T14 Rip It Up Lecture # 4 Liverpool

This lecture seemed quite fragmented in its approach to presenting current work being done in Liverpool. On one hand there was an emphasis on Art and Architecture, and the biennial, and on the other, the state of disrepair of the housing in parts of the city. The Biennial didn't seem to be adhesive enough in its approach to merging the two themes, apart from its use of central derelict buildings for its exhibition spaces. As the article in the Times stated, presenting art was its aim, not drawing attention to the state of low income housing.

http://www.biennial.com/

"The shows are scattered all over the city, often in pretty strange places, but the overall ambition — to introduce British audiences to up-and-coming international artists and trends — is adhered to excellently." The Times

In terms of art and architecture, there were a number of projects that were interesting, not purely due to the aesthetic quality of said pieces, but due to the inclusion of the community and different organisations in their production. The barge project made the canal more accessible to all, involving locals, British waterways organisation, the barge owners and passers by, to create a lively atmosphere, introducing a more playful use to the canal.

The neon animals on buildings, though perhaps seemingly pointless, brought communities together as the school children were the ones to produce them; in the same way that school plays can often bring parent groups together whilst the children rehearse, the bright and obvious pieces would generate conversation between residents.

Though I believe the biennial could have done more in drawing attention to housing and architecture in the city, the benefit of such community inclusive art projects is that the ball begins rolling in activating public participation in surroundings and strengthening their duty of care. This personal relation to surroundings can also be seen in the promotion of old Beatles' houses as tourist destinations, meaning that these housing areas don't get demolished and left empty or replaced by equally bad housing, but are kept as a relics to British pop and 60's housing. The next step would be bettering and caring for the neighbouring housing rather than just leaving it to fall into disrepair like many other buildings seen in the lecture.

Public inclusion can also be seen in the use of a residing artist from the Netherlands working with locals around the old Liverpool FC stadium and in the themes of the actual Biennial, where reuse of materials (ie clothes fixing) is encouraged.

On a different note, I found the last part of the lecture very interesting, partly due to its relevance to the morning lecture at the building centre on Urban Markers. The talk turned to the "Big Art Project" as featured on TV, where due to the local people's want for this art work, it went ahead, and was well received by the community who all came to its opening/unveiling ceremony, standing tall in the landscape promoting Liverpool's urban renewal.