An inner-city housing estate in Liverpool has been shortlisted for this year's Turner Prize. Work to transform the Toxteth area of the city - which became notorious following riots in 1981 - is in the running for the prestigious annual art award. London-based collective Assemble were invited by locals to regenerate housing and public spaces through 'guerrilla gardening'. Juror Alistair Hudson said that the estate had been "left decimated" and had become "a no-go zone" before some of its residents formed an action group.
He said of Assemble: "They don't occupy the realm of the single genius solitary artist. This is collective activity working within society, not in the hierarchical structure of the art world. It's not about making art forms ... but about changing the way the world works, making the world a better place...making life more artful." He added: "In the age when anything can be art, why not have a housing estate?"
The Liverpool Echo reports artists are currently working on helping regenerate 10 derelict houses in the area. Their work uses low-cost materials and demolition waste to revamp the houses. The short-list, released on May 12th, describes the London-based collective as working "across the fields of art, design and architecture to create projects in tandem with the communities who use and inhabit them." It adds: "Their architectural spaces and environments promote direct action and embrace a DIY sensibility.”
In the age when anything can be art, why not have a housing estate?The other nominees for this year's Turner Prize are Bonnie Camplin, a 44-year-old artist who lives and works in London, Canadian-born Janice Kerbel, 45, and Nicole Wermers, 43, who was born in Germany but who like Kerbel is now based in London. All four nominees will now make work for the Turner prize exhibition which opens in Glasgow on October 1. The £40,000 first prize will be announced in December.
The above article by Catherine Jones first published on mirror.co.uk in May, 2015.
