Bluecoat unveils ‘Weird Futures’: A creative exploration of tomorrow’s world

This summer, the Bluecoat launches Weird Futures: a season of exhibitions and workshops designed to provoke thought about our place in the future.

Weird Futures challenges us to consider who will shape the coming years and explores how creativity might help us navigate a changing world.

The featured artists have collaborated extensively with children, those who have the most time ahead of them, to create works that build upon Bluecoat’s past exhibitions aimed at young audiences (Abacus in 2017, Rise Up in 2019, and Are You Messin’? in 2022). This season fosters a space for both adults and children, encouraging intergenerational dialogue and exchange.

Let Your Ideas Come Back As Children 
Paddy Gould and Roxy Topia 
Exhibition launch: Sunday 21st July, 2024 
Exhibition runs from Sunday 21st July to Sunday 29th September, 2024

Across the ground floor galleries, the Bluecoat will host a thought provoking family-friendly exhibition from Merseyside based artists Roxy Topia and Paddy Gould, created in collaboration with children aged 8-11 from Out of the Blue, the Bluecoat’s after school art club. 

Let Your Ideas Come Back As Children will explore what the world of work and the workplace might look like in the future, through the eyes of children. Advances in Artificial Intelligence and technology have rendered some occupations obsolete, which could mean fewer options for children as they choose a career path. This brand new exhibition suggests that the creativity of humans is an irreplaceable skill which will become more important in years to come. 

Let Your Ideas Come Back As Children hopes to inspire conversation between adults and children, particularly around how children navigate this world dominated by technology, and what that means for their future. 

Each gallery space will have a range of artworks designed to be touched and interacted with, including soft sculpture, a busy board, colourful hand painted sculptures and areas for children to perform, allowing the exhibition to function like a creative game.

The show will also contain a new audio piece created in collaboration with Cormac Gould.

Paddy Gould and Roxy Topia said:

“Working with the Out of the Blue group at the Bluecoat has been humorous, fun and insightful, allowing us the opportunity to think about and push our ideas in new directions.”

Future, Before it Happens
Stine Marie Jacobsen and Liverpool Biennial Summer Workshops
Running from Sunday 21st July until Saturday 24th August

As part of the season, the Bluecoat will also host Liverpool Biennial’s summer long programme of free workshops for children and families in our Second Floor Gallery.

The workshops will be based on a project by conceptual artist Stine Marie Jacobsen. A new film, created by Jacobsen with children from St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, will also be displayed.

The film, ‘Future, Before it Happens‘, focuses on the wellbeing of young people in relation to the climate crisis.

The film screenings and drop-in workshops will take place from 12-4pm on the following dates: Sun 21 July, Sat 27 July, Sat 3 Aug, Sat 10 Aug, Sat 17 Aug, Sat 24 Aug.

For more info on Weird Futures click here.

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