Liverpool marks Black History Month 2021

ARTS and community organisations across Liverpool will be coming together throughout October to mark this year's Black History Month. Driven by the Creative Organisations of Liverpool (COoL) and supported by Culture Liverpool, the annual programme of events is a whole city approach to creatively examining the role of black people in the City and beyond. Workshops, debates, performances and film screenings will take place at venues across the City and include:-

What's Your Story? Gambia; 14 October, Toxteth TV. Writing on the Wall on taking their flagship project to Africa.

► International Perspectives:- The Role of Arts, and Art Therapies on the Issue of Diversity and Mental Health; 15 October. Day of activities at Edge Hill University.

► Routes and Roots - Festival of the African Diaspora- From 16 October. Community workshops featuring dance, crafts, music and other creative skills led by The Black And Brown Social Traders Network (BlaST). Participants will be able to showcase their skills and work at the Katumba Halloween Carnival.

► BlackFest Hip Hop Dance For All - 19 October, Unity Theatre. 1981 Liverpool 8 Uprisings 40th Anniversary Exhibition... From 22 October, Liverpool Central Library.

► On Record - From 23 October until 7 November. Building on the success of On Record 2020, 2021's programme continues the celebration of Black music on Merseyside and its wider influence. Events include performances, a debate, and "Grime>Punk,' a 1 day event that explores the idea that Grime is this generation's Punk.

► Uprisings 1981: A Commemoration - 24 October. An afternoon of discussion and performance at the Museum of Liverpool. Katumba Halloween Carnival - 31 October. The Bombed Out Church and other City Centre locations, including:- the official launch of The Black And Brown Social Traders Network (BlaST).

The whole programme of events will be available on Culture Liverpool's Black History Month webpage.

Since Friday, 1 October, visitors to the City Centre are able to enjoy a photographic exhibition of the:- 'Sky Arts Statues Redressed' project in:- College Lane, Liverpool ONE, featuring images of all the installations which appeared in the City in the summer. A 2 hour documentary on the project will be broadcast on Sky Arts, on 18 October 2021. To mark the start of Black History Month, buildings across Liverpool, including the 3 Graces, will be lit yellow and will also be lit again on 31 October, to mark the month's conclusion.

Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson said:- "Black History Month is an opportunity for everyone to learn about Black Histories and to understand how the transatlantic slave trade and social history impacts on Black communities today. Racism and discrimination is an everyday occurrence for Black communities. This year's programme not only promotes awareness of this, but is also rigorously provocative, engaging, celebratory and fun. The variety of events reflects the energy of the organisations we have in this City and their relentless drive to make Liverpool an equal place for everyone. We are lucky to have them."

Madeline Heneghan, Co-Director, Writing on the Wall, on be˝ of COol commented that:-:- "The Creative Organisations of Liverpool (COoL) are proud to be part of Liverpool BHM2021. Year on year the programme grows to showcase black artistic and intellectual excellence through:- music, film, dance, literature, spoken word and debate. Forget the culture wars; Liverpool BHM2021 demonstrates the beauty of inclusivity and the power of culture as we continue to strive for genuine racial equality."

Juliana Landim, Co-Director, Katumba/BrazUKa on behalth of BlaST, said:- "The Black And Brown Social Traders Network (BlaST) are thrilled to be part of the Liverpool BHM 2021 programme of activities with our Routes and Roots; Festival of the African Diaspora.' As a newly created network, but with a diverse and experienced group of organisations and individuals, we're excited to engage the Liverpool audience in a wide range of educational, artistic and wellbeing based activities of the Diaspora for Liverpool BHM2021, celebrating Liverpool's diversity, promoting racial equality for all."

Yaw Owusu, ON RECORD Creative Director:- "Black Music and Black Music culture is such a large, but unheralded, part of what makes Liverpool a global music City. ON RECORD celebrates and explores that contribution and influence. We look forward to working with the various creative producers to entertain and educate throughout ON RECORD '21 and contributing to the excellent Liverpool BHM 2021 offer."
 

Metro Mayor commits extra ₤1m to Liverpool City Region film industry after success of hit TV dramas Time and Help

LIVERPOOL'S status as the:- "Hollywood of the North" has taken a step closer as its new film and high end TV drama studios open for business on Monday, 4 October 2021. The Depot are 2 purpose built, 20,000sqft sound proofed film and TV production units, giving Liverpool the complete package for film producers and a providing a multi million pound boost to its economy.

Combined Authority Culture, Tourism and Visitor Economy Portfolio Holder and Halton Borough Council Leader Cllr Mike Wharton said:- "The LCR Production and Development Funds have been a resounding success and show what can be achieved by investing in local creative talent. With its great buildings and scenery, we know the Liverpool City Region is a fantastic place to shoot film and TV. It is also home to some of the world's best writers, actors, directors and film industry professionals who far too often have to go elsewhere to find work. We are determined to support this vital industry locally. Not only does this fund help retain and nurture talent, it also attracts jobs and money to the City Region and raises our international profile as a cultural powerhouse."

The opening comes as Liverpool, the second most filmed City in the UK, is experiencing the busiest period for film and TV production on record; despite the Covid19 Pandemic. Favoured by filmmakers for doubling locations as both New York and London, The Depot is seen as a key piece of the jigsaw in retaining productions within the Region for longer. The Depot's 2 units, ideally located just a 10 minute drive from the City Centre and M62, draw on the best of Liverpool and Northwest England's renowned filming infrastructure.

Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson, said:- "Liverpool's TV and film industry has been 1 of the City's great success stories of the past 20 years, and thanks to these new studios the City's offer can continue to flourish for the next 20 years. The Depot is a great example of how Liverpool is maximising its potential to fuel its recovery from the Pandemic. Of course, we all love it when a blockbuster comes to town but what I really love is how our Film Office is going to be able use these facilities not just to attract more productions, for longer, but to develop more apprenticeships and job opportunities to further enhance the City's skills base in the sector. And it's that pool of talent who make the magic happen off screen is what is making Liverpool such a star in the industry."

Liverpool Film Office (LFO), which is overseeing the management of the space, aim to find productions to employ local crew and to work with local businesses to form training initiatives. A key goal is to develop and strengthen the local talent pool and secure Liverpool's long term ambition to be a 1st class creative and digital content production base.

It is predicted The Depot, which were built by Morgan Sindall for Liverpool City Council, will create a ₤24m economic boost for the Regional economy, creating 360 new jobs and 760 indirect jobs, and forms part of Liverpool's 10 Post Pandemic pledges to stimulate growth. Situated adjacent to the future Littlewoods Studios site, The Depot is seen as critical to Liverpool's strategy to cement its reputation as 1 of Europe's premier film and TV production hubs, following a ₤17 million funding commitment from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority's Strategic Investment Fund.

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:- "Our ambitious plans are to help make our Region the 'Hollywood of the North' and we have already invested ₤17m in The Depot and future film studios at Littlewoods, which will help us cater for productions from writing and filming, right the way through to editing and post production. Our heritage, architecture, talent and people have always helped us to attract film and TV productions from across the globe. These new facilities will help us keep them here and offer the full package to productions, from providing stunning filming backdrops to the more technical editing and recording work. I'm sure that they will help us attract new jobs and productions from around the world to the area, as well as providing local people with world class training and job opportunities."

The City is currently hosting illustrious productions such as:- Sky's Funny Girl starring Gemma Arterton and Channel 4's The Curse from the team behind People Just Do Nothing, as well as recently investing and supporting Channel 4's Help starring Jodie Comer and Stephen Graham, BBC's The Responder starring Martin Freeman, ITV's adaptation of The Ipcress File through its LCR Production Fund.

Award winning writer Jimmy McGovern, whose latest project Time; a BBC TV drama part financed by the LCR Production Fund, said:- "I love the fact that Liverpool has these new TV and film studios. Everyone knows how great the City is in hosting productions, but we can't always complete a shoot here due to a limited studio capacity. These new studios will be a huge shot in the arm for the sector and especially for the hugely talented army of people who make the magic happen off screen, as they will save a lot of time wasted having to travel to other studios elsewhere. It's also great news for young kids in our City and Region wanting to get into the industry and in particular it'll be a brilliant boost for the Kensington community which desperately needs this type of investment and the fantastic job opportunities it presents. In an industry of lightning fast innovation and technological improvement, these new facilities are exactly what the City Region needs to show the industry that as well as our iconic architectural back drop, we have world class filming and production facilities. It's a welcome piece of good news in what has been a challenging year."

BBC's 6th series of:- Peaky Blinders, Doctor Who, Ridley Road, Netflix's Stay Close, Sky's COBRA: Cyberwar, and major blockbusters such as:- Warner Bros' 'The Batman and Netflix's Munich - The Edge of War' also filmed in Liverpool.

Lynn Saunders, Head of Liverpool Film Office, said:- "We've been campaigning for studio space since before Samuel L Jackson was running round the City in a kilt! Over those years we've gotten very creative around providing alternatives to productions who need more than our Region's locations, but to now be able to actually show off 2 enormous purpose-built structures, that will be filled with crews and stars, filmmakers can really unleash all their creativity in Liverpool. For us it's more than a space for sets, it's an opportunity to build a production hub in the City Region, where we can embed the local filming infrastructure network and develop training opportunities to future-proof Liverpool's prime position in the industry."

It is also worth adding that Liverpool Film Office was recently nominated for their 1st LMGI Award for Outstanding Film Commission. The nomination is in recognition of how the Film Office performed beyond the usual services provided to location professionals to assist the production of Sky/Kudos TV's Tin Star: Liverpool.

Mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson, concluded:- "This investment is testament to the exceptional work of Liverpool Film Office which is responsible for revolutionising the number of high quality productions filmed in the City Region. The brainchild of Liverpool Film Office, this initiative wouldn't have been feasible without vital funding from the Combined Authority, and it's rewarding to work in partnership on a project which is making a tangible difference to the sector. From the outset, demand was high and the team were in the amazing position of being able to invest in productions which have created jobs and developed skills. This latest financial boost will enable us to attract more small and large projects and continue to shine a spotlight on the City Region and the creativity and talent which thrive here."

For more information go to:- TheDepotLiverpool.TV.