LJMU opens new gallery in the Albert Dock
16 February 2007

LJMU's new art gallery, Site, is now officially open

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Around 1,000 people visited LJMU's new art gallery, Site, in the Albert Dock in the two days since it opened to the public on 14 February.

Located next to the Pan American Club, Site is open to the public 10.30am - 4.30pm, Wednesday to Sunday and all exhibitions are free of charge.

Site not only represents a new international art space in Liverpool, it marks the beginning of a series of initiatives, collaborations and partnerships that will build towards the opening of Liverpool's new Art and Design Academy (http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/ada/) in 2008.

A private view for Site's first exhibition, 'Castles in the Sky' took place on 13 February and was a great success. Speaking at the event, Martin Downie, Director of the School of Art and Design, thanked the Albert Dock Company for their support in developing Site. He also added that Site "exemplifies the role we want the new Art and Design Academy to play in the city and the region. We want the Academy to challenge conventions, to have something vibrant to offer and to enter into dialogues with different communities. Site will be a platform for new talent, a public space, a place to play, a place to debate."

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Curated by Paul Domela and John Byrne, 'Castles in the Sky' brings together work from past Liverpool Biennials and displays these alongside work by students from LJMU's School of Art and Design (http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/LSA/index.htm). 'Castles in the Sky' also marks the start of a new partnership between LJMU and Liverpool Biennial (http://www.biennial.com/).

LJMU lecturer John Byrne, who will manage Site over the coming months, said: "We don't want to use Site as a traditional art space. We want to test out new ways of working and new relationships between local and international artists, and between staff and students." John also extended special thanks to the LJMU technicians who helped stage the first exhibition.

Working to a very short deadline, students John Wood, Gareth Shuttleworth, Anna Marie Quinn, Tom Sykes, Rob Duffy, Henry Finney, Tim Fielding, Kristian Stevens and Teekall Mair-MacFarlane (pictured below) have produced an impressive mural covering four large panels in the Gallery. The work forms an exciting backdrop for South Korean artist Jeong Hwa Choi's inflatable flowers, the centrepiece of the exhibition, which grow and recede across the floor of the gallery.

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'Castles in the Sky' also includes a 'Portable Cinema' by Black Diamond and a series of videos and drawings from LJMU students and the Biennial archive. Curator Paul Domela, who is also Deputy Chief Executive of Liverpool Biennial, said that the exhibition makes a statement on 'what can be taken from the recent past to build the future'. Domela also added that he hoped that some of the 'Castles in the Sky' would come to ground in the form of new artworks, typified by the work of the LJMU students.

'Castles in the Sky' will run until 11 March.

Pictures:


Work by LJMU students forms an impressive backdrop for South Korean artist's Jeong Hwa Choi's inflatable flowers installation.

Martin Downie, Director of the School of Art and Design, John Byrne and Paul Domela, exhibition curators

LJMU students in front of their huge artwork for Site.

Source: LJMU News Update (http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/NewsUpdate/index_86596.htm)

Can you bring a Camera in Howie.

Can you bring a Camera in Howie.
I'm not sure. I'll find out tomorrow and let you know.

I'm not sure. I'll find out tomorrow and let you know.

Thanks Howie.

Gerard

I've just spoken to the curator John Byrne - photography is fine, so you can get down there with your camera. Look forward to seeing your pics posted here.

:PDT_Piratz_26:

Gerard

I've just spoken to the curator John Byrne - photography is fine, so you can get down there with your camera. Look forward to seeing your pics posted here.

:PDT_Piratz_26:

Thanks for that Howie.will get down there soon.

New exhibition at Site, the Albert Dock
22 March 2007

Royal Standard open new show, 'The Wrong Space', at LJMU's art space, Site, in the Albert Dock

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Artists from across Liverpool are contributing items for a new art installation by the Royal Standard, a contemporary arts organisation based in the city. Just who these artists are is yet to be defined, as are the items - they just have to be pocket sized.

The result is a unique interactive installation that will evolve over the duration of the Royal Standard's new show 'The Wrong Place', which opened to the public on 21 March 2007.

'The Wrong Place' is the second in a series of experimental shows at Site, a public art space established by LJMU's School of Art and Design in partnership with Liverpool Biennial and the Albert Dock. Site is open to the public 10am to 4pm, Wednesday to Sunday.

Sean Hawkridge from the Royal Standard explains:

"The Royal Standard is all about forging connections, building community in the arts in Liverpool and producing interesting and dynamic new art. For 'Pocket' we wanted to provoke as much of a response as possible and that's why we haven't defined who can submit objects. We want to get people talking about whether these objects really reflect art in the city."
Anyone who classifies themselves as an 'artist' can submit a pocket-sized item providing it reflects how they live, work and connect with the city.

John Byrne, Site manager and LJMU lecturer, says:

"This show exemplifies what we are trying to do at Site. We want to move away from the traditional model of art works hung on the wall and play around with established notions of how a gallery should work and interact with its viewing public.

"We want to reach beyond the confines of the gallery and experiment with how contemporary art and design can be viewed, analysed and debated. That's why we're installing a pool table for the duration of this show - we want people to come down to Site, relax and have fun."

Alongside 'Pocket', 'The Wrong Place' involves two other distinctive explorations of the impact that different environments and places have on contemporary artists.

Bag is a series of four micro-exhibitions, each one curated by a different artist group and each one only lasting for one evening. The format is fluid but audiences should come prepared to think, to play and to get involved.

Suitcase features work by international artists Judith Egger (Munich), Tomas Zizka (Prague), Johnny de Veras (London) and Leo Fitzmaurice (Liverpool). Curated around the theme of 'The Wrong Place', the work explores each artist's reaction and relationship to the language and fabric of their particular city.

Since opening in February 2007, Site has proved to be one of the city's most popular venues, attracting over 8,000 for its first show, 'Castles in the Sky'.

Picture: 'The Wrong Place: Pocket / Bag / Suitcase' exhibition at Site, LJMU's new public art space at the Albert Dock

Source: LJMU News Update (http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/NewsUpdate/index_86896.htm)

The Fabric of Protest
05 October 2007

New exhibition opens at LJMU's Site Gallery in the Albert Dock

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The Fabric of Protest exhibition at LJMU's Site Gallery in the Albert Dock opened to the public on Wednesday 3 October 2007. The exhibition explores how fabric can be used to convey different messages and meanings, from Katherine Hamnett's '58% DON’T WANT PERSHING' T-shirt to Buddhist prayer flags and Islamic Hijabs. The exhibition will be open until Sunday 28th (Wednesday to Sunday, 10am-4pm).

The exhibition features the work of artists Nina Edge, Vanessa Cuthbert and Helen Thompson as well as video work by current LJMU Fine Art students, Tim Fielding and Tom Sykes. Visitors will also be able to see how artists produce textiles with workshops and discussions taking place in the gallery throughout the exhibition.

John Bryne, Site's curator said: ''This exhibition shows how powerfully a mundane item like cotton can be used to communicate new meanings and understanding. We're delighted that Nina Edge will be able to demonstrate how she develops her radical textiles. This exemplifies how Site can be used as a vehicle to demystify artistic processes while also stimulating creative debate and hopefully helping people engage more closely with the creative process.''

Liverpool-based Nina Edge's installation 'Terra' explores our increasingly militarised world, and how camouflage makes it difficulty to distinguish between friend and foe. Terra features large camouflage wall maps up to 8 metres long, produced by the Liverpool-based flag makers Porter Brothers, as well as Hijabs, scarves and trousers, made by Isara Abdullah Abdi from the Al Ghazali sewing group. The industrial embroidery featured on many of the works - accounting for nearly 100,000 stitches - was completed by Ridge Sportswear and Co, Ashton-Under-Lyme.

Thanks to sponsorship from the Arts Council, visitors to Site will be able to see Nina Edge produce a camouflage wedding dress for addition to the Terra installation. She will also be working with colleagues from the Liverpool Arabic Centre to develop slogans for textile print in Arabic, Farsi, and Pushtu, the languages of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Fabric of Protest, is Helen Thompson's first show since graduating from LJMU. Her installation features 60 metres of shibori bound cotton canvas tied in bundles and stacked on a plinth. Shibori is a Japanese term for dyeing cloth with a pattern, not by using dyes but by binding, stitching, folding, twisting, or compressing it.

Vanessa Cuthbert's installation the 'Tree' features 50 Buddhist prayer flags suspended at different levels in a darkened room and accompanied by a video installation and soundtrack of whistles and human voices that escalate to a crescendo of noise then silence. The work explores notions of protest, meditation and order, contrasting Western thought with Buddhist traditions.

Joe Edge, Director of the Albert Dock Company, said: ''The Albert Dock Company is delighted to work with Site Gallery and the Liverpool Biennial to host such a thought provoking exhibition, Site is building a reputation for exciting and innovative works and this I am sure will be no exception.''

Site is a collaboration between LJMU's School of Art and Design, Liverpool Biennial and the Albert Dock Company. The Fabric of Protest exhibition is supported by Northern Edge.

Source: LJMU News Update (http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/NewsUpdate/index_90778.htm)

:protest:

The Martha Rosler Library

LJMU's School of Art and Design organises first UK exhibition of the acclaimed Martha Rosler Library

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Established in 2005, this unique collection of around 7,700 books first opened as a storefront reading room for the New York-based arts project e-flux. Since then, it has travelled across Europe, opening in the Frankfurter Kunstverein in Germany, in Antwerp's Muhka (Museum of Contemporary Art), the United Nations Plaza School in Berlin, and the Institut National de L'Histoire de L'Art in Paris.

The first UK exhibition of the Martha Rosler Library has been organised in collaboration with e-flux by LJMU's Site Gallery in collaboration with the Liverpool Biennial. It opened to the public on 12 April and will remain on view in Liverpool until 14 June when it will move to Edinburgh, opening to the public in August 2008.

John Byrne, manager and curator of LJMU's Site Project, said: "LJMU is a supporter of contemporary art and as such is extremely pleased to secure this outstanding exhibition. We are currently in the final stages of developing our new Art and Design Academy and this show exemplifies the ambitions of the University and Liverpool Biennial to help make Liverpool a true capital of the arts."

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Brooklyn-based Martha Rosler is one of America's most important living artists. The Library is as eclectic as her art is varied - she works in video, sculpture, photo-text, installation, and performance. The Library's titles range from political theory, art history and poetry to science fiction, mystery and children's books; there are also periodicals, dictionaries, maps and travel books, as well as photo albums, posters, postcards and newspaper clippings. The contents are both a source of inspiration for Rosler's work and an installation in their own right - with the live components being lectures, reading groups and discussions.

John Byrne continued: "Usually exhibitions invite you to look but not touch. This Library invites you to do the opposite; to pick things up, to engage with the books and other materials on the shelves, to think for yourself rather than being instructed on what to look at and what to think."

Martha Rosler was reunited with her collection on 9 April when she oversaw the final stages of installation at 68 Hope Street. However, she is no stranger to the city, having taken part in the 2004 Liverpool Biennial. She also took part in a public discussion in the Library on Saturday 12 April.

Paula Domela, Liverpool Biennial's Programme Director, said: "It was great to welcome Martha Rosler back to Liverpool. As an artist she is concerned with making history visible, with looking beyond the surfaces of what she calls 'the prepared world, the one already interpreted for us'. Her extensive body of work and contributions to contemporary art and social theory have profoundly influenced an entire generation of younger artists. The Martha Rosler Library will no doubt add to the debate on what constitutes art and contemporary artistic practice."

The Martha Rosler Library will be open to the public between 12 April-14 June 2008, 11am-6pm, Monday to Saturday, closed Sundays. Further conversations will include Shepherd Steiner, Simon Sheikh Maria Hlavajova and Centre of Attention.

Pictures:

Top: Artist Martha Rosler is reunited with her collection in 68 Hope Street.


Bottom: Art and design students at the Martha Rosler Library Private View.

Source: LJMU News Update (http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/NewsUpdate/index_94244.htm)