Galleries and artists have pulled together to keep one of the UK's largest contemporary visual arts festivals alive in Liverpool.
The Independents showcases more than 500 artists in 129 events at 62 venues in Liverpool and the Wirral, but it almost fell victim to sweeping cuts in the cultural sector.
The event, which runs alongside the Liverpool Biennial, has been kept alive by those who take part in what Mark Willcox, chair of the Independents Board said was special effort.
He said: "Artists and galleries have rallied to help the Festival fight on against all odds this year because they realise the importance, the potential and the value that the Independents has for them.
"In the current economic climate their support really is something to celebrate".
With a mix of local, national and international artists, the Independents continues to be a major event that provides opportunities for artists to showcase new work specifically created for the festival.
There is no specific theme for the festival with some artists creating work in relation to a particular space.
17 artists on the MA photography course at the Royal College of Art will be showing new site-specific work at the Wolstenholme Creative Space using both the interior and exterior of the building.
Established names include the British abstract painter, John Hoyland RA, who will be showing at 3345 Parr Street.
The 2006 John Moores Painting Prize winner, Martin Greenland, is showing New Fiction, at the Cornerstone Gallery, a unique take on the meaning of landscape.
Found a Pound is a quirky Liverpool city-wide event in the form of a creative treasure hunt that will take place in art galleries, public spaces and on the street.
Franchon Fröhlich is a long-established international artist based in Liverpool who is showing a collection of drawings, paintings and writings related to the artist's friendship with the writer Beryl Bainbridge.
At the Six Rooms Gallery, Argyle St, Birkenhead, there are three eclectic group exhibitions encompassing art, craft, design and architecture by more than 25 Wirral artists showing for the duration of the Festival.
More than 500 artists are taking part in the festival over ten weeks from 18th September to 28 November 2010.
Post a comment