plan is to have the venue moredeeply connected to the city’screative grassroots, rather thanoperating in isolation as an artscentre.

Richards explains: “We’re fortunateto be neighbours with LiverpoolBiennial and similarly ElevatorStudios, which is home to numerouscreative firms. We’ll be looking tostrengthen our engagement withthese and others in the city over thecoming months.”

With the pretty much consistentshortage of funding for the arts inLiverpool, there’s always been atradition of DIY culture, which has ledin more recent years to a moreentrepreneurial spirit in the arts.

Another example is Mercy, acreative collective that came toprominence during the build-up toLiverpool’s Capital of Culture year andhas gone on to do commercial designwork for everyone from Diesel toArctic Monkeys. Based on HopeStreet, the collective has maintaineda high profile thanks to organising itsown arts programme, which most

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A R T S

When the arts funding cuts wereannounced last year there wastrepidation across the rest of thecountry. Inevitably there were somemajor casualties, and Liverpool lostthe A Foundation, a huge complex offormer industrial buildings that hadopened in 2006 as an independentcontemporary art space.

Yet it was not the end for the site.Three creative businesses alreadylocated in the vicinity – architectsUnion North, design agency SmilingWolf and the Elevator Studioscomplex – got together with buildingowner and arts patron James Moores,and developed a new broader andmore sustainable model for thevenue. From this, Camp And Furnacewas born.

Venue manager Ian Richardsdescribes Camp And Furnace as a“constantly evolving, independent,cultural destination”. Since itsreopening a few months ago, it hashosted several club nights, theLiverpool Food and Drink Awards andeven Google’s first “engagement day”in the UK. On 16 December, thevenue will host a winter picnicpromising “fake snow, real food andopen fires”.

The business end will develop nextyear, with the opening of a bar andeatery, alongside a hotel with adifference. “Camphotel will be partboutique hotel, part indoor festivalcampsite,” says Richards. “We will betaking a selection of vintage caravansand re-appropriating them in an‘outdoors indoor’ setting.”

Richards insists the cultural offer isstill at the core of Camp And Furnace.“We’ll be rolling out a varied culturalprogramme over the coming year.Events to watch out for include artinstallations, exhibitions andperformances, collaborative theatre,avant-garde cabaret, comedy andmusic.”

Based in the Baltic Triangle, whichlocal authorities are pushing as thenext cultural quarter in Liverpool, the

Independent thinking

recently involved a series of events incollaboration with the AbandonNormal Devices festival.

Doug Kerr, one of Mercy’s directors,explains the relationship betweenMercy’s arts side and its agency side.

“The two sides operateindependently of each other, but withthe same set of values and principles.Our job descriptions straddle bothsides of the business, and each sidefeeds the other creatively.”

Kerr stresses that having two sidesto the operation does not lead tocompromise.

“Far from it. We’ve found a way ofworking that suits all of our skills andpersonalities, and the result is thatwe’ve got two self-sufficient models.It’s not necessarily right for everyone,but for us we’ve been able to haveour cake and eat it – at a time whenit’s not easy to sustain an artsorganisation. Our general policy is tounify disciplines and encouragecollaboration and we feel like it’s thatkind of approach which will stand usin good stead in the future.”

Whether we like it or not, the artsare changing from a modeldominated by public funding tosomething more fluid, and thoseorganisations that are flexible andself-sustaining are the ones that willlikely survive and thrive in thischanged climate.

www.campandfurnace.comwww.mercyonline.co.uk

Liverpool’s independent arts scene is flourishingin the face of cuts thanks to a do-it-yourselfwork ethic, as Kenn Taylor discovers

THE WIND IN THE WILLOWSFrom 2 Dec, The Lowry, Salford

The tales of Ratty, Mole, Badger andToad come to the stage in AlanBennett’s version of The Wind in theWillows. When Mole abandons hisspring-cleaning for the enchantingworld of the riverbank, so begins anadventure that leads eventually tobattle. Written with distinctiveBennett flair, this adaptationremains true to its original. Theexploits of the four friends arewoven with clever songs and wittydialogue.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’SDREAM From 29 Nov, Theatre Royal, York

Filter Theatre presents its uniquetake on this classic text with a fastpaced version of Shakespeare’swell-loved comedy. This informalproduction promises unique viewingfrom night to night as decisions onthe direction of the performance aretaken on the hoof. Directed by SeanHolmes, artistic director of the LyricHammersmith (where theproduction will appear in 2012), A Midsummer Night’s Dream willfeature Filter’s trademark fusion ofperformance and live music.

Camp And Furnace in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle. Below: the work ofcreative collective Mercy

ALSO SHOWING

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