Liverpool Biennial runs the UK’s only major biennial festival of contemporary art, and as an agency project-manages much of the city’s public art activity, engaging communities with local and international artists through its on-going Learning and Inclusion Programme.

 

Liverpool Biennial was established in 1998 to strengthen the infrastructure of the visual arts in Liverpool – to make it a better place for artists to live and work, and to realise and promote the partnership potential in Liverpool’s rich and diverse arts organisations.

 

The International Festival of Contemporary Art consists of three key areas: Bloomberg New Contemporaries, John Moores Contemporary Painting Exhibition and the International Exhibition, which consists almost entirely of newly commissioned art. Lasting 10 weeks once every two years the festival casts an international spotlight on the city and provides a real platform for artists in Liverpool to get their work noticed and to raise the profile of the city itself; raising tourism numbers (350,000 attended 2004 festival) and delivering wider social and economic benefits to Liverpool.

 

Graduate retention is key to building on growth both in the cultural sector and in the local economy. By working with Culture Campus we aim to channel undergraduates at University of Liverpool and John Moores University towards engagement in all our activity, encouraging networking, debate, mutual support and attendance at cultural events and ultimately employment opportunities.

 

Liverpool as a place has an edge and an indisputably infectious creative energy that makes it an ideal home for such an ambitious organisation as Liverpool Biennial and it is our belief that the city will continue to transform itself developing local confidence to support and encourage risk taking, critical ambition and vibrant contemporary art.