Join us from 6pm outside the Museum of Liverpool on the waterfront for a guided tour of the Canning Dock, to find out about it’s history and the plans for redevelopment, followed by a panel event, Q&A and Discussion with Asif Khan, Mariam Kamara, Theaster Gates and Laura Pye in the Education rooms on the first floor of the museum at 7pm. All welcome.
In September 2021 National Museums Liverpool (NML) announced a major redevelopment of Liverpool’s historic Canning Dock. After a hotly contested competition, they announced the winning team who will lead on the project. The team is a collaboration between Asif Khan Studio, Sir David Adjaye OBE, Mariam Kamara and artist Theaster Gates as the winning team of the Waterfront Transformation Project: Canning Dock competition.
This project will transform the area between the Royal Albert Dock and Mann Island, as well as revitalise waterfront facilities, as part of NML’s 10-year Liverpool waterfront redevelopment plan.
The brief responds to the waterfront’s history, which includes exploring new ways to bring the history of the transatlantic slave trade – the slave ships that sailed out of Liverpool were repaired and renovated in between voyages in the Graving Docks on the Canning Dock – and the more recent and contemporary history and uses of the dock, into the public realm through its designs. In doing so, the brief seeks to ensure Liverpool’s Black communities are engaged and represented throughout, and communities across the city.
Writing on the wall are proud to have been asked, alongside other local organisations Squash Nutrition and Twenty Stories High, to work as part of the winning team to ensure that voice of people across the city, and the experiences of local communities are heard as part of the process.
Sadly, due to family circumstances, Theaster Gates is now unable to take part in this event.
Asif Khan is a research and development led architecture studio who design buildings, landscapes, exhibitions and installations, among other things. Khan’s practice explores how material and social innovations can fundamentally alter the way people experience and shape their environment, realised through rigorously detailed and delivered outputs. His studio is based in East London, formed in 2007.
Khan is currently working on the new Museum of London at West Smithfield, Tselinny Centre of Contemporary Culture in Almaty and the Dubai Expo 2020 public realm. Recently he designed the award winning UK Pavilion at Astana Expo 2017 and the Hyundai Pavilion at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics.
Notable previous projects include the ‘MegaFaces’ pavilion at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics which won the Cannes Lion Grand Prix for Innovation, the Coca-Cola Beatbox at London 2012 Olympics, a finalist entry in the international competition for the new Guggenheim Museum Helsinki from 1700 anonymous designs, and a Summer pavilion for the Serpentine Gallery in Summer 2016.
Khan lectures globally on his work and sits on the Board of Trustees for the Design Museum. He was awarded an MBE for services to Architecture in 2017 and the studio were named ‘Architects of the Year’ by the German Design Council in 2018.
Architect Mariam Kamara is the founder of architecture and research firm Atelier Masomi, based in Niger. Before founding Atelier Masomi in 2014, Kamara became a founding member of United4design, a global collective of architects working on projects in USA, Afghanistan and Niger. Atelier Masomi’s projects include plans for the Niamey Cultural Centre in Niger, the conversion of a derelict Niger mosque into a library and a colourful market using recycled-metal canopies. Mariam’s designs focus on open living spaces and make use of locally produced materials available to African communities: cement, recycled metal and raw earth.
Laura Pye, Director of National Museums Liverpool, joined the organisation in August 2018. Born in Liverpool, Laura returned from the city following several years as Head of Culture for Bristol City Council, with responsibility for the five museums in the city. Prior to moving to Bristol, Laura was interim Heritage and Culture Manager for Warwickshire County Council, covering a similar mix of services to Bristol including the Museums and Archives, Arts, Archaeology and Ecology teams. Laura’s early career in museums was focused mainly on museum education, and she has a wealth of experience of working in the North of England, across Liverpool, Yorkshire, and Lancashire.
Date: Friday 20th May
Time: 6pm
Location: Museum of Liverpool, Pier Head, Mann Island, Liverpool, L3 1DG
Price: Free/Donation
All venues will be fully wheelchair accessible. Please contact info@writingonthewall.org.uk to request a BSL interpreter at any of our events.
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