Liverpool Art Now exhibition at The Bluecoat _320
AS LIVERPOOL’S year as European Capital of Culture ends, what do the city’s visual artists have to offer in 2009 and beyond? The answer may lie in a new group exhibition showcasing 39 artists living and working in the city.
Next Up: Liverpool Art Now, now on at the Bluecoat, celebrates the depth of creative talent currently to be found on Merseyside.
Featuring painting, drawing, video, photography, sculpture, installation and animation, Next Up presents a diverse range of works by artists with established national and international careers alongside emerging artists early in their professional practice.
Curator Sarah-Jayne Parsons said: “This exhibition gives a glimpse of all the visual arts activity in the city. The idea is not only to show the range of works, but to show where artists are in their careers.
“It’s not like 2008 is done and artists are not going to do anything creative – hopefully it will show the future is really bright. The great thing about Liverpool is that there’s a little bit of something for everybody.
“This is the first large group exhibition in the Bluecoat’s magnificent new galleries. Next Up is a more ambitious show than we were able to stage previously.”
Bryan Biggs, artistic director at the Bluecoat said: “Liverpool, like other urban centres where young artists see moving to London as the only way to further their careers, has struggled to retain its arts graduates.
“However, this seems to be changing as more practitioners stay in the city and others from outside are attracted to it.
“This, and the entrepreneurial spirit of engagement and creative camaraderie across generations of artists in several of the city’s studio groups, suggests that Liverpool’s art scene has a healthy future.”
As the Bluecoat – and the whole of Liverpool – leaves 2008 behind and looks forward to what’s next, this exhibition acts as a reflection of the strength of the city’s visual arts in the here and now.
Next Up features work by artists Imogen Stidworthy, Alan Dunn, Paul Rooney, Richard Proffitt, Pete Clarke, Chiz Turnross, Claire Weetman and more.
NEXT Up: Liverpool Art Now is on at the Bluecoat until February 15.
