Culture Diary w/c 28-03-2016
What’s hot this week? Our pick of the arts listings from around Liverpool and the rest of the UK…
Tuesday — Exhibition Opening: 20.6 By Henry Woodley 12pm @ LJMU John Lennon Art and Design Building, Liverpool — FREE
Curated by History of Art student Holly Christopher, this four-day exhibition by Liverpool photographer Henry Woodley displays his work from January when he visited ‘The Jungle’ in Calais — the largest refugee camp in Europe. Situated only 20.6 miles away from the cliffs of Dover, Woodley’s photographs highlight the stark contrast between comfortable life in the UK versus the purgatory that asylum seekers have to live in for the unforeseeable future.
Wednesday — Exhibition Opening: GOING POP 6pm @ Lacey Contemporary Gallery, London — RSVP
This contemporary pop art exhibition feature four key artists and works across a multitude of forms; from neon to fibreglass sculptures; truly reviving the brazen movement of the 1950s. Starring pieces from British artists Finn Stone, Sara Pope and Paola Bazz, and the Canadian artist Elisabetta Fantone, this slightly tongue-in-cheek homage will leave you with a newfound appreciation for pop culture.
Thursday – FutureEverything Opening Session 10.15-10.30am @ Town Hall, Manchester – Festival Pass Available Here
FutureEverything Festival is here, and the major conference sessions exploring art with its creators begins today. Opening this year is Claire Braithwaite (Manchester Growth Company), alongside the festival’s founder and creative director Drew Hemment. Make sure to visit today’s events: Thriving in Uncertainty tackles hard-hitting issues such as terrorism and climate change; enjoy a fireside chat amongst Smoke Signals (pictured, below) with cyberfeminists Deep Lab (pictured, top); or explore cutting-edge wind climate technology Project Ukko. See the whole festival 30/03-02/04.
Biennial Fringe Participant Meeting 5-6pm @ Liverpool Biennial Office, Liverpool — FREE (Just Drop In)
Calling all artists and curators! Are you running an event or exhibition during Liverpool Biennial 2016 (July-Oct), or considering it? Meet like-minded people (and possible collaborators) at the Biennial office this Thursday, and hear how you can get your event out to thousands across the UK in a special fringe edition of the Culture Diary produced by The Double Negative. All welcome.
Artist Talk: Assemble 6-7pm @ Tate Liverpool — SOLD OUT
Liverpool’s own Turner Prize winning artists, Assemble, will be hosting a talk at the Tate as the exciting finale for Art Gym; the gallery’s current installation encouraging creativity amongst the public. Set to discuss their recent and live projects, and their involvement with designing the gym-like exhibition itself, this is one talk not to be missed.
Friday — PICK OF THE WEEK: Threshold Festival @ Baltic Triangle, Liverpool — £20-5
If you’re always on the look out for the next new band, get yourself down to the Baltic Triangle this weekend. Ridiculously good value for money, and spanning Liverpool’s most atmospheric (*and wind swept*) dockside venues, expect to enjoy a veritable pick-n-mix of electro, folk, art rock, thrash and everything in between. Recognisable names on the long line-up include Natalie McCool, Johnny Sands and The Mono LPs; but with so many young unknowns on offer — just like the ‘Alchemy’ of this year’s theme — the best way forward is to just get stuck right in and let Lady Luck lead the way. See it until Monday.
Exhibition Opening: Top Bantz 6-9pm @ The Royal Standard, Liverpool — FREE
Laughter isn’t appropriate in an art gallery, right? Well new exhibition Top Bantz is here to prove you, and the rest of the art world, wrong. In a new era where artists are continuously borrowing from our memetic millennial culture — a culture widely based on humour — Top Bantz explores the intersection between art and comedy in this “humour renaissance”. Including works from artists Susannah Hewlett, Lewk Wilmshurst, and Jack Fisher, this is sure to tickle your funny bone.
Saturday — Exhibition Opening: Lost: A New Work By Bill Woodrow 11am @ New Art Centre, Salisbury — FREE
Acclaimed sculptor Bill Woodrow opens his new exhibition, Lost, which focuses on nature, forests, and mountainous visuals in a stunning 3D, lifesize book, devised of wooden cutouts (pictured, above), some up to eight metres long, each page of which unites to create a panoramic sculpture. The Germans have a name for the unique feeling of woodland solitude — waldeinsamkeit — which Woodrow encapsulates as you get lost in the book, and lost deep in thought.
Sunday — Irvine Welsh In Conversation With Kevin Sampson 7.30pm @ The Dancehouse, Manchester — £8-20
Scottish author Irvine Welsh found literary prominence in 1993 with his debut novel Trainspotting, and has since gone on to write numerous other novels; his latest being The Blade Artist which features the return of Trainspotting’s frightening psychopath Francis Begbie. Synchronized with the 20th anniversary of the novel’s 1996 film adaptation, Welsh will be conversing with fellow author Kevin Sampson in this exclusive event.
Vanessa Wheeler
