Portrait of a Nation
Photograph courtesy of Joann Kushner
Portrait of a Nation was a once in a lifetime opportunity for the UK's youth to explore and express what is special to them about where they come from, their local culture, community and identity. Young people in 18 participating cities used dance, music, theatre, painting and photography to reveal what being British means to them and what they want it to mean in the future.
This unique project ran during Liverpool's year-long reign as the European Capital of Culture in 2008. It was organised by the Liverpool Culture Company, 18 member cities of the Urban Cultural Network and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Everything culminated in a spectacular festival in December 2008 in Liverpool, bringing the curtain down on the European Capital of Culture celebrations. Each of the 18 member cities of the Urban Cultural Network were adopted by a Liverpool neighbourhood, as communities celebrated their own cultural identity alongside that of the host city.
Making Your Mark
As a key part of Portrait of a Nation, National Museums Liverpool worked with young people and youth workers from Kirkdale, Speke, Garston and the city centre on the Making Your Mark project. This involved using museum collections and the emerging content of the Museum of Liverpool to stimulate and shape the following activities:
- To get the project off with a bang, over 100 young people were treated to an amazing free running performance in and outside World Museum Liverpool as part of the Capital of Culture launch events. They then had the opportunity to sign up to free running and portrait workshops over the following weeks at World Museum.
A free runner demonstrates a back flip.
Photograph courtesy of Joann Kushner
- Speke Community Centre, also known as 'The Commy', produced a film about young people living in an area outside the city, focusing on their hopes and aspirations, their look and style, their clothes and where they live and how this has impacted on the likelihood of receiving Section 30 and Section 60 stop forms. Their activities included a day trip to their city and film making workshops, including editing and performance.
- Barnardo's Young Carers produced a mosaic in response to the Liverpool Cityscape, created by Ben Johnson for the Museum of Liverpool. Working with mosaic artist Debbie Ryan, the group spent a day taking pictures of Liverpool. They used these images to produce an 8 foot by 4 foot mosaic, capturing how they see the city in words and pictures.
- In May Kirkdale Theatre Group performed 'Past, Present and Future' in the Treasure House Theatre at World Museum Liverpool. The performances told the history of Liverpool through dance, music and drama. Set in the distant future of 20008 in the Museum of Liverpool, the action took the audience on a journey through time visiting key events in the city's history.
- Throughout all these activities, photographer Joann Kushner captured images, words, graffiti, tattoos, piercing, clothes, hair styles, fashion, action and much more to produce 'The Portrait', a four minute film which celebrated young people and the city of Liverpool. This film, accompanied by music by a local band, was projected on a giant screen in the main hall at St George's Hall.
