Comments on: Livercool http://submitresponse.co.uk/weblog/2003/02/20/livercool/ Tue, 25 Feb 2014 12:56:25 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.1 By: Jack http://submitresponse.co.uk/weblog/2003/02/20/livercool/comment-page-1/#comment-293 Mon, 24 Feb 2003 17:44:08 +0000 http://mottram.textdriven.com/weblog/?p=291#comment-293 It’s certainly tricky to steer between rejuvinating a city and ripping the soul out of the place. New York is a prime example - everyone who lives there seems to complain that the city has lost it’s character post-Guiliani…

I tend to err on the side of being in favour of developments like this, mistakes do get made - knocking down Quiggans would be one, that’s for sure - but I definitely prefer both Liverpool and Glasgow now, as compared to either city five or ten years ago…

]]> By: alextronic http://submitresponse.co.uk/weblog/2003/02/20/livercool/comment-page-1/#comment-292 Mon, 24 Feb 2003 16:54:08 +0000 http://mottram.textdriven.com/weblog/?p=291#comment-292 Having just recently moved to Liverpool from the city thats smiles better, I would have to agree with you (and Tatler!) that it is a city on the move. The Biennial last year was a truly international and inspiring art event using public spaces as galleries, supporting fresh young artists and giving people a chance to look again at the excellent works contained in the Tate and Walker.

This weekend saw the opening of FACT, http://www.fact.co.uk, a £10 million state of the art, 3 screen cinema, gallery and venue for multimedia event which opened with Alex Cox’s Revengers Tragedy which was filmed entirely on location in the Pool.

Both these instances do show that the city is investing and gearing itself towards change, innovation and artistic appreciation. However, these things usually come at a price and local indiginous, alternative cultures are being swept aside by the council, in the rush to embrace the filthy lucre that comes with urban redevelopment and cultural industries.

We must remember that this is the same city council that turned the original Cavern into a car park, and forced Eric’s to close its doors and let it be turned into an irish theme bar.
Local alternative art space Jump Ship Rat has now closed down due to the planned redevelopment in that area. This was home to performance art, abstract electronics, multimedia events and generally just a hang out for the disperate, dissenting voices within the city. No more.

Next up will be Quigans, the Virginia Galleries of Liverpool and the hang out for all the Goth kids in the locality. Much like our own GOMA it provides a focal point for this culture and if it is taken from them and replaced by…wait for it…a huge, up market shopping centre, then it really will add to the blandness and superficiality that is creeping into the city.

That would be a real shame.

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