Liverpool Biennial 2004
18 September - 28 November 2004
The third Liverpool Biennial, the UK’s festival of international contemporary art, opens 18 September.
Liverpool Biennial
PO BOX 1200,
The Tea Factory
82 Wood Street,
Liverpool L69 1XB
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 151 709 7444
Fax: +44 (0) 151 709 7377
info [at] biennial.com
The third Liverpool Biennial, the UK’s festival of international contemporary art, opens 18 September.
Uniquely among the world’s biennials the character and culture of its host city lie at the heart of the event: it is delivered collaboratively with city arts venues and organisations, and brings artists from across the globe into creative contact with local artists and communities.
Expect energy and creativity in a programme showing the work of more than 400 artists in over 100 locations across the city. There are four strands to the Biennial:
International 04
The art in this show is guaranteed to be new to you: every artist has been commissioned to make new work for the exhibition. Researchers Sabine Breitweiser (Vienna), Yu Yeon Kim (New York), Cuauhtemoc Medina (Mexico City) and Apinan Poshyananda (Bangkok) visited Liverpool to examine the city as a context for the exhibition. They each recommended artists whose practice has an affinity for the culture of Liverpool. Then the artists were invited to research Liverpool as a context for their work, with their proposals developed and delivered collaboratively with local organisations. So the curatorial ‘personality’ of the show is Liverpool itself.
Participating artists include: Luis Camnitzer, Choi Jeong Hwa, Amanda Coogan, Huang Yong Ping, Inigo Manglano-Ovalle, Esko Mannikko, Takashi Murakami, Yoko Ono, Santiago Sierra – see www.biennial.com for a full list. International 04 shows at Tate Liverpool, Bluecoat Arts Centre, FACT, Open Eye Gallery and public realm sites across the city.
Independents 04
A rich diversity of lively, intriguing, sometimes playful but always absorbing shows, presented in four areas across the city – in the new Independent District, the Docks, the City Centre and the Universities area. There will be artworks in galleries, of course, but Independents 04 manifests itself in more unexpected places: on the streets, in shop windows and in partially renovated buildings. Here you will encounter established and emerging British, UK regional and international artists presenting art that will surprise, engage and challenge.
John Moores 23, exhibition of contemporary painting
Showing at the Walker, this is Britain’s leading open competition for contemporary painters. Over 1900 artists competed for the first prize of GBP 25,000 and four runner-up prizes of GBP 2,500. You can have your say too: there will be a GBP 1,000 ‘visitors’ choice’ prize, announced at the end of the exhibition. The 2004 judges are Jarvis Cocker, musician and collector of contemporary art; Gill Hedley, director of the Contemporary Art Society; Ann Bukantas, the Walker’s curator of fine art; Callum Innes, artist and former John Moores prizewinner; and world-renowned artist Gavin Turk. This exhibition has been organised by the Walker biennially since 1957 and is supported by the John Moores Exhibition Trust.
Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2004
New Contemporaries is long established as the most significant launch pad for exceptional emerging artists, selected from students graduating from UK art schools. The show is always stimulating, vibrant and dynamic, and this year includes a karaoke performance of Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell; a manic sketchbook of intensely detailed psychedelic biro-drawings; and the tension between an elderly married couple subtly captured in a compelling film. The exhibition is selected by curator Kate Bush and artists Dinos Chapman, Tacita Dean and Brian Griffiths. It can be seen in the Coach Shed, within the new Independent District.
Come and visit
Liverpool Biennial is for all. The festival is for the most part free admission, with over 100 exhibitions and a comprehensive programme of talks, tours and activities in which to participate. More information is available at http:/www.biennial.com OR pick up our free Liverpool Biennial Guide at all participating venues OR email: nadja@biennial.com
Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art Ltd is supported by its principal sponsors: afoundation, Arts Council England, Liverpool City Council, the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and the European Union, through the Merseyside Objective One, European Regional Development Fund.
