Liverpool Biennial will open as expected this weekend – but with an ‘outside chapter’ of sculpture, sound and digital commissions. The postponed event, titled The Stomach and the Port, is due to run from March 20 to June 6. But Government restrictions under the Covid lockdown roadmap mean the earliest that arts venues will be able to reopen their doors is May 17. Along with the outdoor commissions, the Biennial – the UK’s leading contemporary art festival – has also announced

The history and heritage of dance and dancers across Liverpool and Merseyside is at the heart of a new project launched by MD Creatives. The St Helens-based independent training academy – and three-times Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalist - has teamed up with the town's Camron Studios to run Dance It Your Way. Miguel Doforo (pictured far right), creative director and founder of MD Creatives – and who recently won a Liverpool City Region Culture and Creativity Award, said: “Th

Liverpool arts organisations have given a cautious welcome to the Government’s ‘roadmap’ out of Covid restrictions. Indoor entertainment venues including museums, galleries, theatres, concert halls and cinemas are expected to open from mid-May onwards as outlined in the 68-page document which Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed in the House of Commons yesterday. But he also warned the date of May 17 for ‘step 3’ of the lifting of lockdown restrictions would be a ‘by the ear

The work of artists and cultural organisations across Liverpool City Region has been celebrated in an online awards ceremony. LCR Culture and Creativity Awards 2020 were revealed in the virtual event which was hosted by actress Eithne Browne. And this year’s awards also included two special accolades for people’s creative response to the Covid-19 pandemic. More than 700 entries were received – twice the number submitted from the previous year, and judges had a difficult job w

Gareth Gates is set to appear in Sleeping Beauty at the Auditorium at the M&S Bank Arena this spring. The singer and Pop Idol star will head the cast in the Easter panto which is scheduled to run at the waterfront venue in April – Coronavirus pandemic restrictions permitting. He will be joined in the fairytale story by Emma Grace Arends and Bippo the clown. Tickets cost £18-£19 for ‘silver’ performances and £25-£26 for ‘gold’ shows. The evil Carabosse curses the Princess to d

The Liverpool City Region Culture and Creativity Awards are set to be announced in an online ceremony tonight. The awards have been organised to celebrate and recognise the outstanding role that culture and creativity contributes to the region. They were created as part of the Metro Mayor’s Percent for Culture initiative to recognise the value and power for change that the arts, cultural and creative sector can bring in reinforcing the city region as one of the most vibrant a

Liverpool’s Bluecoat is launching a new project which invites young people to explore its origins and the city’s colonial legacy and how that then connects to life today. Echoes and Origins will create opportunities for a dance artist, creative writers and young people, as well as a new project facilitator role. The Blue Coat Hospital School was co-founded by Bryan Blundell and the Rev Robert Styth in 1708 as a charity school for orphaned boys. The school moved into the Bluec

The Unity Theatre has announced the first 12 artists chosen through its Open Call Programme to support Liverpool’s creative community during the ongoing Covid pandemic. The programme was launched in December when artists were invited to submit work to form part of the Hope Place theatre’s 2021 season. Each of the 12 successful applicants will receive a bursary of up to £1,250 along with creative, production and welfare support. Unity bosses were overwhelmed with applicants an

The five shortlisted artists vying for this year’s prestigious John Moores Painting Prize have been revealed. Robbie Bushe, Steph Goodger, Michele Fletcher, Stephen Lee and Kathryn Maple are all in with a chance of winning the £25,000 top prize when it is announced on March 4. Each runner up will receive £2,500. They are among 67 artists chosen from nearly 3,000 entries to have their work shown at the biennial prize exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery. And while the gallery

Prescot will be captured on camera as part of Historic England’s four-year cultural programme centred around the High Street’s Heritage Action Zone initiative. A photographer in residence will be commissioned to take images of Prescot town centre for the Picturing England’s High Streets strand of the multi-million pound programme. The town is one of only six places in the country chosen to be involved in the national project, one element of the High Street Cultural Programme