Debate: Is there still a space for artists in Liverpool’s city centre?
The historic home of Liverpool’s much-loved George Henry Lee department store on Church Street / Basnett Street (home to TK Maxx and, until recently, Liverpool stalwart Rapid) is set to be re-opened this month to provide exhibition space for artists as part of the Liverpool Beinnial, and a pop-up cinema run by a local community group.
Speaking in the Echo, Biennial festival director Patrick Kirk-Smith said:
“We need more artists spaces and artist studios in the heart of Liverpool city centre and by being given the opportunity to invite artists, both established alongside those just starting their career, we provide an excellent shop window in the city’s creative talent and why it’s so important to invest and celebrate it.”
Kirk-Smith’s words, however, speak to a tension right at the heart of Liverpool’s creative sector – with hotels and student flats absorbing more and more empty space in the city centre, where is left for the creative arts?
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