Proposals for Lancaster Arts (2019)

Peter Liversidge’s work exists in almost every conceivable medium. However, his artworks, interventions and performances all begin in the same way: as a proposal typed on an Olivetti Lettera 35.

In response to each project a group of proposals are written which consider its location, history and relationship with the surrounding community. Some are realised, but equally significant are the proposals that remain on paper – the potential held within each proposal is unlocked through the reader’s interpretation. The connections and collaborations established between people and ideas result in a continued exchange with the audience as proposals become objects, exhibitions and live events. Proposals for Lancaster Arts, developed with the artist over a six-month period, is a site‐specific acquisition that considers the home of the collection and Lancaster more generally.

Peter Scott Gallery is a constituent part of Lancaster Arts, a combined arts organisation based at Lancaster University. One aspect of Lancaster Arts’ work is developing and presenting live work and performance, and to reflect its context, Peter Scott Gallery acquires work with a live or performed element. Other areas of interest for Lancaster Arts include place and interdisciplinary practice; a key feature of the Gallery’s collection is a group of works bequeathed by the eminent scientist and collector Irene Manton (1904–88) which reflected her interest in how other disciplines were related to her scientific work. Throughout her career as a botanist Manton remained curious about different fields of knowledge and held the view that, ‘art is meant to be lived with’. Liversidge’s work complements the Peter Scott Gallery’s collection and its setting, seeking to understand the possibilities of the place it exists whilst reacting to a range of views and opinions.

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