Translating the street (2015-16)

Translating the street is a research and development pilot project funded by Arts Council England and initiated, commissioned and curated by Brigitte Jurack. It seeks to create micro-residencies for international artists to work with local independent and often multi-cultural businesses in Birkenhead, Merseyside in an area of high levels of social deprivation and low art participation. Artists’ speaking the native language of the shop-owners and the communities they serve are invited to collaborate on new artworks that translate the hitherto hidden stories. The first round of residencies were undertaken by Haleh Jamali (Iran-Scotland), Harold Offeh (Ghana-UK) and Jeff Young (Liverpool).

It is anticipate that a three-year project will follow this initial pilot, pending on the project evaluation following the launch.

Exhibition and installations in Oxton Road Shops and Alternator studio, Birkenhead with further presentation planned for the Williamson Art Gallery, Birkenhead.

This research asks whether an art studio on the periphery of a large city can become a centre for commissioning and hosting residencies for inter/national artists. The research questions the role of both the artist and small but culturally and ethnically diverse community of businesses in terms of finding common ground. Projects was launched on 5th March 2016.

The impact of this research will be largely outside academia. The long-term impact is to raise cultural participation and ownership of culturally marginalised neighbourhoods and people and to demonstrate that through international networking and collaboration ‘culturally abandoned communities and geographical locations’ are seen, heard and networked through the creation of international placement/residencies and commissioning of new artworks.

Project publication (booklet) - http://alandunn67.co.uk/translatingthestreet.pdf
Posters
Photographs of the project
BBC Radio Merseyside interview with one of the particpating artist Jeff Young
also interview on:
http://www.artinliverpool.com/feature-translating-the-street-interview-with-the-artists/

New writing and sound piece by Heslop&Young, premiered as part of Translating the street, has been also performed in Newcastle (Site Cinema) and in Liverpool (METAL)
The project has been supported by ACE

This research has been developed with a working group I established with Tate Liverpool, Williamson Art Gallery, Bluecoat and FACT.

Translating the street