New Creatives hubs include Rural Media Company covering the Midlands, the Institute of Contemporary Arts covering London, Screen South covering the South East and Calling the Shots covering the South West. Each New Creative hub has today published the first call out inviting artists to apply for the first round of commissions. Details of how to apply can be found here: www. tynesidecinema.co.uk/new-creatives

NEWS New exhibition at dot-art Gallery depicts the female gaze

Fatos Üstek has been appointed as the new Director of Liverpool Biennial

image credit: Peter Sedgley, Colour Cycle III 1970, Tate © Peter Sedgley

Launching on International Women’s Day, Friday 8th March, the new exhibition at dotart showcases the work of three women artists, Liz Jeary, Mia Cathcart and Rebecca Atherton. Each artist depicts women in their work, capturing and exploring identity and the complex representations of women in art through diverse art forms. Navigating the historical phenomenon of the male gaze, the three participating artists subvert the portrayal of women in art. According to the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 51% of visual artists are women; however as artists the Guerrilla Girls famously stated in their art work Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into The Met?, in the Modern Art section of a Museum like the Metropolitan in New York, less than 5% of the artists exhibited were women, but 85% of the nudes are female. By removing the female body from the picture and concentrating on the face, we are forced to consider a new dialogue and fresh perspective of women as subjects. Using brush, embroidery and photography, this collection of work positions women as the onlookers in each piece to enable expression, energy and thought to act as the key narrative throughout the exhibition. This exhibition starts on Friday 8th March and runs until Saturday 4th May. Entry is free and all are welcome.

grateful. In my new role I will be taking Liverpool as my point of reference, while reflecting on current global discourses and developments in the international arena. I look forward to inviting everyone to join me and the Liverpool Biennial team in the city of Liverpool in 2020 for the 11th Biennial.”

The Trustees of Liverpool Biennial have announced that Fatos Üstek has been appointed as the new Director of Liverpool Biennial. She will take up her position in May 2019.

(2018-2020). Most recently she curated Do Ho Suh’s largest commission in the UK for Art Night and Sculpture in the City. She is currently Director and Chief Curator of the David Roberts Art Foundation.

Fatos Üstek (b. 1980, Ankara, Turkey), curator and art writer, is regarded as one of the rising stars in the international art scene. Having been associate curator for the 10th Gwangju Biennale in South Korea in 2014, she went on to curate the internationally acclaimed fig-2, 50 projects in 50 weeks, in London the following year and then Art Night 2017 in East London. She is an external member of the Acquisitions Committee for the Arts Council Collection

Fatos Üstek said: “I am thrilled to take up the role as Director of Liverpool Biennial. Through ten editions, Liverpool Biennial has gained a reputation for being one of the most important contemporary art events accessible to the large national and international public. I have been fortunate in my career to work with exceptional people and organisations including most recently the David Roberts Art Foundation, to whom I am immensely

New Chair for Liverpool Arab Arts Festival (LAAF) as founding member steps down after 20 years

LAAF, has appointed a new Chair after founding member, Taher Qassim MBE, announced he is to step down after a 20year tenure.

on vital health projects including the Yemen Special Interests Group (Yemen SIG), chaired by Dr. Ann Hoskins within the Faculty of Public Health UK.

Former Vice Chair, Mustapha Koriba, takes up the position from the start of the 2019 programme, with Taher remaining a committed and active member of the board of trustees.

The newly established organisation will contribute to the rebuilding of the country’s health system, which has been destroyed by the four-year war in Yemen, along with more than half of its health facilities. Taher will also be working on a significant project, currently in development, that is using mobile technology to address cholera, which has affected more than a million people.

Taher revealed he was to step down from his long-held role following LAAF’s successful 20th anniversary festival in 2018. The decision was taken to allow the public health practitioner to focus more time

Kathleen Soriano, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Liverpool Biennial, said: “Liverpool Biennial is delighted to be welcoming Fatos Üstek as its new Director. Üstek’s rich experience across different art forms and her international connections will enable us to build confidently on the achievements of our two previous directors, Lewis Biggs and Sally Tallant.”

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Tate Liverpool presents film exploring neurodiversity led organisation working with neurodiverse adults, young people and children. Neurodiversity is a term and approach to learning and disability, which reflects and respects differences in those members of society who have a range of complex physical and neurological support needs.

image credit: Peter Sedgley, Colour Cycle III 1970, Tate © Peter Sedgley

Tate Liverpool presents a new film made by a group of artists, including Ben Rivers and Margaret Salmon. Filmed in the Scottish Highlands, Illuminating the Wilderness 2018 documents the exploration of Glen Affric by people who are highly sensitive to the sensory stimuli of the world around them. The film is at the heart of a collaborative project entitled EXPLORERS 2019, which involves Tate Liverpool and Project Art Works together with six other major partners in the UK and Australia. Project Art Works is the UK’s leading artist-

LightNight festival celebrates 10th anniversary this May LightNight Liverpool, the city’s one-night arts festival, returns to Liverpool city centre on Friday 17 May 2019. 50 of the city’s best arts, heritage and community venues will throw open their doors until late at night, staging over 100 free special events. Curious visitors of all ages are invited to follow a self-led trail of exhibitions, music, dance and theatre performances, film installations, hands-on workshops and parties all on one special night in celebration of Liverpool’s world-class cultural offer. The theme for 2019 is ‘Ritual’. Rituals of all kinds, ancient and modern, are seen in cultures from all over the world; where there is community, there is also ritual. Six new local and international artistic commissions will be announced this month, followed by the full programme release on 15 April. Produced by social enterprise Open Culture LightNight Liverpool is in its tenth year. Presenting new and ambitious commissions alongside free events including everything from concerts, exhibitions, hands-on workshops and dance to street performance, theatre and talks. The full programme will be released on 15 April and is available to pre-order now at www.lightnightliverpool.co.uk

Illuminating the Wilderness is a new work made by Project Art Works’ artists Kate Adams and Tim Corrigan, in collaboration with artists Ben Rivers, Margaret Salmon, and Project Art Works’ artists and makers, their families and support teams. The film follows the shared experience of days spent together investigating a remote Scottish glen, as well as the pleasures and challenges of neurodiverse responses to the landscape. The explorers stay in lodges among trees and venture out to find a small island. They travel about in a convoy of 4×4 vehicles and share a night in a remote bothy under a crisp night sky. This gives way to torrential rain during the early morning retreat back to base. Moments of humour and tender consideration for each other are revealed as the film unfolds in and around the landscape and weather systems of the mountains. Complementing the film is an evolving installation of artwork made in collaboration with neurodiverse people and groups from Social Care organisations across Merseyside including Natural Breaks, Options for Supported Living, Blue Room, and Thingwall Resource Centre. Initially a

series of huge blank paper banners, the installation will be increasingly populated by drawings and paintings made by the groups as well as general visitors taking part in gallery workshops throughout the presentation. Illuminating the Wilderness and the accompanying art installation is part of an annual season of commissions entitledWe Have Your Art Gallery. Previous projects include Art Gym, O.K – The Musical, and Utupya by Brazilian collective OPAVIVARÁ. We Have Your Art Gallery is an experimental and developing project that reimagines what a museum can be and how it can programme for and with the public. EXPLORERS 2019 is the culmination of a three-year programme of workshops, seminars, exhibitions, installations and new cultural commissioning models that place neurodiverse communities, artists and makers at the heart of civic and cultural life. Illuminating the Wilderness and neurodiverse perceptions of ‘wilderness’ provide a metaphor for discussion on cultural inclusion that is central to the wider EXPLORERS programme of attitudinal change through art. 4–28 APRIL 2019, at Tate Liverpool

FACT opens 2019 programme with a major exhibition of artworks by female artists What can fairy tales tell us about modern day society? A new exhibition opening at FACT Liverpool on 29 March 2019 will feature artworks by Ericka Beckman and Marianna Simnett – two female artists who both use technology and classic elements of fairy tale storytelling to explore images of the female body in modern day society. Launching FACT’s 2019 season focusing on identity, representation and gender, the exhibition will bring together works by the eminent American filmmaker Ericka Beckman as well as Londonbased artist Marianna Simnett, who both present strikingly different forms of visual storytelling, but equally make the female body the main player in the multi-layered fantasy worlds they create. Their works are at once alluring and repelling, sensual and troubling.

and Hiatus (1999/2015) will be on display in the exhibition. Both films depict female characters who are seen never fully succeeding in satisfying the demands of the “game” they are in, providing a critique of the limitations and demands placed on women in society. Marianna Simnett combines mythology and surgery to create tales of morality. Themes of corruption and innocence depict illness and disease, commenting on gender divides in our cultures. FACT will display two films by Simnett – The Udder (2014) and Blood (2015), as well as the sound and light installation, Faint with Light (2016). Her films include children singing cruel playground chants,

jarring with uncompromising close-ups of surgery and blood, while in Faint with Light (2016) we hear Simnett closing her airway and hyperventilating, inducing her body to faint repeatedly. The exhibition will be accompanied by an extensive public programme exploring gender identities, female archetypes and fairy tales. A series of talks, live events, films and workshops will form a dynamic scholarly level programme through which to explore, understand and act on these topics and conversations.

Lesley Taker, Exhibitions Manager at FACT, said: “There couldn’t be a more fitting pairing than Beckman and Simnett to open a year focusing on work produced by female-identifying artists and gender identities. Their work deconstructs and subverts grisly, aggressive fairy tales from many cultures as well as reclaiming traditionally ‘male’ spaces, in favour of a more feminist mythology.” Ericka Beckman uses the imagery and style of early computer games – as well as the rigid structures and rules of gaming – in her works. Cinderella (1986)

Ericka Beckman, Hiatus (video still) 1999/2015. c. the artist

A-B is a funny old concept. It’s like when we refer to A listers, or B-movies. We quantify success or quality with an alphabetic system that only works in english. Even in other languages using the Roman alphabet, A has umlauts, acute and grave accents, cedillas, circumflexes and tremas. You only have to look as far as Wales to see that if you use A to justify a numeric classification you have to give a value scale to the other five A’s (a list, á list, à list, â list, ä list). And while B doesn’t tend to come with an umlaut, there’s no reason I can see why travelling from A-B makes any more or less sense than traveling from A-Z. An A-Z map lists places in alphabetical order, in an index that aids travel. But I don’t travel alphabetically, I travel distances; numerical distances. And Fred travelled 96,553 miles. In his last year, most of them were spent delivering this very newspaper, to spaces all over Merseyside. And not once did we travel from A-B in any direct line. The path from Knowsley, to St Helens, to Liverpool, to Wirral, with a sleep before setting off for Sefton, Halton and South Liverpool was winding Not A to B.

The Gallery Liverpool celebrates LGBTQI migrant artists All this month at The Gallery Liverpool, a very particular voice on migration is on display. DuoVision, the curating duo of Martin Green and James Lawler, have invited key creative talent from all over the UK to a celebration of queer migration. Every artist in the exhibition is born outside the UK, and has chosen the UK as their home. In the month we are due to leave the European Union, this celebration of freedom of movement and freedom of speech isn’t to be missed. Starting with the arrival of Australian visionary Leigh Bowery in 1981, DuoVision (Martin Green and James Lawler) curate an exhibition exploring the cultural impact and legacy of LGBTQI artists on the UK’s cultural landscape. The artists, from a range of ages and backgrounds, reflect on life in Britain before and after the Brexit vote. Gozra Lozano is a Spanish photographer who has worked with gay icons Marc Almond and Pete Burns, exhibits alongside French performance artist Thierry Alexandre creates video and photographic work about gender identity and illusion in response to the English coast. Oscar nominated costume designer Michael Wilkinson and his partner Tim Martin chose

to move to London from Australia 3 years ago and create rich cinematic exotic images based on travel and storytelling. They are joined by other artists who represent their community through their work. Each of the artists in the exhibition were recommended by other artists, replicating, the curators Martin Green and James Lawler explain, the strength of the community they’re part of, which is under threat by Brexit. “There is support and solidarity amongst artists. Each of the artists featuring in the exhibition have inspired their peers, or have created work their peers want to be shown. This reflects the strength of the queer immigrant community, their support for each other and the unifying vision they have. It is these relationships we want to celebrate, and how their charismatic cultural contribution has shaped the UK”. -Foreign Trade – A celebration of queer migration, is open at The Gallery Liverpool until 31st March 2019 Words, Patrick Kirk-Smith by Philip Prokopiou, image courtesy of the artist

Review: Mark Leckey at OUTPUT gallery Seven years later, Leckey would win the Turner Prize (2008). However, what’s interesting about the post-narrative of the film (as the artist points out) are the changes that have taken place over the subsequent 20 years which make for a very different London. In 2008, Leckey’s London was the city where many fully-funded college graduates came to try to make it as an artist with the support of social security benefits and cheap or no-cost living that allowed them to do so. It would be impossible to live in the London of today on so little money. The DWP under this government wouldn’t allow the freedom to claim benefits without highly micromanaging jobseekers into finding work.

c. Mark Leckey

Tapping into the emotions that nostalgia can create is Mark Leckey’s artistic obsession. Clawing memories from his own experiences in order to find the emotional trigger that can spark a visceral response is something he attempts to bottle autobiographically in the hope that someone might relate to those self-same experiences. Ahead of his major exhibition at Tate Britain later in 2019, ‘We are Untitled’ is an attempt

to try to prolong a moment in time. It’s a moving still that is mined and retrieved after the lens has clicked and the photo has been immortalised. The film begins as an almost intangible memory with a set of subliminal moments as if the brain is taking its time in remembering the finer details in bringing back to life a party from 20 years ago in London’s Windmill Street. A place where Birkenhead-born Leckey was living at the time and trying to make it as an artist whilst claiming benefits.

We are Untitled, focuses on the UK Garage scene which Leckey was part of at the time. The party is frankly a bit shit. It’s one of those parties where not much happens and the people have to drink or get stoned to feel like they are having a good time and instead slip into a semi-catatonic state. As with Leckey’s other work, there a strong macho overtone. It’s all about the body language and the posturing of men (if there are any women in it – they are fleeting). It’s about drinking, smoking, looking stoned, music, dancing, brand names, trainers and packmentality, similarly to his equally hypnotic 1999 Fiorucci made me Hardcore (which is on YouTube and worth a watch). Another piece of his autobiographical work worth taking time to watch is Dream English Kid 1964 – 1999 AD. This is another film-collage

of subcultural nostalgia, which if you were around in the 1970s is a recollection of all the elements Leckey feels are emotionally symbolic enough to be shared, including brief footage of a Joy Division gig that he attended in 1979 at Eric’s. It’s ironic to think that many of the artists (including the YBAs) who were squatting and living on benefits in the 1970s and 80s in order to fund their art are now the very pillars of the arts establishment. It’s not a bad argument in support of the universal basic income or living wage. -OUTPUT gallery, 7th-24th February (Gina Tsang’s solo exhibition opens soon - see What’s On) Words, Carol Emmas

Save the date. Threshold Festival is back this month Threshold Festival comes back kicking and screaming later this month, following a year where funding, or lack-thereof, was central to the conversation. Having secured support from Arts Council England, the focus this year seems to be an excited mix of making things happen and living in the moment. So much of 2018’s festival was looking forwards, hoping and praying that this grass roots event could continue, and not just on the part of the organisations, but from audiences, and artists too. Threshold has a crucial role in the arts here in Liverpool, one that should not be taken for granted.

Working with artists at the beginning of their career, and those making a name for themselves elsewhere, the festival fosters discovery. As an audience member, every year is different, every year presents new music, and new artists, who inevitably end up being names you hear for years to come. Threshold is also, in its own unique way, a focus study, every year, on how the arts are functioning together. The tension between music and art is getting tighter, with ever increasing dismay in the art world as art is diluted to include all manner of creativity. In Threshold’s case, in 2019, that tension is loosened slightly, in that music, art, theatre

and performance always end up bonded and intertwined by the chaos taking over the streets and bars of the Baltic Triangle. The energy is unique, unfolding over multiple venues over two indulgent nights. And if you’ve not been before, 2019 is the year to go. See Threshold back at its best, twinning music and art, and piecing them together in every way possible. -Threshold Festival is back on the 29th & 30th March Get your tickets at www.thresholdfestival. co.uk

image: courtesy of Threshold Festival

Review: Op Art in Focus, Tate Liverpool Tate Liverpool’s exhibition Op Art in Focus is an assault on the senses. Involving paintings and sculptural work which span the walls and floors, the collection curated for this show celebrates the pioneering 1960’s art movement in all its vibrancy. Shaped by the civil rights movement, the cold war, the ‘generation gap’ and the emergence of hippie counter-culture, the 1960’s were unbridled and discordant times. The in-your-face, swelling and warping abstraction of Op Art, which can be traced back to Neo-impressionism, Cubism and Dada, therefore seems fitting. The exhibition is a part of Tate Liverpool’s in Focus series which is dedicated to significant artists or movements. It is a chance to see work by some of the leading

names of modern and contemporary art. The three rooms hosting the occasion swell with a potent use of colour and the art works flash at you from all corners. Despite their playful appearances, all pieces are defined by a meticulous rendering of technical skill which grabs and shakes you. Architecture, geometry and the occasional political reference all rear their respective heads. The first room is home to a larger-thanlife Bridget Riley painting where stripes of warm and cool tones against a white background trick the eye into seeing a pale yellow emanating from the middle of the canvas. To stand in front of the work is indeed a dizzying experience. Riley, who struggled to achieve success and independency in her career as an artist until

her 30s, despite noteworthy achievement at art school, is a figure of inspiration for the modern-day feminist navigating the trials and tribulations of setting and reaching goals against biological and societal pressures. In the second room is one of the infamous Spot paintings by British YBA Damien Hirst which is part of some of his most widely recognized works. Each spot is a different colour, the same colour never appearing twice on the canvas. The ‘Spot Painting’ titles are taken from a pharmaceutical catalogue printed in the 1990s. The compositional arrangement of the Spot painting is however complimentary and harmonious. It offers what could be seen as a restorative moment of rest for

the eyes, a kind of visual palette cleanser, before the vinyl-taped Jim Lambie floor of the third and final room engulfs you. Here, the otherwise peaceful gallery pulses with an enigmatic rhythm beneath your feet. The uplifting therapy of colour comes to mind when faced with Lambie’s design. A text from Tate Liverpool which accompanies his installation reads; “The work is a starting point for other people, not an end result for me.” Counterbalanced against a beautiful selection of monochrome Bridget Riley prints are sculptures by Craig Kauffmann and Blinky Palmero, whose mirrored triangle mounted on the wall provides another dimension from which to experience the works on show, contributing to the growing awareness of pictorial possibility one accumulates whilst walking through this space. And these are just a few suggestions of what there is to be seen. Op Art in Focus can certainly be regarded as a sort of tonic to the stress that is an inevitable part of 21st century life, whilst simultaneously referencing the discomfort that many of us tend to feel. Much like the 60s, we continue to live in tumultuous times. A sense of humour and play defines one’s experience of this exhibition. For uneasiness, due perhaps to the current political climate or the anxiety-provoking compulsion to view our own lives and the lives of others through the lens of social media, surely the invigorating witticism of the Op Art movement is a palatable respite. -Op Art in Focus will be shown on the third floor of Tate Liverpool until July 2020. Words, Charlotte Hill

image credit: Peter Sedgley, Colour Cycle III 1970, Tate © Peter Sedgley

Review: Painting Nature by Elaine Preece Stanley at Editions It is on an unusually bright and sunny February morning that I decide to venture on the short walk from my apartment to Cook Street in Liverpool city centre where, nestled on the second floor between The William Gladstone, a typically British pub and the Italian restaurant Piccolino, is Editions Ltd which currently hosts Painting Nature, an exhibition by Elaine Preece Stanley. Cook Street embraces an eclectic mix of memorabilia shops, bars and live music venues. The Beatles and their numerous album covers are printed onto an array of mugs, posters and vinyl CD’s. Liverpool FC scarves sway on outdoor display stands next to street performers and buskers. A Bridget Riley-esque striped building is visible in the distance where a large tree is adorned with many small, red Chinese lanterns. Newsagents, jewellers, betting shops and tapas bars jostle alongside eachother, unrelated in purpose but mutually charming in their participation of the scene before me. All who share this space, including myself, are part of this moment in time in Liverpool. Elaine Preece Stanley studied and gained a BA Honors degree at Liverpool Hope University in 1999. Going on to exhibit in Liverpool and Cheshire galleries, her career as an artist took an unexpected turn in early 2009 to 2010 when her daughter started to receive treatment for Leukemia, forcing Elaine’s work to a standstill whilst she began caring for her daughter fulltime. Despite life’s way of putting obstacles before us, Elaine was included in the ‘Best Emerging Artist’ national competition in 2012 and the year after was elected a member of The Royal Cambrian Academy in Conwy, Wales. Then in 2016, Elaine was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa. Due to the rare condition Elaine has started to rapidly lose her sight in her peripheral vision. It largely affects her approach to painting, both compositionally and through her choice of palette, with the artist often preferring to paint on green hued backgrounds which allow her to see colours imposed on top more clearly. Elaine also finds herself having to physically move away from and then back towards her canvases whilst working - a process which allows her to make sense of the image she is building. Learning this before I began my walk through the exhibition, I was humbled and in awe of Elaine’s courage and commitment to her practice. How many of us, faced with such adversity, would be pushed towards throwing the towel in? As I first come into view of thick, impasto marks on canvas I immediately think of the

energy and direction of Frank Auerbach. The rich fleshiness of one particular painting brings to mind the vigour of contemporary female artists like Cecily Brown or Dana Schutz. The jabs of paint in ‘Autumn Arrives’ sing of Seurrat, whose charming rendering of relaxed onlookers shaded by trees on the sun soaked banks of the river Seine in his famous piece ‘A Sunday Afternoon’ emanates the same appreciation for nature that is clearly palpable in Elaine’s work. An intense need to portray a deep gratitude felt for the natural world is shared by many creatives (writers, poets, film-makers and artists alike) and it is as evident in Elaine Preece Stanley’s paintings as it is in Monet’s plein air perceptions. ‘Cherry Blossom’ and ‘Entwined’ bespeak the long, tangled limbs of organic vegetation left to grow unattended. The use of pale pinks and mauves against dark greens recall the beauty of such eventualities. The same painterly techniques in ‘Fenced In’ feel similarly melancholic, both by the title and range of pigments.

‘House on the Hill’ and ‘Spring Park and Garden’ remind me of my own blurred childhood memories. Luscious landscapes of grassy fields are tugged and stretched by means of oil paint into the borders of non-representation, yet they retain their essence. In ‘Autumn Light’ we are led down a shadowy path out of a thick forest, towards the summer’s radiance. The peculiar nostalgia of a reflection of pale blue sky in the waters of ‘Calderstone Pond’ tugs at my heartstrings, stirring up memories from when I too have been in an instance like this. Here, I think over Elaine's sources of inspiration; her long dog walks in the countryside and local parks of North Wales, Cornwall and Liverpool in summer, winter and autumn. I reflect on how many of us share a need to be a part of these kinds of places – to drink in and absorb any moments of freedom we can get a hold on. Forgetting who we are and becoming nothingness, attempting only to commit to memory every sight, sound and smell on offer. For those of

us who are prone to forgetting, there is the gift of artists who are willing to do whatever it takes to recreate these experiences for us – artists like Elaine Preece Stanley. -Painting Nature is on show at Editions Ltd, until March 2019. Words & images, Charlotte Hill

WHAT’S ON > CURRENT Eleanor Rathbone – An Independent Woman Victoria Gallery & Museum

Foreign Trade – A celebration of queer migration The Gallery Liverpool

Current Exhibitions Joshua Henderson and Veronica Watson Bluecoat, until 10 Mar Members of Blue Room embark on their first studio residency -The Art Schools of North West England Bluecoat, until 10 Mar An exhibition of photographs and texts documenting 30 historic sites of art education -Jade Montserrat: Instituting Care Bluecoat, until 10 Mar Bluecoat’s 2018 artist in residence presents responses to key texts on decolonisation and decolonising knowledge by writers such as Frantz Fanon, Audre Lorde and Stuart Hall -Blue Room at Ten Bluecoat, until 10 Mar Celebrating ten years of Blue Room, Bluecoat’s inclusive arts project -Joe Bazalgette MMU Graduate Prize Bluecoat Display Centre Selected for this spotlight exhibition from a range of makers who exhibited at Manchester Metropolitan University Graduate show, 2018

Grime Bridewell Studios, until 14th March Contemporary painting, sculpture and video art around the themes of urbanism, class, and the visual language of the internet -Constructing the Mersey Gateway Bridge Brindley Theatre, until 5 Apr An exhibition of paintings and drawings of the development of the Bridge by artist Shaun Smyth -Welsh Landscapes dot-art, until 2 Mar The work of three painters whose landscape art works are autobiographical representations of their Welsh heritage -Elaine Preece Stanley, Painting Nature Editions Ltd., until 30 Mar In these paintings, Elaine aims to express tho sensations that inspired her to paint them: The light that holds and shapes the vegetation, water and sky. --

Foreign Trade – A celebration of queer migration The Gallery Liverpool, until 31 Mar An exhibition celebrating non British born LBQT artists who have chosen the UK as their home -18th Knowsley Open Art Exhibition Kirkby Gallery, until 4 May artists of all ages who live, work, study or volunteer in Knowsley come together to exhibit their 2D artwork in a salon-hang style visual extravaganza

Light Blue The Royal Standard

Quentin Blake and John Yeoman: 50 Years of Children’s Books Lady Lever Art Gallery, until 3 Mar The first exhibition to celebrate illustrator Blake’s decades-long partnership with the author -Not Just Collective: Presence Naked Lunch, until 12 March A range of affordable work by six locallybased practitioners --

EXHIBITIONS

Find FULL listings and events information at www.artinliverpool.com

Press Room Out Human Library (Crosby) Ideas Depot Tate Liverpool, until 21 July A dynamic display of artworks chosen for primary school children to be enjoyed by everyone

Eleanor Rathbone – An Independent Woman Victoria Gallery & Museum, until 1 April This exhibition celebrates Eleanor Rathbone and her remarkable achievements

--Fernand Léger Tate Liverpool, until 17 Mar Regarded as a forerunner of pop art, Fernand Léger (1881–1955) was key figure of international modernity

Benefactresses – Women of the Holt Family Victoria Gallery & Museum, until 1 April The role of women in the University of Liverpool’s history is often overlooked

--Moon Kyungwon and Jeon Joonho: News from Nowhere Tate Liverpool, until 17 Mar See Liverpool through the eyes of a man who has travelled through space and time --

Press Room Out Human Library (Crosby), until 30 Mar Turner Prize-nominated artist Ciara Phillips is inviting people from across the town to take part in Press Room, a participatory project using the daily newspapers and online sources -Gina Tsang OUTPUT gallery, until 10 Mar Tsang’s work for her show here was be developed during time spent in China

Serena Korda: The Bell Tree Speke Hall, until 28 July The Bell Tree draws on the hall’s hidden history. Korda reconsiders aspects of communion and tradition -Op Art in Focus Tate Liverpool, until 2 June Op art – short for optical art – emerged in the 1960s, including work by Bridget Riley, Jesus Rafael Soto and Victor Vasarely --

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Strange Lands And How To Survive The Arts Centre EHU, until 30 Mar The story of a remarkable journey of risk and adventure is captured in photographs -The Fall The Arts Centre EHU, until 8 Mar Immersive art at The Arts Centre recaptures near-death experience -Wirral Society of Arts Exhibition The Atkinson, until 30 Mar Following its’ successful 70th Anniversary Exhibition the Wirral Society of Arts starts 2019 on the Atkinson Landing

She’s Eclectic: Women Artists of the VG&M collection Victoria Gallery & Museum, until 30 Apr A vibrant new exhibition showcasing the diversity of artwork by women artists in their collection -Leo Fitzmaurice: Between You and Me and Everything Else Walker Art Gallery, until 17 Mar An assembly of portraits, which asks visitors to look twice at what might, at first, seem familiar -Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing Walker Art Gallery, until 6 May To mark the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, 144 of the Renaissance master’s greatest drawings in the Royal Collection will go on display in 12 simultaneous exhibitions across the UK. --

-The Fall The Arts Centre EHU

Artist Rooms: Robert Mapplethorpe The Atkinson, until 23 Mar American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe’s vast, provocative and powerful body of work has established him as one of the most important artists of the twentieth century -Light Blue The Royal Standard, until 24 March The five senses allow our brains to perceive and understand the external world, but how can they affect us physically or even emotionally? -Jasmir Creed – Dystopolis Victoria Gallery & Museum, until 21 Apr A new exhibition expressing alienation and disorientation in the modern city

The Spider Project – Beyond The Label Williamson Art Gallery, until 17 Mar The Spider Project’s ‘Move On Up’ initiative has engaged over 250 people over the past 2 years. All of whom struggle with social isolation -How We Look: Wirral Met Fellowship Exhibition 2019 Williamson Art Gallery, until 13 Mar This year the exhibition features a collaborative project undertaken by the 2018 fellows Louis Jeck Prestidge and Jonathan Benson with WMC lecturer Michelle Rowley. .

WHAT’S ON > COMING

Arthur Jafa – Love is The Message, The Message is Death Tate Liverpool

209 Women Open Eye Gallery

The Female Gaze: Women Depicting Women dot-art

Ericka Beckman Marianna Simnett FACT,

Exhibitions Stephen Hitchin – Shooting the Sun Williamson Art Gallery, 2 Mar – 14 Apr Stephen cites the extreme environment of the maritime world as the main inspiration for his work -Tate Exchange: Forgotten Futures Tate Liverpool, 4 Mar – 10 Mar Memories, Maps and Movement – an applied theatre project in dementia care -Rituals Bluecoat Display Centre, 9 Mar – 27 Apr A mixed media exhibition that will explore the idea of craft objects making our everyday ‘rituals’ --

The Female Gaze: Women Depicting Women dot-art, 8 Mar – 4 May Launching on International Women’s Day, Friday 8th March, the new exhibition at dotart showcases the work of three women artists

Tate Exchange: Conversations, Series 2 Tate Liverpool, 20 Mar – 24 Mar A presentation of the work produced during Conversations Series II, a five-month long artistic collaboration which began by looking at how artists see themselves, how the art world sees them and the tricky labelling of art genres

Arthur Jafa – Love is The Message, The Message is Death Tate Liverpool, 29 Mar – 12 May Made by American artist and film-maker Arthur Jafa (b. 1960), the seven-minute video shows a montage of historic and contemporary film footage to trace African American history and experience.

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Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Making the Glasgow style Walker Art Gallery, 15 Mar – 26 Aug This exhibition will span the lifetime of Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868–1928) and his contemporaries, exploring the movement that became known as The Glasgow Style.

209 Women Open Eye Gallery, 28 Mar – 14 Apr ‘209 Women’ is a national artist-led project founded by Hilary Wood that aims to champion the visibility of women, particularly in male-dominated environments.

Ericka Beckman Marianna Simnett FACT, 29 Mar – 16 Jun What can we learn about modern day society from traditional fairy tales?

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-The Williamson Open Williamson Art Gallery, 30 Mar – 5 May The Williamson Open continues a tradition stretching back to 1913, when Birkenhead’s first Museum and Art Gallery in 1913 held the Birkenhead Spring exhibition

SOON

Find FULL listings and events information at www.artinliverpool.com

(TALK) Artist Talk with Attila Olah The Athenaeum

(FILM) Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs Bluecoat

(TOUR) She’s Eclectic: Women Artists of the VG&M Collection Victoria Gallery & Museum

(TOUR) Walking Tour of Modernist Britain Tate Liverpool

Talks, Tours & Performance (TOUR) March 2019 Art Club – Gina Tsang OUTPUT gallery, 3 Mar, 2-3pm Exploring art through friendly and informal discussion -(TALK) Artist Talk with Attila Olah The Athenaeum, 5 Mar, 1pm Attila has worked with Glacial Art to produce ice sculptures for global TV phenomenon Game of Thrones. --

(NETWORK) Culture Club OUTPUT gallery, 6 Mar, 5-6pm Open to everyone to discuss culture, which might include films, music, TV, art, podcasts, fashion or whatever it is we find interesting

(FILM) Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs Bluecoat, 7 Mar, 6:30pm Join Bluecoat for a screening of this classic film, containing unexpected glimpses of art school life

(TALK) International Women’s Day Lecture Victoria Gallery & Museum, 8 Mar, 6-7pm This talk is a personal reflection on aspects of Eleanor Rathbone’s life and work

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(TOUR) Objects in Focus Victoria Gallery & Museum, 7 Mar, 3:30pm This first tour, with Louise Waller, will focus on the portrait of Eleanor Rathbone in gallery 5

(TOUR) She’s Eclectic: Women Artists of the VG&M Collection Victoria Gallery & Museum, 8 Mar, 5pm To celebrate International Women’s Day, join Amanda Draper (Curator of Art and Exhibitions) on a special tour

(TOUR) Walking Tour of Modernist Britain Tate Liverpool, 9 Mar, 11am Led by architect Dominic Wilkinson (LJMU) this guided walk of Liverpool will feature some of the finest examples of British Modernism

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WHAT’S ON > COMING (MUSIC) Open Circuit Festival: Interface Soundscapes University of Liverpool

(TALK) Beyond Resilience: Codesigning Our Creative Futures Bluecoat

(TALK) Brendan’s Mysterious Basement Box Williamson Art Gallery

(PERFORMANCE) New TerritoryReal Lives: INHABIT Workshop Bluecoat

Talks, Tours & Performance (TALK) Beyond Resilience: Co-designing Our Creative Futures Bluecoat, 14 Mar, 10:30am The forum will be a highly participative day of workshops, discussions and peer-topeer sessions focused on organisational and personal resilience

(MUSIC) Open Circuit Festival: Interface Soundscapes University of Liverpool, 16 Mar, 4:30pm Interface Soundscapes is a ceramic surface that allows visitors to connect and be transported to different locations in the city, through listening to characteristic soundscapes of Liverpool

(PERFORMANCE) New Territory-Real Lives: INHABIT Workshop Bluecoat, 20 Mar, 6-8pm Paula Hampson has set about engaging people from very different communities through dance

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(TOUR) Objects in Focus Victoria Gallery & Museum, 21 Mar, 3:30pm Join Louise Waller for brand new ‘Object in Focus Tours’ at the VG&M

(TALK) Brendan’s Mysterious Basement Box Williamson Art Gallery, 21 Mar, 7pm An illustrated talk by Alan Dunn, Bryan Biggs and Steve Hardstaff --

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(TOUR) Craft & Design Walker Art Gallery, 26 Mar, 10am Curator Pauline Rushton will give a talk about theCraft & Design Gallery and it’s fine collection .

SOON

Find FULL listings and events information at www.artinliverpool.com

Classes & Workshops Almost all of these workshops need booking, please go to the website to find booking links & further event information for all of the below

Life Drawing with Paul Kindersley (part of Instituting Care exhibition) Bluecoat

Printing for Feltmakers/Felting for Printmakers Wellington Road Studios, 2 Mar, 10am-4pm

Life Drawing with Paul Kindersley (part of Instituting Care exhibition) Bluecoat, 7 Mar, 2-3pm

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Drawing Léger at Tate, led by Paul Gatenby Tate Liverpool, 2 Mar, 10:30am-4:30pm

Working with contracts (Artist Professional Development workshop) Heart of Glass, 12 Mar, 10am-4pm

--Do Something Satrudays FACT, every Saturday, 12-4pm

Monoprinting by dot-art Make. North Docks, 23 Mar, 11am-5pm

--Sketching in the Tunnels by dot-art Williamson Tunnels, 3 Mar, 10am-1pm

Make a Mosaic Mirror Williamson Art Gallery, 24 Mar, 11am-4pm

--Wood Carving by dot-art Faith Bebbington Studio, 3 Mar, 11am-4pm

Abstract Painting by dot-art Bluecoat Chambers, 24 Mar, 11:30am-5pm

-. Do Something Saturdays FACT

Drawing for Everyone by dot-art Bluecoat Chambers, 3 Mar, 11:30am-5pm -Oil Painting Workshops – Pet Portraiture with Jacob Gourley Cass Art, 3 Mar, 1-4pm / 9 Mar, 2-5pm -Art Play for Under Fives Lady Lever Art Gallery, every Monday, 1011:30am -Inspiring Imagination – INHABIT Workshop (dance) Bluecoat, 6 Mar, 2pm --

JOBS & OPPORTUNITIES

For more details on all opportunities, including links on how to apply, head to www.artinliverpool.com/opportunities-2/ To send us details on jobs or opportunities for artists, email info@artinliverpool.com

CALLS Woon Foundation Prize 2019 The Woon Foundation very generously funds an open call shortlist exhibition – including three major prizes – each year to the total value of £40,000. DEADLINE: 1st April 2019 --

Sunny Art Prize – Open Call for Artists This fine art competition in the UK is a global platform offering art opportunities to emerging and established artists to showcase their artworks internationally. DEADLINE: 30th June 2019 --

JOBS Apply for the Summer Arts Market 2019 The 2019 Summer Arts Market will take place on Saturday 1 June at Liverpool Cathedral. Applications for this year’s event are now open DEADLINE: 10th March 2019

Freelance Marketing Coordinator, Liverpool Arab Arts Festival Liverpool Arab Arts Festival (LAAF) is looking for a committed and experienced freelance Marketing Coordinator to play a key role in delivering its 2019 festival DEADLINE: 18th March 2019

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The Westmorland Landscape Prize – open for entries A national call to artists who are inspired by our landscape. Conceived and developed by Westmorland, the Prize aims to document, celebrate and interrogate our relationship with the landscape. DEADLINE: 17th June 2019 -Shape Open 2019: Submissions Open The Open is Shape’s annual exhibition of artwork by disabled and non-disabled artists created in response to a disabilitycentred theme. DEADLINE: 15th April 2019

Communications Officer, Highlights Rural Touring Scheme Highlights is a thriving arts organisation based in Appleby, Cumbria. We work with over 65 village halls and volunteer promoters bringing professional arts to rural communities. DEADLINE: 3rd March 2019 -Call for Entries – JERWOOD/FVU AWARDS 2020 ‘HINDSIGHT’ The 2020 edition of the Jerwood/FVU Awards offers an increased budget of £25,000 for each of the two commissioned moving image artworks. DEADLINE: 8th April 2019

Calling all sculptors – The Liverpool Plinth Artists from across the north of England are being urged to submit existing work that could call The Liverpool Plinth their home for the next year. DEADLINE: 28th March 2019 -Time and Space Residencies, 2019 – Metal Metal’s Time and Space Residencies are open opportunities for artists working in all disciplines to access Metal’s spaces, the support of its staff and its local, national and international networks. DEADLINE: 30th March --

--The Bath Open Art Prize – Call for entries Now in its 9th year, The Bath Open Art Prize is one of the key open art prizes in the South West, open to UK based artists. DEADLINE: 26th April 2019 -The John Ruskin Prize 2019 A shortlist of 25 artists, designers and makers will have their selected works exhibited at The Holden Gallery, Manchester in a high profile exhibition from 12 July – 24 August 2019. DEADLINE: 12th May 2019 -Call to Artists – The Grosvenor Museum’s Open Art Exhibition Chester’s Grosvenor Museum announces its 13th Open Art Exhibition. This will present the best in contemporary art from the region, giving artists in the area a chance to show their work DEADLINE: 26th April 2019 --

Ellesmere Sculpture Initiative (ESI) – Sculpture commission (ESI) would like to commission an artist to create a lasting contemporary interactive installation to commemorate the work and achievements of Eglantyn Jebb, founder of Save the Children Fund. DEADLINE: 4th March 2019 -DaDaFest – Artist Development Programme If you are under 30 years of age, looking to develop your creative skills and you identify as a disabled* or D/deaf person, DaDaFest can help you to achieve your goals. DEADLINE: Rolling -National Indian Arts Awards 2019 – Call for Nominations The NIAA’s were established to recognise the work of countless individuals, schools, teachers, performers, and art organisations DEADLINE: 12th April 2019

Liverpool 2026: Exhibition Open Call dot-art and Bido Lito! are teaming up to curate and present an exhibition of work which seeks to critique and contemplate our city’s creative future. DEADLINE: 29th March 2019 -Call for Artists – Wirral Society of Arts Wirral Society of Arts biennial exhibition is open to all artists – local, national and international – at all stages in their careers. DEADLINE: 6th July 2019

LARC – Activating Collaboration Through Shared Services (ACTS) Project, Consultancy Opportunity The Liverpool Arts Regeneration Consortium (LARC), is a unique collaboration of nine of the leading cultural institutions in Liverpool working together to ensure that cultural organisations play a significant role in the regeneration of the Liverpool City Region DEADLINE: 15th March 2019 -Assistant Curator at Bluecoat Bluecoat are seeking to appoint an Assistant Curator in a temporary role for 6 months to lead and support the gallery team in realising Bluecoat’s visual arts programme of exhibitions and events. DEADLINE: 11th March 2019 -Producer (Participation), Windermere Jetty, Lakeland Arts Produce inspirational opportunities for participation through workshops, events, talks and other activities. Engaging with a range of identified audiences, including families, young people and adults DEADLINE: 11th March 2019 --

-My Liverpool, Open Call – Liverpool Echo & Liverpool Empire Theatre Trust The brief is to use any art form to show deep and abiding love of the city. DEADLINE: 31st March 2019 .

Producer (Communities), Lakeland Arts Engaging with a range of identified audiences, including families, young people and adults, you’ll work collaboratively with colleagues across this programme and will work with our collections, building and landscape to inform and inspire. DEADLINE: 19th March 2019 ...

JOBS Collections Management Assistant, Lakeland Arts Are you a good communicator with exceptional attention to detail looking to start a career in the museum, gallery and heritage sector? This is an exciting opportunity for an aspiring Collections Management Assistant to gain skills in a multi-site organisation. DEADLINE: 19th March 2019

Oracy Trainer and Mentor, The English Speaking Union The ESU has over 100 years of oracy and public speaking experience and we are hiring.  They are looking for mentors and trainers to join them in promoting speech and debate within school across England and Wales.  DEADLINE: 25th March 2019

Creative Artworker – Milexa Group As Creative Artworker, you will process and perfect designs from the internal design team into print and web ready files that are accurate to the designer’s vision and finished to an exceptionally high standard. DEADLINE: 15th March 2019

Support Coordinator, Spektrix Spektrix is a rapidly growing collection of arts managers, marketing types and computer geeks whose mission is to helps arts organisations be more successful. DEADLINE: 30th April 2019 .

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-Administrative & Marketing Officer, The British and International Federation of Festivals The British and International Federation of Festivals for Music, Dance and Speech (BIFF) is a registered charity and we are proud to have Her Majesty the Queen as our Patron. DEADLINE: 4th March 2019 --

Chief Executive Officer/Artistic Director, The Brewery Arts Centre Provide inspirational leadership and strategic vision to take the charitable organisation onto the next stage of its development DEADLINE: 4th March 2019

Diversity and Inclusion Audience Development Consultant, Film Hub North Film Hub North is looking for a highly organised and motivated freelancer to support our aim of growing BAMER audiences for independent film in the region. DEADLINE: 4th March 2019

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Creative Designer – Milexa Group Milexa are looking for a Creative Designer who will be an integral part of a fastgrowing company, working across multiple brands to deliver high quality and industryleading design. DEADLINE: 15th March 2019

Artistic Director, Theatre by the Lake Theatre by the Lake is looking for an inspiring Artistic Director to lead and deliver the creative vision of a renowned regional producing theatre. DEADLINE: 6th March 2019

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CLASSIFIEDS

Local handmade jewellery

ART, VOCAL PRACTICE & SINGING Registration forms / Bookings via: 07756912911 Email: enquiries@gallery4allarts.com Courses details: http://www.gallery4allarts.com/courses.htm

Gallery4allarts and Nicole Bartos provide an interesting array of creative and wellbeing classes in venues across Liverpool. 1:1 and group tuition. By appointment only.

Post-it: Independents Biennial Writers-in-Residence 2018 Look back at last year’s Independents Biennial, with scripts, short stories, poetry and critical writing written by the festival’s Writers-in-Residence.

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ArtinLiverpool

Are you an artist, maker or small creative organisation looking to reach more people? // Get in touch with kathy@artinliverpool.com who’ll be looking after our classified page & can answer all your questions. // Prices are £25 per box, and multiple boxes can be booked.