Category Archive for ‘Projects’ at tenantspin

Archive for the 'Projects' Category

Youth Spinning Foyer Fun

Published by tenantspin on December 11, 2009 in 2009, Foyers and Projects. 0 Comments

tenantspin have begun a new stream of work in the past 6 months, working through Arena Option’s Young People Services. The bulk of this work has been channelled through the four Arena Foyer’s, located in Chester, St.Helens, Wigan and Warrington.

Projects have included songwriting, film-making and photo stories. Big projects like a collaboration with artist collective ‘The People Speak’ culminating in a 5-a-side football tournament with a twist in early August.

tenantspin have also been working on the Find Your Talent programme, a government initiative providing young people with access to 5 hours of culture per week. We’ve been working with Ravenhead Foyer in St.Helens, and our partners in North Liverpool.

Anfield/Breckfield partnerships…North Liverpool and other stories

Published by tenantspin on November 5, 2009 in 2009, Commissions, News, North Liverpool and Projects. 0 Comments

tenantspin has been working with communities based in the north of the city for the best part of 2009 developing some new networks, friendships, debates, screenings and training with residents which hopefully starts a long-process of collaboration in North Liverpool.
Geographically speaking, Anfield/Breckfield lies slightly inland from Everton and encompasses post codes L4, L5 + L6 and has a history dating back to the 18th century when the area was fields, streams, farms and quickly becoming a desirable domestic location for merchants growing rich from trade in the busy port of Liverpool.

Residents from the area have been collaborating with us on creating a series of creative programmes for North Liverpool which will hopefully add to all the work currently taking place led by organisations such as Anfield, Breckside neighbourhood Council, Breckfield and North Everton Community Council, The Lighthouse and Liverpool Biennial. The work includes a film programme for North Liverpool, the North Liverpool Cinema Circle, which will work to create some interesting and diverse screenings in the neighbourhood which kicked off with a screening and Q + A from producer Roy Boutler of the seminal Terence Davis Liverpool eulogy Of Time in the City.

Our next screening will be of the 1988 Chris Bernard classic Letter to Breshnev on December 2nd at 2pm, venue to be confirmed.

Our training group have been working on developing the plot and narrative for a film about the area looking at regeneration across the 200 year history, the people, places and urban myths that shape neighbourhoods over their development and what the future holds for communities in change. For more information or to contribute your knowledge, experiences or historical information drop us a line and we’ll be happy to pass this onto the group. Watch this space for details of screenings, sneak peaks and interviews with the filmmakers.

Meanwhile, on Breck Road Ruth and the wonderful staff from Abcc have been working with ourselves, local residents (groups around this part of the district include Cobra led by Ian Watt and Lawdon led by Fred Crebbin) and charities like Genie in the Gutter and The Parkview Project to lead debates and open discussions looking at issues effecting nieghbourhoods across Liverpool. The most recent focussed on substance misuse and the need for a combined approach at tackling the community-based issues brought about by herion and crack epidemics within districts. The debate was chaired by Liam Foggerty and representitives from Genie and Parkview. Look out for more events in the North Liverpool debates series in the new year, as ever if anyone has a topic they feel would benefit from open discussion please do forward onto us.

Growing projects have been under discussion with residents from St David’s Road and Cobra generally. Cobra lies within the buffer zone which basically means that there will be neither demolition or refurbishment of the current housing stock. As a result residents are keen to start Cairn Street L8 interventions which will hopefully include trees, evergreen plants and crops for winter and then into spring with a whole host of new growing projects for Abcc, Cobra and Bala Street.

To keep abreast of North Liverpool projects visit our facebook group either at tenantspin, or North Liverpool Culture follow us on twitter or have a look at our images and films on flickr

Community Film Night…the feedback!!!

Published by tenantspin on December 9, 2008 in 2008, Event, Films, Liverpool, News and Projects. 0 Comments

tenantspin’s first community film night (25th November) went down really well with all invited.

Our idea for this film evening came from feedback we received from other screenings of this ilk including Love Lane Lives (Leon Seth/Ron Noon) and Gardens of Stone (Paul Sudbury) which both have a very local focus but looked outward toward national schemes which changed the lives of people living in areas effected by mass demolition and redevelopment of social housing as well as the closure of huge, historical firms like Tate and Lyle who at one time employed 80% of the people living in the Vauxhall area of Liverpool.

This commuity film night featured the work of Ray Walsh local filmmaker and resident and the now famous documentarist Nick Broomfield. The first, Ray’s film Disappearing Communities was an 1989 production which documented the changing face of inner-city Liverpool and the social housing around the Bronlow Hill, London Road, Scotland Road and Byron Street areas. In someways, it provided a classically scouse nostaligic look at the importance of these commnities in the development of a city but with such a rounded outlook it was hard to stick on the side either of the goverment or the people.

The second, Nick Broomfield’s Behind the Rent Strike saw a very young Broomfield exposed to a world of socialism, ideology and strength of the masses that was pretty prevelant in some parts of Liverpool in the 70’s. The film documents a period of 12 months during which a group of residents from the overspill town Kirkby fight back against a rent increase and pay freeze which was part of a controversial government bill eventually scrapped in the early 80’s.

Some of the comments:

‘Hopefully this will be the 1st of many more screenings and understanding’

‘I loved the subject matter (of the film night) and the honest and open way it was portrayed’

‘Keep it coming’

‘Very impressed. More of these’

‘Good format - relaxed atmosphere’

‘Just hope more people can get involved - love the community aspect’

‘good. film lengths were ideal’

‘good split between inner city and subhurbs’

‘this is a fantastic idea - I hope to see a lot more community film nights’

The long Night…of the Biennial 30th Oct 08

Published by tenantspin on November 12, 2008 in 2008, Event, FACT, Liverpool and Projects. 0 Comments

tenantspin took part in celebrating the city-gallery-and-arts-spaces late night opening extravaganza The Long Night. The evening was a roaring success enticing late-night art revelers out from the warmth and comfort of their homes to experience the best of the biennial arts shows with a few surprises thrown in for good measure.

FACT celebrated by starting the evening of the launch of their seminal new tome celebrating the new studies and ground breaking research undertaken by FACT and professor Andy Miah throughout the year (you might remember our own inclusion in this in the guise of Titanium tenants and Where is my World?) Human Futures which looks at the very essence of future human existence and expansion through art and science.

This evening also saw the launch of our newest and most impressive project fact.tv. It has been weeks in the making and is the work of MITES, Paul Hendrick, Mike and many others. fact.tv is a platform which opens the doors for new types of artistic expression and documentation away from the gallery, arts centre and macbook. tenantspin has its own channel which looks set to play a seminal part in our upcoming gallery show at Tate Liverpool opening 16th December this year (more about that later…!!) www.fact.tv

Aside from these two evening defining events there was also an appearance from a Tarot card reader who had her hands full giving people predicitons and hope for the future through the shady corridors of allegorical interpretations the cards offer.

Last but certainly not least, Fiction@FACT the super-popular evening of spoken word, music and visuals which used to take place pretty regularly at FACT in the days of Eddie Berg came back for a sly reprise which saw the cafe transformed into a haven for both non-literary and literary types supping the delicious pumpkin soup available exclusively in the cafe that night.

IDEE visit tenantspin

Published by tenantspin on November 12, 2008 in 2008, Projects and Related Work. 0 Comments

Monday and Tuesday last week IDEE visited tenantspin from Dresden. The group is made up of artists and young people from a housing estate in Prohils, Dresden who started a arts club in the middled of the housing estate around 1994. Prohlis is an interesting looks at how Germany responded to the housing crisis after the 2nd World War. It was once in Eastern Germany before the Berlin wall came down and is made up of mostly 1950’s high-rise blocks, built originally to house 25,000 people. Since the fall of the wall most people have left for better experiences in other parts of Germany and those who are left tend to be young, unemployed and male.

Adam, an English artist who has lived around the estate for since 1994 saw the problems involved in these young peoples lives and started a media club which trains young people in film production, video editing and other interesting modes of creative development through media such as stop frame animation. They also make really interesting video blogs with other young people from the estate about their experience of being unemployed in Prohlis, what they do on Sundays, a week day and pay-day. The result of these are poignant and touching examples of an excellent way to get people to open up to a camera which can sometimes be problematic.

We took the group to the Liverpool Lighthouse on Oakfield Road, Anfield to have a look at the facilties they have there and then got together with them to run a workshop from FACT on the Tuesday - the group produced a small film which mixed flash animation techniques with stills and some moving image to give their reaction to coming to Liverpool and to seeing the large-scale regeneration of some areas and degeneration of others - the film isn’t ready as yet but watch this space……..

On Tuesday night Adam gave a talk to a group in the Renew Rooms looking at ways you can work as an artist in an environment like this and what can ultimately be gained for participants and practitioners.

For more information about IDEE and their projects go to http://idee-01239.webconsulting-dresden.de

Rotters

Published by tenantspin on April 10, 2008 in 2008, Event, News and Projects. 0 Comments

tenantspin have just returned from The International Community Arts Festival (ICAF) in lovely Rotterdam. tenantspin interviewed participants and delegates attending the festival and asked the question “What does quality in Community Arts mean”. We also hosted a live discussion in a local retirement village, where we discussed the similarities and differences between Liverpool and Rotterdam.

We had a great time. Please watch this 20 minute compilation of our time at the Festival.

two wheels are better than four…

Published by tenantspin on December 14, 2007 in 2007, Films and Projects. 1 Comment

tenantspin’s Steve Moss and Mark Duckworth produced this film about the Liverpool Critical Mass. Are you a cyclist? Do you think Liverpool supports your environmentally conscious mode of transport…. have a look and let us know what you think!

Light Signatures

Published by tenantspin on November 1, 2006 in 2006, News and Projects. 0 Comments

Artist Andrew Holmes has been commissioned to produce a series of light installations around Sefton Park, and you’ve been voting here to influence it…

About Light Signatures
During its period of operation Liverpool HAT (Housing Action Trust) developed an arts programme which included major commissions linked to their regeneration projects in Woolton and Sefton Park.

Andrew Holmes’ Light Signatures artwork for Sefton Park was selected through a competitive design process, and the decision to support it was informed by comments from the public exhibition of the shortlisted designs in 2003. The artwork projects onto the park signatures of people who have been chosen for their relevance to the park and Liverpool.

Light Signatures consists of three phases. The work is inspired by eight Victorian statues arranged around the Palm House - John Parkinson, Christopher Columbus, Charles Darwin, Andre Le Notre, Linnaeus, Captain James Cook, Gerardus Mercator and Henry the Navigator – all explorers and pioneers noted for their discovery and classification of the natural world.

From November 2005 to October 2006 these signatures are being projected around the perimeter of Sefton Park at four locations (the end of the road by the Iron Bridge, from Brompton House, the car park by Livingstone Drive and beside the lake). Each projection is approximately 30m wide.

The subjects of the second and third sets of signatures (for 2006/07 and 2007/08) are being selected by local people in discussion with the artist - and your view has also been asked for.

The Results
42 visitors to tenantspin.org voted for John Peel, giving him 38% of the vote. In second place was Steven Gerrard with 20% (22 votes) followed by The Beatles with 13% (14 votes). Next were Bill Shankly and Adrian Henri (6 votes), Glenda Jackson (5 votes), Paul O’Grady (4 votes), Bessie Braddock and Father Nugent (3 votes), Wayne Rooney and William Abdullah Quilliam (2 votes), Harold Wilson, Wally Brown and Dixie Dean (1 vote), and Sir John Moores, Lord Chan and Cherie Blair (0 votes).

The final decision on which of our top-rated nominees would be chosen for projection was taken at a public meeting at Sefton Park Community Centre on August 9th, which is available to view in our 2006 archive. At the meeting, residents eventually opted for Bill Shankly and Sir John Moores to have their signatures projected onto Sefton Park this winter.

Credits
The Light Signatures project is now managed by Arena Housing in conjunction with Sefton Park Palm House Preservation Trust. Other partners in the project who are involved with the selection of new signatures are Bellerive FCJ School working with artist Faith Bebbington and Shorefields Secondary School working with artist Andrew Small.

Related link: Sefton Park’s Palm House

Virtual Grizedale

Published by tenantspin on October 21, 2006 in 2006 and Projects. 0 Comments

tenantspin contributed a one-hour webcast as part of Grizedale Arts’ “Virtual Grizedale” exhibition in collaboration with The A Foundation and Liverpool Biennial 2006. Guests and visitors included Jesse Rae and Richard Demarco. Later, John played spoons live with leading dub guitarist Doug Wimbish (Tackhead, Living Colour, The Rolling Stones, Depeche Mode, Mick Jagger, Madonna, Jeff Beck).

Freethinking ‘06

Published by tenantspin on August 21, 2006 in 2006 and Projects. 0 Comments

For six months in the lead up to the Festival, tenantspin’s John McGuirk and Margo Hogg worked with Paul Coslett from BBC Radio Merseyside to produce fortnightly blogs. Taking themes around how we live and how technology may shape our lives in the future, John and Margo became part of a global online discussion. This type of project, working with only two tenants, was a new experience for tenantspin but was a successful pilot and we are in discussion with the BBC around a major contribution to the 2007 Free Thinking Festival in which a larger group of tenants explore the democratization of radio production.

Click here to go to the BBC Free Thinking 2006 website to read the blogs.