Ryan Gander included in Liverpool Biennial, opening this summer

20 March 2018

For Liverpool Biennial 2018: Beautiful world, where are you?, Ryan Gander has devised a project called Time Moves Quickly. The artist is working collaboratively with five children from Knotty Ash Primary School in Liverpool, aged between six and ten, to produce a series of artworks for a group exhibition at Bluecoat, as well as a series of five bench-like sculptures at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, and artistic film exploring the activities carried out in the workshops. In addition, a family programme and digital curriculum resource for primary and secondary schools will be made available.

For the public artworks, Gander will dissect the cathedral into a series of simple ‘building blocks’ that will be reassembled into different configurations by the children. These maquettes will be reproduced on a larger scale as public seating situated within the cathedral grounds. Taken as a whole, the workshops, public artworks and exhibitions will demonstrate how children can expand their imagination and realise their potential and agency through art. This project was inspired by the Montessori methodology, a method of education that is based on self-directed activity, hands-on learning and collaborative play.

Liverpool Biennial 2018 takes place in the city of Liverpool from 14 July until 28 October 2018. For the 10th edition, over 40 artists from 22 countries will present new and existing works which reflect on a world in social, political and economic turmoil. The line 'Beautiful world, where are you?' derives from a 1788 poem by the German poet Friedrich Schiller.

Read more about the project and watch a video of Gander discussing his concept on the Biennial's website.