Grenfell film coming to the Bluecoat in collaboration with Tate Liverpool

Artist Steve McQueen's film installation Grenfell is set to be screened at the Bluecoat this spring as part of a national tour of selected cities.

The moving artwork is being brought to the School Lane venue in collaboration with Tate Liverpool from May 16 to June 21.

The residency includes the ninth anniversary of the fire which swept through the London tower block and claimed the lives of 72 people on June 14, 2017.

Following the tragedy, a Government Inquiry was launched that was conducted in two phases. The findings of the first and second phase of the inquiry have been reported, but its recommendations are still yet to be implemented. There is also an ongoing criminal investigation with potential charges including corporate manslaughter.

McQueen created his work in December 2017, filming the tower before it was covered with hoarding, with the London-born artist and filmmaker determined to create a record so that it would not slip from the memory.

He explained: “I knew once the tower was covered up, it would start to leave people’s minds. I was determined that it never be forgotten.”

The 24-minute-long film, which was shot during a series of helicopter flights, takes viewers from woods and fields on the outskirts of the capital and over North London’s interwar housing and towards the skyline of central London before Grenfell comes into view on the horizon.

It then makes continuous loops of the tower, with the footage giving glimpses of the interiors of flats, scraps of burnt cladding and even forensic investigators at work inside the building.

While there is initially an accompanying soundscape of birdsong, traffic and sirens, the Grenfell section of the film itself unfolds in complete silence.

Grenfell was first presented in 2023 at Serpentine in London’s Kensington Gardens, following a period of private viewings, prioritising bereaved families and survivors. The work was then placed in the care of Tate and London Museum.

The short national tour, organised by Tate, has already visited Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast and Plymouth. After Liverpool the film will be shown at the Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham.

The presentation of Grenfell at the Bluecoat is free, but tickets should be booked in advance as the work is intended to be seen from the start, so latecomers cannot be admitted.

Grenfell comes to the Bluecoat from May 16 to June 21. More details and tickets HERE

Top: : Steve McQueen, Grenfell, 2019 (still), courtesy the artist