Granby Workshop Photography
With support from the Contemporary Arts Society, architectural ceramics by Liverpool's Granby Workshop will form an inspiring new exhibition in the University of Liverpool's Victoria Gallery & Museum when it reopens.
The exhibition will feature a room-sized body of work by Granby Workshop, who as part of the Assemble co-operative won the Turner Prize in 2015.
Granby Workshop is operated by a group of residents in Liverpool's Toxteth area, who use local materials - many collected from the disused Victorian terraced houses in the Granby Street neighbourhood - to craft ceramic products.
The display will provide an insight into the inspirational journey of Granby Workshop and its positive impact on Liverpool.
It is the result of support provided through a new initiative from the Contemporary Art Society.
The CAS Rapid Response Fund, in partnership with Frieze London, was established to support artists and museums during the Covid-19 pandemic. It has already raised over £200,000 which is being used to purchase works by artists to add to collections of museums across the UK.
The Granby Workshop is one of the first three recipients of the CAS Rapid Response Fund announced.
Mrs Nicola Euston, Head of Museums and Galleries at the University of Liverpool, said: "The Contemporary Art Society's new Rapid Response Fund is giving much needed support to artists and makers during these difficult times. This acquisition of a significant body of artefacts by Liverpool's Granby Workshop will create an inspiring gallery installation to be a focus for community engagement when we reopen to the public."
Lewis Jones from the Granby Workshop said: "We're absolutely delighted to have our work included in the Victoria Gallery & Museum's collection. The incredible tiles and architectural ceramics that form the Museum's interior have been an ongoing source of inspiration for us at the Workshop so it's a real honour to have our work displayed there.
Granby Workshop is a ceramics studio in Granby, Liverpool that grew out wider community-led efforts to rebuild the neighbourhood and was founded as a collaboration between The Granby Four Streets Community Land Trust and the design collective Assemble. Our products are designed through extensive material investigations, combining craft techniques with an experimental sensibility to develop new architectural materials and finishes."
As a member of the Contemporary Art Society, the VG&M was able to apply to the fund to buy art and craft that will support their civic role when they reopen after the lockdown is lifted.
The CAS Rapid Response Fund also ensures that when museums reopen, they are able to reach out to their communities through new acquisitions, playing a vital role in civic healing and mental wellbeing.
Caroline Douglas, Director, Contemporary Art Society, said: "We have acted as quickly as we could to mobilise resources to mitigate some of the effects of the current crisis on artists, and in designing this new fund we have tried to make it work doubly hard, supporting our Member Museums as they prepare to open their doors again, and resume their place within their communities. The three awards we have made in May are a wonderful first expression of these ambitions, and I look forward to making further awards in the coming months."
