Event type: Exhibition

Everyday Exhibition

This display focuses on everyday functional pieces which can be used in the home. These individually handmade works are a joy to use day in, day out. Works featured could also be gifted to others for them to enjoy.

Makers include:

  • Textile homewares by Anne Knight, Mr.PS & Margo Selby
  • Ceramic tableware by Megan Cox, Nicola Gillis, Vicky Hageman, Muchelney Pottery, Eva Radulova, Michael Taylor & Emma Westmacott
  • Ceramic homewares by Jean White
  • Kitchen & dining ware by David Mellor Designs
  • Wooden homewares and furniture by Nick James, Christoph Kurzmann & Chung Tyson
  • Prints & collages by Amy Quinn
  • Leather bags by Sally-Anne Thompson

A curated selection of work is also available through our online shop: bluecoatdisplaycentreshop.com

Tree Story – Liverpool One Outdo...

A new pop-up exhibition at Liverpool ONE tells the history of the Liverpool City Region, its people and green spaces through trees and calls on locals to share their own pictures and stories.

Today (Friday 16th February), a 20-metre-long art display on School Lane and multiple tree integrated displays on Paradise Street were unveiled showcasing photographs, stories and poems about trees submitted by residents across the region.

The images and stories have been submitted via Tree Story, a project set up by local art galleries Open Eye Gallery and dot-art back in 2020 during lockdown.

They invited people living in the Liverpool City Region to take photographs of trees that were special to them in some way and submit their story explaining why, which were then uploaded to an interactive map.

Now, the galleries are working with Liverpool ONE to showcase a selection of these stories and encourage visitors to get involved themselves.

Passers-by can scan the QR code shown on the pop-up exhibition and on trees along Paradise Street to submit their own pictures of trees relating to their family histories, memories, and daily lives.

And, to celebrate the exhibition’s launch, The Mersey Forest marked this occasion giving away tree saplings for visitors to take away and plant.

Donna Howitt, Place Strategy Director for Liverpool ONE, said: “Our city’s green spaces have a profound effect on the wellbeing of residents. Connecting with nature is incredibly beneficial to our mental and physical health, which is why at Liverpool ONE we take proud in looking after our green spaces for visitors to enjoy alongside our ever-growing retail, dining and entertainment offering.

“We’d love our visitors to take this opportunity to stop and connect with nature through the stunning images on display and contribute to the Tree Story project with their own experiences of nature.”

Lucy Byrne, Managing Director of dot-art, hopes the display at Liverpool ONE will inspire visitors to think about how nature has benefitted them through hard times such as the Covid pandemic and in their day-to-day lives since.

She said: “Tree Story is a fantastic project which has already engaged hundreds of people of all ages across the city region since its launch during lockdown. Many of us gained a renewed appreciation for the outdoors while we weren’t able to do the activities we usually enjoyed, and this seems to have stuck with us.

“We are absolutely delighted to bring together a selection of the Tree Stories so far uploaded to our interactive map and showcase them in such a prominent and high-profile location as Liverpool ONE.

“We can’t wait to see what fascinating and thought-provoking new stories will be shared by visitors.”

Maria Gulina, Communications and Content Producer for Open Eye Gallery, said: “We were fascinated by all the heart-warming Tree Stories shared with us. Urban trees are crucial in mitigating climate change and also reflect our cultural heritage, as they bear witness to historical events and our everyday life. Trees, parks and green areas are invaluable for our mental health, and they help us form meaningful connections with the place where we live.

“We are looking forward to reading new Tree Stories from all across the Liverpool City Region, and we are grateful to Liverpool ONE and The National Lottery Heritage Fund for making this amazing project possible.”

For more information on the pop-up exhibition visit https://www.liverpool-one.com/treestory

To submit your stories and pictures about trees visit https://treestory.me

Artwork hand in day

The Sefton Open is an annual exhibition celebrating the creativity and artistic talent across the borough. The exhibition takes over The Atkinson’s art gallery in an eclectic salon-style hang and features a wide variety of works from individual artists and local groups. Each year the exhibition attracts thousands of visitors to The Atkinson.

The Atkinson’s longstanding partner, Southport Palette Club, select the work from individual artists for the Sefton Open. The club was formed in 1921 to champion the work of local artists and this will be their 98th annual exhibition.

A wide variety of media is welcomed, including film, sculpture, craft, paintings, prints and textiles. Artists may submit up to 3 original artworks for consideration by the Council of Southport Palette Club. There is a non-refundable £5 handling fee for each work submitted. No more than 4 works can be displayed by any individual artist in the Sefton Open, this includes works displayed with Southport Palette Club and works displayed with local groups.

Individual artists are responsible for selecting original artwork for consideration by Southport Palette Club or inclusion with local group submissions, which has not previously been exhibited at The Atkinson or featured in the shop. Local groups can register for entry by contacting [email protected] to receive the groups and societies entry form.

To submit artwork, you must be aged 18+ and either live, work or have been educated in Sefton.

Visitors to the exhibition can purchase catalogues and are encouraged to vote for their favourite artwork on display. The artwork with the most votes will be awarded The People’s Prize. Visitors can also support local artists by investing in their work, most artworks are available to purchase through The Atkinson and the Own Art Scheme.

Get involved

Artwork hand in day: 12 March 2024, 11am – 7pm

Download entry form

In the entry form documents you will find:
• Entry guidelines.
• Information on how to prepare your artwork for submission.
• Entry form.

On the other side

As citizens, we live with systems that are put in place to monitor, control and change our behaviours. In On the other side, three artists consider the impact of these systems: on those who design them, those who administer them, and those who are subject to their enforcement.

Melanie Crean and Katrina Palmer present two new artworks made with participants across Liverpool, York and Rochdale who have experiences with the justice system: imprisoned people and their communities, staff, and those who influence decision makers. Public perception and understanding of the UK justice system varies wildly across media outlets, political positioning, and cultural representation.

Developed between the artists and the participants as experts in their own experiences of the system, these artworks make visible the complex formation of individual and collective identities formed by the landscapes of prison and incarceration.

Alongside, Pilvi Takala presents a multi-channel video installation made in collaboration with former colleagues who worked as private security guards in one of Finland’s largest shopping malls. In it she considers how power is exercised in spaces for the public that are privately owned, and reflects on the roles and responsibilities of security personnel who exert power to maintain social order.

These works encourage us to reconsider the everyday behaviours we learn and conform to, often without question. How might looking at them differently allow us to disrupt or reimagine what we accept as normal?

On the other side includes works from Resolution – a multi-year project to explore how art can affect public attitudes and influence decision-making in the justice system. Resolution invites artists, incarcerated people and their families, prison staff, policy makers and criminology researchers to work together as project participants. Working in this way creates the opportunity for dialogue within the system – and ultimately, a hope for change.

Photo Credit: Melanie Crean, A Machine to Unmake You (M2UY) (2023). Film still. Courtesy of the artist.

Finding Solitude – Exhibition of...

Claire Weetman presents a collection of drawings of chairs that invite you to sit down, but that time to rest alone is just out of reach.

This collection of pencil drawings, created by Claire in 2023 and 2024, began by thinking about how time alone either physically or mentally is difficult to achieve as a parent. Chairs are perched precariously on branches or balanced on top of a tottering tower of bins that need emptying. The chairs are inviting, you’d quite enjoy that seat for yourself, but ultimately, all of these chairs and their offer of rest are unusable.

The drawings are exhibited in the Coffee Stop cafe, St Mary’s Market, St Helens. The works will be part of an online exhibition during March 2024.

Event

St Mary’s Market is open Monday to Saturday 9am-5pm. There is step-free access to the market.

Lost at Sea! Raffles and the wildlife ...

When the East Indiaman ship the Fame sank 200 years ago, Sir Stamford Raffles’ vast collections of natural history specimens and drawings from Sumatra and Singapore were lost forever.

Raffles, a British East India Company official, found fame as the ‘founder’ of modern Singapore. He is also known as the founder of London Zoo and for the ‘discovery’ of Rafflesia, the giant flower of Sumatra.

Why was Raffles collecting animals and plants in Southeast Asia, and how did some birds collected for Raffles end up in Liverpool?

In One Place

“In One Place” is the first ever exhibition by Liverpool street artist, Paul Curtis and it will take place in the very building that inspired his now iconic “For All Liverpool’s Liver Birds”, aka “The Wings”.

Paul has worked with Arts Producer and Curator, Laura McCann to deliver an interactive event that will not only showcase Paul’s existing murals but also offer a range of activities, including Paul painting new artworks live. One of two new freestanding pieces created will then be auctioned and the other will be the prize in a draw, with100% of the proceeds being split equally between Alder Hey Children’s Charity and The Whitechapel Centre.

Times:
10am–5pm (weekdays) (11am- 5pm weekends)

Terra Ignota: John Elcock and Margaret...

Terra Ignota (‘Unkown Land’) is an exhibition of experimental artworks by artists John Elcock and Margaret O’Brien.

Giving a voice to soil

Although distinct, the works are mutual in their exploration of intersections between art, bioenergy, and contemporary digital technologies. Through biotechnology, live biomaterials (soil, bacteria, electrons) are used with contemporary digital media to transform invisible energy from one live form into another.

Margaret’s work Resistance: West is an ongoing work that develops a live experimental orchestra using a series of microbial fuel cells made from local soil. A microbial fuel cell an electrical circuit that harnesses electrons released by bacteria in soil through organic decomposition.

This work develops a series of musical instruments by translating the fluctuating electrical activity of bacteria in soil into sound. Its multi-cell construct produces a layered sound composition through nuances in note, pitch or tone that each cell emits relative to the specific soil sample. Through its live and unpredictable nature, the work explores parameters of failure in the pursuit of new discoveries.

John will be showing a new work specially created for Terra Ignota. Geist responds to the particular qualities of the Bridewell’s historic spaces and seeks to enter a dialogue with Margaret’s installation Resistance: West. John’s piece similarly uses site-specific, recovered earth to power a live artwork; in this case the soil itself distilling something of its spirit of place to illuminate a ghostly light –  powered by no extraneous sources. In doing so we are invited to reflect on the latent qualities of time and place, a reminder that what appears unseen is not always absent.

The Art of Line

Featuring Charlotte Weatherstone, Michael Goodwin & Stu Harrison.

‘The Art of Line’ showcases three dot-art Artist Members working in the illustrative, graphic and design arena of art. Their impressive line work and unique styles come together in ink drawings, prints and graphic patterns. A running theme in the practice of Weatherstone, Goodwin and Harrison is their character creation to tell a story.

In the work of Stu Harrison these futurist creatures break dance across the canvas amplifying the movement his line work creates and populating the world of ‘Beastly’, Stu’s artist persona.

Goodwin puts his characters in humorous scenarios and dialogues and accentuates their features with bold beehive hair, Pinocchio noses and chins that jut out of the page.

Weatherstone’s feminine characters are wrapped in long wavy hair, leaping around the page, cut straight from luxurious magazines spreads. Charlotte crafts collaged and printed spaces for them to roam.

Charlotte Weatherstone – I am an illustrator & designer from Liverpool. I studied Graphic Arts at Liverpool John Moores University, and currently work as graphic designer & illustrator. I enjoy using various mediums, and work on found objects, paper, wood, a computer and brick walls. I use anything from a pencil to spray paint. My background is graffiti and murals, so spray paint is always part of my creative journey. My work is centred around layering and mark making. I try to be spontaneous when creating work and try not overthink it – which is always a challenge! I use various techniques including print making & collage to create textural work and mix in fashion elements in as well.

Mike Goodwin – These images are intended to be humorous and reflect my own personal sense of humour, which is influenced by film, TV, music, comic art and ‘low comedy’ in general. The illustrations feature recurring characters because I think it makes it easier to create a humorous situation when you are familiar with the foibles of the main character. I tend to use quite a lot of text, which, for me, adds to the overall story. More is revealed upon closer inspection of the ink drawings.

Stu Harrison – I attempt to celebrate the importance and the influence of club and dance music culture, and visually represent volume, rhythm and the glorious chaos found in nightclubs and on dancefloors.

My work has been described as; “these rolling, boiling images see energy and abandon collide, sparking excitement, exuberant confusion and mind-expanding insights” My early inspirations were from the psychedelic artwork of the hippy generation, and then later from pop art, urban art and graffiti. This led me to design visuals and backdrops for the early rave scene at warehouse parties around Hackney. These influences can be seen I hope in the creation of “kinetic and synapse-sparking street style artwork.” Above all my work is about movement, the dance collective and boundless human energy.

All artworks are for sale.

Join them for the Private View of the exhibition on Thursday 8th February from 5pm-7pm.

All welcome, but please register here: TheArtofLine.eventbrite.co.uk

The dot-art Gallery can be found at 14 Queen Avenue, Castle Street, Liverpool, L2 4TX (just 5 minutes’ walk from Liverpool One).

Opening times: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am-6pm

The exhibition runs 9th February – Saturday 30th March 2024.

Girl Power! Spice Girls at 30

Girl Power!  Spice Girls at 30 is a temporary exhibition charting the history of the most important girl band in British history.

In March 1994 an ad was placed in The Stage asking “Are you street smart, extrovert, ambitious, and able to sing and dance?”.  The rest is history.  The Spice Girls debut single Wannabe topped the charts in 31 countries in 1996, they sold 80 million records and had nine UK Number One singles.  The exhibition celebrates the story of how Sporty, Baby, Scary, Ginger and Posh became one of the most successful girl groups ever and enjoyed phenomenal global success.

Girl Power!  Spice Girls at 30 tells the band’s story through outfits from the extraordinary collection of independent curator Liz West, who is the foremost collector of Spice Girls memorabilia and merchandise in the World.  Liz’s Guinness World Record breaking collection boasts many iconic costumes all beautifully hand-made by international designers or specially commissioned by the Spice Girls themselves.

Liz began collecting Spice Girls memorabilia in 1996 when the girls first launched themselves onto the pop scene. As an impressionable 11-year-old, she was hooked as soon as they released their first single ‘Wannabe’. At that age all her friends and family would buy Spice Girls items for Birthday and Christmas presents. Initially Liz just collected albums, magazines and sticker books but after a year of chart successes she started buying singles and masses of official merchandise.

Everything was kept pristine in the packaging unlike her contemporaries who would use the items. Liz had a collector’s instinct from an early age, she would arrange and showcase proudly the boxed memorabilia on her bedroom shelves as a teenager. Liz did not buy her first museum worthy piece until at Art School in Glasgow, armed with a student loan she purchased a top worn my Melanie C at the age of 19 via eBay. After graduating from the Glasgow School of Art in 2007, Liz pursued her idea of exhibiting her ever increasing Spice Girls collection in museums nationwide.

The outfits on display will be complemented by audio visual elements, including a stage show montage of Spice Girls hits and listening stations.  We have a season of activity planned to support the exhibition including film screenings, conversations, acoustic music and a special quiz night. Finally, the Museum’s merch store will be selling a range of Spice Girls apparel and giftware.

Girl Power!  Spice Girls at 30 is included with all general entry tickets purchased. All general entry tickets are valid for 12 months and each eligible visitor has the opportunity to support the Museum by Gift Aiding the cost of admission.

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