A picture speaks a 1000 words !!
Going on preview tour tomorrow so will report back. Some say it's lost a load of character - all those wonky floors and hidden parts there used to be - but we shall see.
With the welcome recent re-opening of the Bluecoat, here's a photo of it in 1984, showing painter Rob Ball (and his dog Tramp),one of the regular exhibitors on the railings outside. Next to him was Tony Flanagan's spot and I used to sell my photographs on the end. Two much-missed friends.
Will the railing artists be permitted to return to the shiny new Bluecoat?
Last edited by knowhowe; 03-15-2008 at 03:01 PM.
Chester: a Virtual Stroll Around the Walls-
http://www.chesterwalls.info
The Liverpool Gallery-
http://www.chesterwalls.info/gallery/liverpool.html
The Chester Shop
http://www.thechestershop.com
Chester & Liverpool Guided Walks
http://www.chesterwalls.info/guidedwalks.html
10,000 turnout as Bluecoat reopens
Mar 17 2008
AN ESTIMATED 10,000 people attended a weekend-long celebration to mark the reopening of Liverpool’s Bluecoat centre for contemporary art after a £12.5m refit.
Culture Secretary Andy Burnham joined artists and civic leaders for the event, which began with 300 people assembling in the courtyard to cut a giant ribbon.
This was followed by taster activities and free events over the two-day celebration, including live music and appearances by leading literary figures Jeanette Winterson and Tom Paulin.
Also present were Liverpool Culture Company’s creative director Phil Redmond, Liverpool council leader Warren Bradley, and the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Cllr Paul Clark.
It is the first time the centre has been open to the public since 2005.
Mr Burnham said: “The reopening of the Bluecoat is a defining moment in Liverpool’s year as Capital of Culture.
“There is no place I know that has this breadth of creative activity. I’m very pleased that one of the material legacies of 2008 will be an organisation that recognises the importance of creativity in everyone’s lives.”
Bluecoat’s chief executive Alastair Upton said some visitors had travelled from as far as the US to be present for the weekend’s opening events.
He said: “We had an amazing response to the call-out for a people’s opening. There were no celebrities, the idea was that everyone should have a part in the opening ceremony.
“The queue started forming outside the gates from 9am on Saturday, and the first 300 that we could safely fit into the courtyard cut the ribbon, with many keeping a piece of it as a memento.”
He added: “The public response has been phenomenal. People were saying how much they liked the building, that they had missed it and how glad they were that it is open again.
“The overwhelming response has been an emotional one. There is a very strong sense of ownership of the building, and people went there to take it back.”
Among the attractions of the opening weekend were the centre’s first exhibition Now Then, featuring artists such as Yoko Ono. There is also a new 85-seat restaurant-bar, Upstairs at the Bluecoat, as well as coffee, tea, cake and sandwiches from Espresso at the Bluecoat.
Formerly a school, the Grade I listed building dates back to 1717. It received a £3.6m grant from Arts Council England’s capital programme, almost £3m from the European Objective One programme, just over £2m from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and an investment of £2.5m from the North West Development Agency.
At the heart of the refurbishment was the development of a wing that was previously unused and once destroyed by fire in World War II.
The new wing comprises four new galleries and a 200-seat performance space, 13 new artist studios and 13 creative industry studios, six retail shops, the espresso and restaurant-bar.
alanwestonend
Here is a link to a video of the opening and a talk by the architect.
http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?...000000014809d6
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and here is a article and some nice picture of the new building.
http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=3108846
Paul Morrisons mural in Bluecoat Chambers
THE BEST VITAMIN FOR MAKING FRIENDS ? B.1
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http://flickrhivemind.net/User/exacta2a
And the other half of it
THE BEST VITAMIN FOR MAKING FRIENDS ? B.1
My Flickr site: www.flickr.com/photos/exacta2a/
http://flickrhivemind.net/User/exacta2a
Just seen on Granada news that fire crews are tackling a blaze at the in the kitchens at the Bluecoat Arts Centre - no further information, hope this is a small contained fire.
Fire sweeps through Bluecoat Arts Centre
May 13 2008 Ben Rossington
FIRE swept through Liverpool city centre’s oldest building today.
Just two months after re-opening its doors following a £12.5m development, two floors of the Bluecoat arts centre, on School Lane, were damaged by a raging fire early this morning.
At around 3.55am, an automatic fire alarm sounded in the building.
Firefighters arrived to find flames had engulfed a first floor kitchen, which feeds the public restaurant, and smoke had crept through the air vents, filling the floor above.
Around 30 firefighters from stations in the city centre, Low Hill and Toxteth were called to the Bluecoat and spent more than three hours tackling the blaze.
Echo
OMG ! Hope everything is alright there.
I was sitting there yesterday afternoon drinking coffee with my mum.
Sad to hear!
Chris
Christopher T. George
Editor, Ripperologist
Editor, Loch Raven Review
http://christophertgeorge.blogspot.com/
Chris on Flickr and on MySpace
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