The next phase of the Liverpool Without Walls project will turn the streets into a stage

A brand new £200,000 fund has been created to bring energy, culture and vibrancy on to the streets of Liverpool.

Following recent announcements from central Government that socially distanced live performances are now allowed, Liverpool City Council and Arts Council England are launching a £200,000 pilot project to fund performing and visual art in the streets of Liverpool.

This is the next phase of the Liverpool Without Walls project which began in June by supporting the hospitality sector to reimagine eating outdoors.

This latest strand of the project will look at how the city’s world-famous cultural offer can come out of the venues, galleries and performance spaces the city boasts, and turn the streets into a stage.

The fund will support artists and organisations to create work which can be presented within the city centre over the coming months – with grants of up to £5,000 on offer.

The aim is to help those who apply to look at new ways of making content, while also creating more reasons to encourage local and regional audiences back into the city centre.

Liverpool’s Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for culture, tourism and events, Councillor Wendy Simon, said:

“The cultural and arts sector has been hit as hard as anyone by this crisis. Naturally our long term aim is to help organisations reopen their venues safely, but in the meantime we wanted to find a way for our artistic community to create and perform elsewhere.

“By giving artists and performers a lifeline to create new work, while also attracting people into the city centre again, this project is a real win-win.”

Director of Culture for Liverpool Claire McColgan, said:

“When lockdown started, our extraordinary culture sector moved with speed and imagination to create brilliant work which could be shared digitally.

“This fund has been created to once again tap into their ingenuity and to come up with ideas for how to reimagine their artforms on the streets of Liverpool.

“We are renowned for producing brilliant outdoor performance in this city, so I am excited to see what the sector come up with.”

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Director of the Liverpool Biennial, Fatoş Ustek, said:

“Without Covid-19, this would have been the first week of the 11th Liverpool Biennial. Thousands of people from around the world would have been visiting Liverpool, engaging with an international array of artists and artworks.

“The fact that isn’t happening is disappointing – yet necessary given the current circumstances. Liverpool Without Walls and the fund is timely and poignant. Through this initiative, we can stimulate engagement and activation of our streets, charged with art and a wide spectrum of cultural events.

“The arts and culture sector in Liverpool is strong and resilient. I believe we will be encountering many special artworks and performances as part of the Liverpool Without Walls fund.”

Catherine Mitchell, Director North, Arts Council England said:

“I’m delighted that we are supporting this project to bring arts and cultural activity on to the streets of Liverpool. The Covid-19 crisis has hit the sector hard and it’s great to be able to give artists financial support to create new work to inspire and engage audiences across the city.

“I look forward to seeing what Liverpool’s artistic community produce for the local audiences.”

The fund is available for organisations and individuals who are based in Liverpool, and the application form can be found here.

Applications will be assessed on a first come first served basis and the fund will remain open until all the money has been allocated.

Click here for more information.

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