Art faithful flock to church for one of the biggest exhibitions marking Biennial celebrations

Oct 3 2008 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

CHURCHES in Liverpool city centre have been turned into many different things over the years, from restaurants to flats.

Now one has managed to combine its commitments to all things ecclesiastical with its credentials as a hub for art and performance.

St Bride' Church, on Percy Street, in the Georgian Quarter, is not only still used as a place of worship but as an alternative venue for concerts - and, now, an art gallery.

In an Ideal World is one of the biggest exhibitions in the whole Biennial, according to the number of different artists involved.

Some 28 artists from the Liverpool area are showing their work in the church.

Curator and artist Alice Lenkiewicz said: "The theme of the exhibition is "in an ideal world', and each artist has written their own personal statement to go with the work.

"It's a mix of people from the community and from artists' groups in the city, professional and beginners.

"It's a lovely church that is very open to artists and musicians.

"It was very diffi-cult to find a space during the Biennial and when this came up I thought "here's our chance'."

Lenkiewicz is a member of the Arena artists network, pub-lishes the poetry magazine Neon High-way, and is one of the founders of the online Toxteth Art Gallery, which aims to show profiles of local artists' work and en-courage them to get together to set up shows - and is how this exhibition came together.

She is also the daughter of acclaimed British painter Robert Lenkiewicz, and is exhibiting a small number of his sketches at the exhibition that have never been seen in public.

Other artists taking part include Janine Pinion, Barbara Jones, Mark Owen, Susan Sharples, and Iain Yell.

Although mostly paintings, there is photography, sculpture and film in the exhibition, which has been funded by North West Housing Services.

Arthur Roberts, whose work is on show and is on the board of the Independents Biennial, said: "It is going fantastically well, and this really is the best and biggest Biennial we've seen.

"I've been an artist since I was 16 and seen Liverpool artists really sidelined - The Independents Biennial is a great opportunity for us to show what we can do, and as I've seen it grow, I think it will be a substantial fringe in future."

IN AN Ideal World, at St Bride's Church, runs until Oct- ober 30 and is open Wednesday - Sunday, 12pm until 5pm.

vickyanderson@dailypost.co.uk