Liverpool’s Independents Biennial to return in 2021 and first artists announced

The Independents Biennial will return in 2021, celebrating the art and artists of Liverpool City Region. Having secured funding from Arts Council England, the programme will run alongside Liverpool Biennial, from 20 March to 6 June 2021.

Independents Biennial exists to celebrate the region’s creative life and cast a fresh perspective on how people in Merseyside see, make and use art. 2021 will be its 22nd year. It works without a theme, instead focusing on artist production, offering a glimpse into how artists work and how an artwork can develop through the course of the programme.

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In 2021, the programme will be a combination of live and digital arts and, for the first time, will have all funded public activity taking place in one building. Art in Liverpool, the programme’s coordinators will also be working closely with partner organisations and independent artist led projects & spaces to develop their work alongside the programme.

The programme has been postponed from July 2020, and will continue working with the same cohort of artists previously selected.

In partnership with Metal Liverpool, Independents Biennial is working with Pierce Starre, Sufea Noor, Jay Hampton and Sorrel Kerrison. The four artists have access to free studio space at Metal for several months leading up to the live programme, and we will be commissioning their work for the final programme.

In partnership with Open Eye Gallery, Sam Venables, Feiyi Wen and Monste Mosquera were selected for a digital window display. Thanks to the additional funding from Arts Council England, they will now be working in residence during the programme, alongside a team of artist hosts (details of how to apply for this position will be published soon).

Already commissioned artists in St Helens, thanks to an ongoing partnership with the council’s Arts in Libraries service, will be represented in new ways through the programme space following project development with each of the artists.

More artists are yet to be announced, but the core programme builds on Independents Biennial’s plans for 2020, which were postponed due to COVID-19. Art in Liverpool the programme’s organisers, will also be working with local studios and galleries to aid the development of their own events alongside the programme.

As part of the 2021 edition, and building on work taking place through 2020, Independents Biennial will work with the newly established Artist Studio Network, connecting the independent studios based within the city region, helping to keep artists and institutions connected as their work develops.

More artists to be announced soon.