THE Bluecoat has always been a willing participant in Liverpool’s avant-garde scene, but last year’s extraordinary takeover of the building, during ’Poolside Emergency 2010, was surely one of the stranger episodes in the venue’s long history.

A woman crushed by a giant knitted boulder, a sonic re-imagining of the gardens, a lightning-fast relationship in a car and a giant mechanical soup- feeding machine characterised last year’s building-wide feast of the newest live art, performance, sound art, installation and everything in between.

Artists working in experimental theatre, contemporary dance, intervention and interdisciplinary arts have all been invited to make proposals of work for inclusion in this weekend’s one- day platform of new performances.

One artist taking part is Laura Cooper, whose work, A Hunt, aims to create an alternative kind of hunting ritual, using six female performers to create a hybrid human/ animal language.

A co-production between the Bluecoat, greenroom and hAb, the event has grown out of 10 years of manic annual showcases in Manchester.

Despite the sad closure of greenroom’s performance space, following a cut in Arts Council funding, it is hoped the Liverpool event can continue to give support to experimental artists across the region.

’Poolside Emergency takes place at the Bluecoat on Saturday, June 11. Admission is free. 0151 702 5324.