Urbanism 09
Liverpool Biennial presents Urbanism 09: five days of exhibition, exploration, discussion and celebration along the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, stretching through South Sefton and North Liverpool; a vital green/blue lung in what many mistakenly perceive as an area of urban decay.
The route of the event runs along the canal from St Winefride’s & St Richard’s School (St Winnie’s) on the canalside in Bootle to Bank Hall in Liverpool. St Winnie’s has been transformed by architects Raumlabor, artist Kerry Morrison and food activists Squash Nutrition into an Urban Arcadia while Danilo Capasso presents Porto Allegro on the site of the former dock at Bank Hall..
In Urbanism 09 Liverpool Biennial presents new commissions by international artists and architects invited to respond to the canal over the past year and the five shortlisted designs for Waterworks, a mobile hub for watersports and environmental education on the canal and part of the groundbreaking Art for Places Sefton community engagement programme. Artists Ben Parry, David Bade , Lambert Kamps and Public Works have all created floating structures offering a variety of activities to visitors. Rob Sweere will be asking for participants to take part in a Sky Conversation, part of an ongoing global project.
Visitors can travel from St Winnie’s to Porto Allegro with the artists, architects and food acitvists on 17 September 2009, to examine real case studies of creating positive spaces. Talk to the bees, talk to the sky, drink tea in the floating Tea House, paint in the floating studio, taste freshly made Bootle produce in the Squash vegetable garden, take a swan pedalo down the canal and make plans for the Happy City.
Taking its cue from architect Carolyn Steel’s inspirational book, Hungry City, the Happy City conference on 18 September 2009, in association with Places Matter! the architecture centre for the Northwest, explores alternative ways of planning and redesigning our cities and neighbourhoods, starting with the premise of not simply providing more houses but improving the quality of the spaces between them and the wellbeing of their inhabitants. Speakers include Pete Halsall, CEO of visionary developers, Bio-Regional Quintain, Joost Beunderman Research Associate at Demos, Ian McArthur Regional Director of Groundwork and Michael Palwyn of Exploration Architecture.
The week reaches a climax on Saturday 19 September 2009 in a water-borne parade, travelling from St Winnie’s to Bank Hall including the canal taxi, a floating Mint Teahouse, art studio and Canal Club and a whole variety of crafts created by artists and residents who live in the neighbourhoods along the canal; giving a whole new meaning to the traditional processional ‘float’
