The artists at Bluecoat bring insights into the family, chosen family and cultural heritage that they carry with them, and which grounds them.

6 artists in this exhibition

Amy Claire Mills presents an interactive, sensory installation, co-commissioned with Liverpool-based disability and Deaf arts organisation DaDa, supported by Paul Hamlyn Foundation. The artist advocates for creating inclusive, adaptive ‘third spaces’ that prioritise disability representation, access and care. The artist will also create a collaborative performance with d/Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent practitioners from the region.

Alongside work by Alice Rekab which focuses on intergenerational experiences of Irish, Black and multi-heritage family life, and Petros Moris’ extracted ‘ready-made’ mosaics, other highlights include a new film titled ‘Dear Othermother’ by Amber Akaunu which celebrates a deeply personal tale of friendship, single motherhood and alternative, matriarchal community networks in Toxteth, one of the oldest Black communities in the UK.

On the ground floor, Odur Ronald presents his most ambitious installation to date, involving a vast collection of hand-stitched aluminium passports, to address the conditions of forced and voluntary migration of African people to Europe throughout history.

Upstairs, ChihChung Chang 張致中 restages his ‘Port of Fata Morgana’ installation. The work, centred around a model ship created by the artist’s father, explores family histories, alongside the history of naval architecture and the parallels between Liverpool and the port city of Kaohsiung. Work by the artist is also on view at Pine Court.