A Liverpool hospital is calling for artists to submit ideas for a series of exhibitions taking place next year.
Aintree University Hospital runs five exhibitions throughout the year, each with a different theme.
The themes open for submissions in 2012 are “colour” (Jan-Mar), “urban and rural landscapes” (April-June) and “Liverpool photography” (June-Sept).
There will be an exhibition of staff artwork from September to November and an exhibition by Fazakerley local Anne Brierly throughout November and December.
Paula O’Malley, arts coordinator at the hospital, said: “We receive an incredible amount of support from local artists and, in return, give them an opportunity to exhibit their work in front of the thousands of staff and patients who pass through our buildings each year.
“A number of our exhibitors have sold work or received commissions as a result of displaying their work in the hospital, and it is also a good way of raising your profile.”
The link between using art and design for improving patient outcomes is being increasingly acknowledged and there is a mounting body of evidence to support the many different art projects and artistic interventions being run in hospitals and health care settings across the country.
Promoting Art in Aintree (PARTIA) was set up in 2007 to integrate the arts within the hospital. Its patrons include the writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce, actress Pauline Daniels and consultant radiologist Dr Huw Lewis-Jones, who appeared on the BBC’s art competition “Show Me the Monet” earlier this year.
PARTIA will be involved in a series of ward refurbishments taking place over the coming years and the entrance to the busy hospital restaurant has recently been upgraded to include illuminated alcoves for hanging artwork.
To find out more about exhibiting at Aintree University Hospital, email partia@aintree.nhs.uk or call 0151 529 8480.

The Winter Arts Market

 St George’s Hall, Liverpool

Sat 3^rd & Sun 4^th December 2011, 10am-5pm

 The Winter Arts Market, Liverpool’s largest arts and craft market just got bigger; the festive shopping extravaganza will run for 2 days on the first weekend in December. Visitors will find the widest selection of handmade artworks, crafts and gifts whilst enjoying the stunning surroundings of St George’s Hall, a Grade I listed heritage site.

In the lead up to Christmas, local community interest company Open Culture stage this special event to offers shoppers an alternative to the high street, a chance to purchase gifts directly from the artists and craftspeople that make them.

The event will see 150 of the North West’s most imaginative artists, designers and makers, presenting thousands of unique items at prices for all pockets including:

Paintings, photographs, prints, sculpture, textiles, knitwear, jewellery, clothing, cards, vintage, ceramics, glass, handmade beauty products, accessories and much more.

Shoppers can also relax and enjoy some food and drink from another new addition to the event, two new Can Cook Cafes setup especially for the event offering their tasty winter warmers menu including some scrumptiously seasonal mulled wine!

A special programme of free musical performances will also take place inside the Crown Courtroom and visitors can discover some fascinating facts about the venue from historical characters brought to life by the Friends of St Georges Hall and Lormac Productions will give you the rare chance to meet Queen Victoria!

Entrance is £1.50; children under 16 years enter for FREE!

A special preview of some of the exhibitors will feature on the event blog at http://winterartsmarket.wordpress.com

Engage Partnership is a resident-led initiative that  brings together leaseholders and residents from Liverpool Waterfront and City Centre apartments.

Engage seeks solutions to our common problems, planning for the future and making Liverpool an even better place in which to live and work.

The 3 Talks Seminar Series aims to promote serious  debate about city living so as to infuence both policy  makers and decisions with the reality and experience
of those who live in the city. Love Liverpool - engage  in the debate!

Engage was established by Liverpool City Council, the Federation of Liverpool Waterfront Residents Associations and Liverpool City Centre Leaseholders’ Federation with support from Plus Dane Group.

Register at www.enagageliverpool.com

Living in the city
Creating a Place for Everyone
Thursday 10 November 2011 - Royal Liver Building
[Rights & Humanities] 1st Floor
refreshments 5.30pm | start 6pm | end 7.30pm

Key participants:
Janet Speake, Liverpool Hope University
Annie Atkins, Places Matter
Dawn Coward, Liverpool City Council Planning Dept
Cllr Ann O’Byrne, Cabinet Member for Housing

Registration is essential as places are limited, to book your place visit www.engageliverpool.com

Investing in the city
From Liverpool One to Liverpool Waters
Thursday 8 December 2011 - Port of Liverpool
Building [Rathbones] 3rd Floor
refreshments 5.30pm | start 6pm | end 7.30pmKey participants:
Prof David Shaw, University of Liverpool
Rod Holmes, ex Grosvenor / Liverpool Enterprise Partnership
Mike Taylor, Deputy Chief Executive Liverpool Vision
Cllr Nick Small, Cabinet Member for Employment, Enterprise and Skills

Registration is essential as places are limited, to book your place visit www.engageliverpool.com

Liverpool’s Metquarter is set to undergo a radical transformation as a result of securing three new international brands.

The cult fashion and homeware name Jack Wills has signed a ten year lease on over 10,000 sq ft of space in the upper and lower malls. Meanwhile, Illasmasqua - the fastest growing British beauty brand ever - will take 1000 sq feet over the same period.

Illamasqua’s celebrity following includes Courtney Love, Beth Ditto and Lady Gaga. Their new Metquarter store will be the first standalone outside London.

Julian Kynaston founder and joint MD of Illamasqua said:

“Everywhere we went people were telling us that Liverpool would be perfect for Illamasqua. Eventually it became too loud to ignore. We are looking forward to witnessing Liverpool’s reaction to the cult that is Illamasqua.”

Centre Manager Jennina O’ Neill said: “This is an incredible development in terms of regeneration for Metquarter and great news for Liverpool. The nature of the unique high quality brands that we have secured means visitors will enjoy a completely new experience at the centre. These brands were not previously available in the city and the fact that they have chosen to base themselves at Metquarter is a huge endorsement for us.

“Their success elsewhere in the UK means we know that they will have a big impact on footfall and all three brands are an ideal complement to our existing stores and perfectly in line with the spirit and culture of Metquarter. They will also make a dramatic difference visually with Jack Wills taking advantage of the striking façade on the Victoria Street entrance and operating from both floors.

This news signals an exciting new era for Metquarter and we are really looking forward to the lead up to Christmas this year.”

All three brands have a global presence in countries such as Dubai, USA, France and Australia. Both Jack Wills and Illamasqua are expected to be open for business within the next eight weeks. A high profile Italian restaurant will open its doors early in 2012.

Merseyside’s membership and loyalty scheme One Card Liverpool has expanded its menu by signing three new dining partners to the card. One Card Liverpool provides members with a wide range of discounts and offers for over 130 venues and businesses in the region across the dining, retail, culture, attractions and wellbeing sectors.

New One Card Liverpool partners include eastzeast, the new Indian Restaurant at Kings Dock, Hanover Street Social Brasserie and Bar and Radisson Blu’s Filini and the White Bar. eastzeast and Filini will be offering members a 20 percent discount on food. Hanover Street Social will be offering a complimentary 500ml carafe of house wine when two people dine from the a la carte menu, whilst the White Bar will offer selected cocktails for £5.

South Liverpool based Laura’s Little Bakery has also joined forces with One Card Liverpool, offering cardholders the chance to win a selection of home-made cupcakes. Laura’s clients include Bold Street Coffee and local footballers, including LFC star Steven Gerrard.

The One Card has over 105,000 residential members and is signing over 1000 new members each month since the rebrand of the former 08 Card in April this year.

One Card Liverpool account manager Karen Podesta said: “I am delighted that such fantastic businesses are attracted to our scheme. We aim to offer our members deals and benefits from as wide a range of venues as possible. Our latest partners reflect our diverse offering. In today’s climate more and more people look for offers and discounts before eating out and our range of partners makes that easy, especially since we launched our One Card iPhone app, which allows our customers to view the latest offers on-the-go.”

For further information on the One Card Liverpool please visit www.onecardliverpool.co.uk or telephone 0151 235 8777.

Additional information can be found at

Facebook: www.facebook.com/onecardliverpool

Twitter: www.twitter.com/OneCardLpool

Liverpool Chamber members are urged to attend an extremely important meeting on 21 October in the Council Chamber at Old Hall Street at 3pm.

Liverpool City Council is currently preparing the Council budget for 2012 - 15 and as part of this process is consulting with key stakeholders, including Liverpool Chamber of Commerce.

The Council Leader is publicly committed to supporting business growth but is facing some extraordinary challenges in respect of service delivery, enforced savings and planned changes in the way local business taxes are used.

This will be a unique opportunity to meet and question the City Council’s most influential people including Councillor Joe Anderson, the Leader of the Council; Councillor Paul Brant, the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources; Ged Fitzgerald, Chief Executive and Peter Timmins, Director of Resources of Liverpool City Council, all of whom will be attending to brief Chamber members and respond to questions.

Please respond via email to maresa.molloy@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

We do hope you will support the Chamber at this event. Coffee and light refreshments will be available in the Council Chamber from 2.30.

The construction of Liverpool Science Park (LSP)’s third building will commence on site next year following the announcement of a £7.6M funding package. 

This will complete the development of LSP’s Metropolitan cathedral site, at the heart of the two universities and Liverpool’s knowledge quarter.

‘Innovation Centre 3’ will play a vital role in the long-term development of Liverpool’s Commercial Knowledge Economy by providing 42,000 sq ft of much-needed R&D offices and laboratories to support, retain and expand the region’s thriving life sciences and physical sciences sector. It will also offer purpose built starter pods for young knowledge based companies and state of the art open innovation space for all LSP tenants.

The Park’s owners, Liverpool City Council, the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University, will underwrite a £3.8M loan taken out by LSP towards the construction costs, with the balance of £3.8M being provided by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Chris Musson, chief executive of the award-winning Liverpool Science Park, said: “Confirmation of funding for ic3 is a key moment in Liverpool Science Park’s evolution, and will provide world leading opportunities for our current tenants and for the region’s commercial knowledge economy.  We would like to thank our partners for their continued support.

“From our experience, laboratory-based SMEs demand flexibility and our Containment Level Two laboratories and flexible leasing policy will enable the creation of a new and vibrant tenant mix to the Park. We are answering a need and sending a clear message nationally to science-based companies that Liverpool is a high quality destination for commercial knowledge enterprise.  Similarly, the new starter pods will make LSP the destination of choice for any young entrepreneurs wanting to mix with like minded companies and will set LSP apart as a place where knowledge based companies from any discipline can work and collaborate together.

“The project fits perfectly with the North West Competitiveness program to deliver on the Lisbon Agenda, further pushing the North West as the number one destination for innovation and high growth organisations. The investment for ic3 goes to further enhance the Park’s attractive offering, which is built on providing a first class operating environment, business support and links to the region’s specialist experts.”

Detailed planning permission was granted for the four-storey building in October 2010.
Ic3 will be built on a 0.55 hectare site over the existing car park of Innovation Centre 1 (ic1), off Mount Pleasant, to the south west of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. It will feature flexible office space, fully serviced laboratories over three floors, meeting rooms, under-croft car parking, and secure cycle storage.

The high-quality design of the building, with floor to ceiling glazing to maximise natural light, mirrors the limestone and slate features of ic1 and compliments the surrounding buildings within the Mount Pleasant Conservation Area.

A double-storey bridge will link ic3 to the existing ic1 building, with visitors being directed to ic3 via the current main entrance of ic1.

Construction is expected to commence in late Spring 2012 and open in in Summer 2013.

For more information about Liverpool Science Park visit www.liverpoolsciencepark.co.uk

3 & 4 December 2011
St George’s Hall, Liverpool

Open Culture are happy to announce that Liverpool’s third annual Winter Arts Market takes place on the 3 & 4 of December at the Grade I listed St George’s Hall. It’s going to be bigger than ever for 2011, with the event running for 2 whole days of crafty fun!

If you’ve not been before, it’s a huge festive celebration of arts and crafts where you can discover work from over 120 artists, designers and makers.

Taking place in the lead up to Christmas you’ll find perfect presents at prices for all pockets including: paintings, photographs, prints, sculpture, textiles, knit wear, clothing, cards, ceramics, jewellery, glass, beauty products, accessories and much more.

A new café will be setup beneath the beautiful antique organ serving a range of food and drink throughout the day, and a programme of free performances will take place in the historic Crown Court. There is also another little historical surprise we’re not telling you about yet too…

You can see pictures from last year’s event on the Open Culture Flickr page and why not follow the blog, as it’ll soon burst into life with sneak previews of artists who’ll be at the event. Please invite your friends on Facebook on the event page

Interested in booking a stall? Please visit www.culture.org.uk

Winter Arts Market
St George’s Hall, Liverpool
10am - 5pm
Sat 3rd & Sun 4th December 2011
Entry £1.50 - Under 16’s Free

Design Show Liverpool returns to St George’s Hall on Friday 7th October – Sunday 9th October, from 10am to 6pm each day.

Find beautiful, one-of-a-kind Christmas gifts, treat yourself to something truly unique and check out next season’s hottest trends on the Design Show catwalks.

Featuring over 90 contemporary designer makers, the Show will present a range of exciting and inspiring interior products, glass, ceramics, furniture, lighting, jewellery, textiles and fashion - all set in the stunning, neo-classical surroundings of St George’s Hall.

Show visitors will have the opportunity to spot trends, meet and buy from up and coming designers, see catwalk shows, take part in hands-on workshops, hear talks from design experts and relax over a coffee.

Design Show is part of Liverpool Design Festival, a series of exciting events at venues across the city. 

Visit www.liverpooldesignfestival.com/design-show for more information and to buy advance tickets.

2-For-1 Ticket offer
Simply enter code CHAMBER241 when you buy advance tickets online at www.liverpooldesignfestival.com/design-show to get two tickets for the price of one.

Opening Hours:
Friday 7th October 2011:  10am to 6pm
Saturday 8th October 2011:  10am to 6pm
Sunday 9th October 2011:  10am to 6pm

Ticket Prices:
Adult buy on-line: £4.00 in advance, £5.00 on the door
Concessions £3.00 in advance, £4.00 on the door
Children under 16 free (must be accompanied by an adult)

Buy tickets online at www.liverpooldesignfestival.com/design-show

Venue details: North Entrance, St. George’s Hall, St. George’s Place, Liverpool L1 1JJ

Local residents’ membership and loyalty scheme One Card Liverpool (www.onecardliverpool.co.uk), has announced a record period of growth in the last six months. One Card Liverpool – the former 08 Card created by Livesmart to celebrate the Liverpool Capital of Culture – was launched in April of this year.  Since the rebrand, the One Card Liverpool has added over 1,000 new members each month, with a number of new partners joining forces with the card.

One Card Liverpool is a membership card which provides local residents with a combination of great offers and competitions from over 130 local venues and businesses from across the region.  The One Card website and newsletter also offer information on local events. The membership card currently has over 105,000 residential members.

Matthew Wood, Head of Technology and Operations at One Card Liverpool, said that the growth in members and business partners is due to a combination of the growing numbers of deals which are available to members and improvements made to the technology by which this information is delivered.

“We have been working hard at One Card Liverpool to create an up to date members card which meets all of the needs of the modern consumer,” he said.  “As the recession has continued to hit the UK, there has been a massive increase in demand for discounted deals from consumers who are looking for offers from their favourite venues. We have worked hard to sign up 130 of the region’s best venues, attractions and events organisers who provide us with exclusive deals which are available to One Card Liverpool cardholders only.  We have also worked hard to improve our technology to ensure our members receive news of these deals instantly. Our new services include our own iPhone and iPod touch application and One Card Loyalty Points Service.”

The One Card Liverpool application enables members to access the best offers when they are out and about. They simply present their card (or virtual card via the app) at the venue to benefit from the deal. The One Card Loyalty Points service is available via One Card Liverpool’s online virtual high street. By accessing and shopping through this site, members can earn points at selected national outlets, which include eBay, iTunes, John Lewis, easyJet and ToysrUs – which can then be redeemed at local One Card partner venues.

Matthew Wood said that these improvements were the result of a focused and passionate like-minded team.

“Prior to the rebrand, One Card Liverpool appointed Karen Podesta, who previously managed events for a range of organisations including the British Film Institute and the British Library. Karen’s ability to identify and work with an interesting range of businesses, venues and events has enabled us to sign up some of the best partners in the region for One Card Liverpool.”

Karen Podesta said: “I am delighted to be working back in Liverpool alongside so many fantastic attractions, venues and businesses. Working closely with such successful events as the Liverpool Shakespeare Festival and the Liverpool Food and Drink Festival have been recent highlights. The combination of my passion for local events and the city, and Matthew’s IT skills, has enabled us to provide both our partners and members with an improved offering.”

For further information on the One Card Liverpool please visit www.onecardliverpool.co.uk or telephone 0151 235 8777.  Additional information can be found at:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/onecardliverpool

Twitter: www.twitter.com/OneCardLpool