Liverpool Artists Network Meeting – Tuesday 19th April

This is What Happened (words by Kirsten Hawkins)

If Liverpool Artists’ Network has proven one thing, it has highlighted just how much is going on in the fringes of Liverpool’s artistic community. We are all used to consuming the happenings of well-known arts establishments, but the grassroots projects are where artists and art lovers need to be setting their sights for the coming season. Liverpool Artists Network has-been set up to provide a forum for ideas sharing and to ignite collaboration between artists.

Now, it may be that talking things through isn’t your forte, and if that is the case, good news, there are plenty of ways to get your hands dirty. For one thing, Wendy Williams welcomes participants to join the Old Co-op Project Space in St Marys Road, Garston. In essence, this is a large unit for use by artists. If you want to find out more, message the Old Co-op Project Space via their Facebook page: (https://www.facebook.com/The-Old-Co-op-project-space-963941863701073/info?tab=overview)

Being an artist is never the cheapest of pursuits and that is why Adam from Cass Art came to the rescue by alerting us to the new Cass reward card for artists. If you sign up, you will receive £10 for every £100 that you spend. Not feeling enough of a benefactor, Adam stressed that Cass wants to support your community projects, so if you are in need of art supplies for a special reason, it is worth mentioning this to Adam to see if Cass can help out. lslmgr@cassart.co.uk

Another of the unsung heroes of the Liverpool Art Scene is Dot-art. Many of you will have come across Dot-art before; they sure get up to a lot. Jess was at the meeting to clarify what goes on exactly, and you may be surprised by the scale of their operation.

  • They host a variety of art classes from jewellery making to life drawing, from holding photo walks to painting sessions.
  • They look after art sales in Rex, Bold Street and sell and exhibit artworks elsewhere
  • They have a gallery space in Queen Avenue near Castle Street and also studios in Waterloo
  • They can take care of your printing and framing needs

If one of these services has been on your wish list for a long time, then drop Jess a line:  jessica.fairclough@dot-art.co.uk

John Elcock attended the LAN meeting to spread the word about the South Liverpool Open Studios event on Sunday 8th May. It is the first one to happen in the south of the city, and involve artists letting members of the public visit their home workshops to see where the magic happens. For more information, check out www.slos.co.

In addition, John put forward another opportunity; this one is to exhibit at Jacksons as part of a window space mini gallery in this year’s Biennial.  This is ideal for someone who hasn’t the largest body of work but wants to put themselves out there. Visit www.onefifty.org

If you have already planned an exciting event to coincide with the Liverpool Biennial 2016, you need to make sure it is in the special Liverpool Biennial listings publication being produced by the Double Negative. Get all the details here: http://www.thedoublenegative.co.uk/2016/03/get-involved-liverpool-biennial-fringe/

The next LAN meeting date will soon be announced. In the meantime, keep in touch through email LAN with news of your projects, especially if you have found that LAN has helped you in any way. We’d love to hear about it! https://liverpoolartistsnetwork.org/contact/

Published by Jo Jenkins