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Lifestyles
consultation underway
A consultation about the
future of 3 of Liverpool's Lifestyles leisure centres is underway.
The sport and outdoor recreation service needs to make budget
savings of £10.5million in the next 3 years, with nearly £6.5million
having to be made in the 1st year (2014/15)
The entire service has been reviewed, with a focus on the
facilities, their condition, how well they are used and what the
running costs are.
The consultation includes the future operation of swimming pools at
Lifestyles Everton Park and Park Road and access arrangements for
Lifestyles Austin Rawlinson. These 3 centres have been identified
for closure or operational change because of their high operating
and maintenance costs.
As a result, the following proposals are in place:-
► The closure of the Lifestyles Everton
Park swimming pool, with a potential to shut the entire centre
within 3 years.
► The closure of Lifestyles Park Road
swimming pool, with a potential to shut the entire centre within 3
years.
► An operational change to Lifestyles
Austin Rawlinson which would see it operate on a 'lettings
plus' basis. This means the cCntre will remain open, but
will only open for organised groups and pre-booked sessions.
The City Council is asking residents to fill out a questionnaire,
giving their views on some or all the proposals, and welcome
suggestions of what people would like to see in the local area to
reduce the impact of the potential closures.
The survey looks to establish what people's concerns are should the
centres close or reduce their opening hours, what the centres are
currently used for (gym use, martial arts, football, swimming etc)
and how far people travel to use a Lifestyle Centre.
The City Council's Director of Community Services, Ron Odunaiya,
said:- "The scale of the cuts facing the service is extremely
challenging and we need to look at all options available to us. We
understand leisure facilities are hugely valued by local
communities, and this questionnaire is a way in which we can get the
views of people, establish all options available and look at ways in
which we can reduce the impact of the potential closures. There is
no doubt that in the future the sports provision we offer will be
reduced and people may well have to travel further to access the
service. I hope as many people as possible take the opportunity to
fill out the short form and have their say on the proposals and in
doing so, help shape the future of Lifestyles."
The consultation will run until Monday, 19 May 2014, and is
available
online. The questionnaire can
also be found in all Lifestyle Centres.
1st wave of
artists announced for Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 2014!
THE ever popular Liverpool
Arab Arts Festival (LAAF)
returns to the City for a 13th consecutive year from 7 June 2014 to
15 June 2014 and organisers are delighted to announce the first wave
of artists who will appear at this multi art form festival.
Female jazz fusion singer Farah Siraj, a music superstar in the Arab
world and many European countries, visits LAAF in what is her only
UK show this year, in the impressive surroundings of Liverpool's St
George's Hall on Sunday, 8 June 2014.
Farah Siraj has a style all her own, which she describes as Arabian
Flamenco Jazz. Siraj has performed at some of the world's most
prestigious platforms, including the United Nations, Nobel Prize
Hall and the World Economic Forum.
Farah Siraj said:- "I am very excited to be part of the
Liverpool Arab Arts Festival! This festival is one of the most
prestigious in Europe and I am proud to take part in it. One of the
things I most look forward to is connecting with the audience and
bringing them closer to the Arab world through my music. We have an
exciting program lined up and I just know it will be a special
night!"
Next comes the controversial and action packed film Omar, showing at
FACT on 11 June 2014.
Protagonist Omar climbs the separation wall in the West Bank to
visit the woman he loves. As he attempts to elude intelligence
forces, he finds himself press ganged into catching a member of the
resistance. Having recently premiered at London Film Festival,
Liverpool audiences have a rare chance to see it at LAAF this
summer.
LAAF is also delighted to announce four gripping, funny, touching
short plays about Arab women in revolution by some of the UK and
Middle East's best writers in Waiting For Summer at the Unity
Theatre
Liverpool, on 11 June and 12
June 2014. Produced by Swivel Theatre, 1 of the 4 plays has been
written by renowned playwright Martin Crimp.
Sarmarda - a Diwan Theatre production, premieres at the Bluecoat on
14 June 2014. After their sell-out show at last year's LAAF, Diwan
return to weave lyrical storytelling with musical wiles in a new
show based on Fadi Azzam's novel Sarmada, long listed for the Arabic
Booker Prize in 2011. Far from this world lies a village
effervescent with surreal magic, where sex and fantasy,
transmigrating souls, potions and soothsayers conspire to bring a
remarkable contemporary of the Arabian Nights. With effortless
dexterity and an easy style, Louai Alhenawi and Alia Alzougbi create
another explosive performance.
If you did not know... a Sarmada is a word created by the author, a
derivative female form of the noun-verb 'to perpetuate'
or 'perpetual'. The title places women at the heart of
this story that spans several generations, from Syria to Paris and
back again.
There's also a major exhibition commissioned by LAAF and devised
especially for host venue the Bluecoat of artwork curated by Kalimat
magazine editor Danah Abdullah showing throughout the festival and
extending to 29 June 2014. Choose Your Own Adventure plays with the
format found in old board games and children's books. Arab designers
are invited to imagine new worlds through 1 of 8 prompts. Themes
include transportation, the future, urbanism, lifestyle, and current
affairs.
A 2nd exhibition will also run at the
Bluecoat throughout the
festival from 7 June to 17 June 2014. Al Noor-Fragile Vision has
been created for LAAF in collaboration with DaDaFest, British
Council and Arts Council England. Rachel Gadsden's methodology of
creative engagement and delivery articulates the notion that, whilst
acknowledging political and religious differences, arts and culture
can serve to promote a common ground for discourse and development.
Her work explores themes of fragility and resilience, and the
universal and deeply positive desire to survive. Countries involved
in this exhibition include Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
This event is a series of workshops which will lead to a complete
exhibition later this year.
Boasting a huge range of events, the 9 day long festival will take
place at various high profile venues across the City including the
Bluecoat, FACT, Unity Theatre, St George's Hall and Sefton Park Palm
House. This year LAAF will coincide with Liverpool's International
Festival for Business.
This eclectic festival will cover a plethora of cultural mediums and
genres, with family activities, visual arts, film, performance,
music, dance, food, 2 book launches and interactive workshops.
People of all ages and cultures will find something to interest
them. |
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kiss it better this Easter… it's for real emergencies
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ON Friday, 9 May 2014, the
Liverpool Art Prize will once again return to the City for its 7th
successive year. Managed by Metal, the Art Prize celebrates and
nurtures the creative talent of artists based or born in the
Liverpool region and this year 3 lucky entrants have been
successfully shortlisted as finalists.
The exhibition runs for 6 weeks between 9 May 2014 to 21 June 2014
and returns to its original home at Edge Hill Station for 2014,
after moving to the City Centre in 2013 as part of the 25th
Anniversary celebration of the historic Albert Dock. This year Metal
are delighted to present the work of three artists, Brigitte Jurack,
Tabitha Jussa and Jason Thompson, to coincide with the International
Festival of Business' Cultural Programme, IFB Culture. Each of the
artists have created new work in response to being shortlisted for
the prize.
Wirral based Brigitte Jurack's sculptures and installations seek to
trigger memories of being, in place and in time. For her entry she
has prepared a new body of work named 'The Explorers Are Gone
for Tea'. In this work, her interest in orienteering, map
reading, interpretation and re-evaluation will be played out.
Tabitha Jussa's socio-political photographic work has
captured match day crowds and abandoned social housing estates. Her
recent large scale compositions examine whether physical spaces and
buildings define who we are. Her entry intends to build upon this
body of work by examining how other UK Councils have dealt with mass
displacement and empty housing with a view to a comparison between
the UK, Europe and the rest of the globe.
The final entry, Jason Thompson's paintings take inspiration from
mechanical, botanical and anatomical diagrams. Their repetitive
patterns are made by copying, mirroring and or echoing other parts.
Structures are formed by this feedback process and it is as though
the painting begins to paint itself, like a natural evolutionary
process.
They will each be competing for the coveted main
prize of £2000 and an invitation to create a solo exhibition at the
Bluecoat in 2015, with the winner being selected by a panel of
expert judges - Pavel Büchler, a Czech-born, UK based artist,
teacher and occasional writer, Francesco Manacorda, Artistic
Director of Tate Liverpool and Simon Poulter, new media artist and
Metal's Associate Curator. Visitors will also get the chance to vote
for their favourite piece resulting in a People's Choice Award of
£1000. There will be a special awards ceremony on 18th June
announcing the winners.
Jenny Porter, Project Manager at Metal Liverpool said:- "The
Liverpool Art Prize and Liverpool Art Month provide a platform for
local artists to showcase their work, demonstrating the wealth of
creative talent in the City. It is crucial to continue to support
our creative communities and the Liverpool Art Prize is one way of
recognising these talents while offering audiences an insight into
the creative practices of people living and working here."
Last year Tabitha Moses became the 1st artist to win both the
People's Choice and the overall prize in the same year. She will be
presenting a solo exhibition of her work at the Walker Art Gallery
during 2014.
Metal are also delighted to announce a fantastic
opportunity for artists to win residency opportunities , the first
being a yearlong studio residency at Metal's Edge Hill Station open
to any UK based artist. The second, a month-long residency to China
in partnership with Shanghai Art School which is open to any North
West based artist. The closing date for both applications to be
considered is 9 June and the lucky winners will be announced at the
awards ceremony on 18 June 2014. Application details are available
on Metal's
website.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of events and
exhibitions happening in and around the City Centre programmed by a
consortium of the City's studio groups and independent arts
organisations for Liverpool Art Month. This year's highlights
include Movie Cars Exhibition by Mark Harrison and 104 Duke Street
Studio's proudly showcase its residing Artists' individual projects
in the studio's debut exhibition, amongst many other exciting events
involving local artists.
More information can also be found at:-
liverpoolartprize.com and
on:-
metalculture.com.
Dod you know? Metal at Edge Hill Station was founded by Jude Kelly
OBE in 2002 and provides innovative, multi-disciplinary residency
space for artists from the UK and overseas in Liverpool,
Peterboroughand Southend on Sea. Edge Hill Station is the world's
oldest standing passenger railway station, still in use, and it
possesses a proud history of innovation, aspiration and technology.
In 2009 Metal completed a major renovation of the Engine House,
Boiler Room and Accumulator Tower at Edge Hill Station, after
successfully raising capital funding from Kensington Regeneration,
Merseytravel, Northern Rail, Railway Heritage Trust and Network
Rail.
Also did you know that The Prize has continually attracted sponsors
from the local business community and that this year's sponsors
include:- ABW Architects, Barefoot Wine, Bill Elms Associates, McCoy
Wynne, Middle Distance and Ultimate Holding Company? |
