Ford Madox Brown: Pre-Raphaelite Pioneer

Manchester Art Gallery

Reviewed by Dr Charlotte Starkey September 2011

It is always an illuminating experience to have the opportunity to see in one collection the major output of a significant artist, and the exhibition showing the work of Ford Madox Brown (1821 – 1893) at Manchester Art Gallery provides such an encounter. It is a reminder of the important links that cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham have with Pre-Raphaelite art in their permanent collections; and it is a fortunate legacy of Victorian entrepreneurs, that they helped to fund the museums, art galleries and other cultural institutions of the industrial cities and towns, seeking out the works of the Pre-Raphaelites in particular so enthusiastically. Ford Madox Brown was born in Calais in 1821. He was educated in Belgium, then lived in Paris and settled in London. Manchester became his home later in life when he was commissioned by Manchester Corporation to paint murals of the history of Manchester for Waterhouse’s Town Hall. He lived first in Crumpsall and then in the Victoria Park area of Manchester between 1881 and 1887.

René Magritte: The Pleasure Principle

Exhibition at Tate Liverpool

Reviewed by Denis Joe September 2011

There is something about Belgium that exudes anonymity. Mention Jacques Brel and most people will scratch their heads. Mention some of his songs like 'If You Go Away' or 'Amsterdam' and people will know what, rather than who, you are talking about. Even Belgium's most popular export, Stella Artois lager, is usually thought of as being French. Identifying Rene Magritte has the same problem: many people are familiar with his work, but few can put a name to the artist.

Anarcadia: Ruth Maclennan

Reviewed by Sara Porter September 2011

The Castlefield Gallery until September 18th

“A negation of the idyll of the mythical Arcadia, the title Anarcadia also suggests the unleashing of uncontrollable forces, from the past, or in the future” (from the gallery literature).

Like you've never been away

Photographs by Paul Trevor
at The Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

Reviewed by Jane Turner August 2011

My earliest memory of being photographed resulted in this picture on the right. Having one’s photo taken when I was a child was a big event, usually involving a borrowed camera or a professional photographer, getting dressed up in your best or at least half-decent clothing and forming some sort of organised pose while smiling rigidly at the camera to the sound of Cheeeeessssse!

MESSRS COMEDY: Are you ‘avin a larf?

Reviewed by Yvonne Cawley August 2011

Messrs Comedy certainly made me laugh when they performed an hour jam-packed comedy sketch show at the King's Arms pub in Salford. I’ve not been to a live comedy show for donkey’s years and so was really looking forward to it, coupled with the fact that the show had been performing to sell out audiences in London; great things were therefore expected.

It was also my first time in the King's Arms pub, which turned out to be a traditional, or as I call it a 'proper' pub with no finicky furniture or fittings, just a relaxed atmosphere with friendly bar staff and decent beer - see, I don’t ask for much! There was a spectacular stained glass window which gave the impression of being in a church, but a church that serves beer – now that may help get congregation numbers up!

Work experience for Year 10 school students

Opinion piece by work experience students Hannah Mason, Yasmin Redfearn, and Kathrine Payne July 2011

Hannah's comments on work experience:

Work experience is an opportunity for year ten students, that's 14-15 years in old money, to take time out from school – usually two weeks – to work with a local business or two. During the placement students are put in to a real working job environment and asked to undertake tasks they would be expected to complete if employed on a permanent basis. Students are able to find out what skills employers actually look for when they're hiring someone for a job vacancy. As well as learning about their chosen work experience from the inside, the student should also develop their self confidence and communication skills through practical situations they are responsible for. This actively influences their life now and for the future, both on a personal level and for the world of work, helping them when looking for a job, as social skills are extremely important in a working environment.

Museum of Liverpool

Reviewed by Denis Joe July 2011

“For me, architecture is more about creating spaces and environments that accommodate the people working and living in them. All through the process it is important for us as well as the client to have an environment that is inspiring and designed with the human being in full focus. I believe that architecture creates behaviour”
 [Kim Herforth Nielsen, Founder and Principal of 3XN]

Melvin Burgess interviewed

Impressions after interviewing Melvin Burgess by Hannah Mason, Yasmin Redfearn, and Kathrine Payne July 2011

After reviewing Melvin Burgess’ new book ‘Kill All Enemies’, we were privileged to be given the chance to go to his house and interview him about it. In the run up to this, we were feeling slightly nervous about interviewing a 'famous writer'. However, as soon as we met Melvin, we were incredibly relieved to realize that he was friendly and down to earth. As we sat around his kitchen table, eating chocolate cake he kindly bought for us, the questions started rolling.

Mersey Ports Master Plan consultation

Reviewed by Denis Joe June 2011

A couple of year’s back I attended a screening of Ken Loach’s documentary The Flickering Flame, about the 1995 Liverpool Dock Strike, organised by “Campaign for a New Workers’ Party”. For me, it summed up the pig-headedness of a left-wing that refused to let go of the past; who talked of building an industrial base and a return to traditional socialist principles. It was as if a group of people had been put into a cryogenic sleep, around the mid-1990s, and were woken up from an afternoon nap. Yet there was something about it that was very unique to Liverpool.