Culture Diary w/c 21-08-2023
Our pick of this week’s arts, design, film and music events from across Liverpool and beyond…
Monday – Bruce Lee: Enter the Dragon 8.30pm @ FACT Liverpool – £8.20
Screened to mark the 50th anniversary of cinema’s most influential martial arts film, Enter the Dragon sees the man, the myth, the legend Bruce Lee bring down a sex trafficking and drug ring under the guise of entering a tournament of the world’s outstanding fighters. Lee, fusing strength of personality and poetry in motion to forge a unique on-screen presence, has never been eclipsed.
Tuesday – Scrapper + Director Q&A 6pm @ FACT Liverpool – £8
First time feature director Charlotte Regan is on hand to discuss her debut, a coming-of-age drama that takes – via an East London estate – the road less travelled. With high-profile films such as Barbie demonstrating that female directors can more than amply deliver at the box office, now’s the time to spotlight and support those at the beginnings of their career.
Wednesday – Serpico 8.30pm @ FACT Liverpool – £12.20
Another iconic slice of cinema celebrates its 50th anniversary this week. Sidney Lumet’s Serpico is based on the real-life story of whistle-blowing NYPD cop Frank Serpico, who took evidence of corruption to the New York Times. The picture sees director Lumet and star Al Pacino firing on all cylinders.
Thursday – Evocation #2. An exhibition by Tate Liverpool colleagues 6pm @ Avenue HQ, Mann Island, Liverpool – FREE
Second phase and venue for Evocation, an exhibition featuring more than thirty artists whose day jobs see them fill roles at Tate Liverpool. Works displayed respond to a ‘memory, particularly one connected to their home lives and/or their experience of working at Tate’, which closes this October for much needed renovation work.
Further Reading: Time & Space: On Being a Gallery Invigilator
Film Screening: The Undesirables + When The Sea Sends Forth A Forest 6pm @ Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool – FREE (Booking Required)
Screenings of directors Hester Yang’s mixed-media film The Undesirables, which explores the hidden histories of the Chinese community in post-war Liverpool and Guangli Liu’s When the Sea sends forth a Forest, which scrutinises memory and propaganda through the lens of the Khmer Rouge. A post-screening in-conversation sees Yang joined by PhD student Emily Beswick, whose research centres on family photographs and Chinese migration in Liverpool.
Friday – Exhibition Closing: Visibilities: Shaping a story of now @ New Adelphi Gallery, Salford – FREE
Including works both local and global in their implications, this ambitious exhibition drawn from the University of Salford’s collection addresses the question: what does it mean to be visible?
Friday & Saturday – Future Now @ Future Yard, Birkenhead – £Various
Anniversary of the festival that launched Future Yard back in 2019. Championing emerging artists from the left bank of the Mersey and beyond, 2023′s edition sees headliners The Bug Club and Bodega joined by the likes of Bo Ningen, Personal Trainer and, what not so long ago would have seemed an unlikely (though very welcome) return of local lads, Seal Club Clubbing Club.
Sunday – Exhibition Closing: Chila Kumari Singh Burman: Merseyside Burman Empire @ FACT Liverpool – FREE
Last chance to see Chila Kumari Singh Burman’s takeover of the top floor at FACT. Beneath the seductive riot of colour, image and sound lies a serious exploration of heritage, and the impacts of a life between cultures.
Further Reading: “Like popping candy for the mind.” Chila Kumari Singh Burman’s Merseyside Burman Empire at FACT Liverpool – Reviewed
Mike Pinnington
Images/media, from top: Bruce Lee: Enter the Dragon; Serpico Trailer; Evocation #2; Chila Kumari @ FACT
