How would you rate Liverpool’s arts compared with other cities (as above)?

Lewis Biggs:

As the fifth (or seventh?) largest city in England, Liverpool punches well above its weight in arts terms. It is the only city other than the capital with TWO national collections of art, but we still have a way to go to catch the bigger cities in several areas of the arts; for instance, Birmingham employs 10 people permanently working on public art / quality of the public environment, whilst Liverpool employs one.

Gemma Bodinetz:

This is an extraordinarily vibrant city with a host of high quality arts events and cultural institutions. We have our own orchestra in the Liverpool Philharmonic, the Biennial and Tate Liverpool make us the envy of any city but London in the visual arts, our museums are second to none and should be contextualised in terms of a world rather than a UK perspective, FACT is a role model for film technology as well as just a jolly nice place to see a good film, when the Bluecoat is back with us we have one of the most extraordinary and diverse arts venues in the country, we have a burgeoning comedy scene thanks to Rawhide, more pop groups than you can shake a stick at and then there are the theatres.... The Unity is a perfect venue for high quality small scale work; there are also countless Liverpool theatre companies such as Rejects Revenge producing inventive new work, community groups such as Positive Impact, not to mention the thousands of amateur companies. As for The Everyman and Playhouse we are one of the 10 biggest producing subsidised theatres in the country. Though they are two different venues a mile apart they are unified by one artistic vision of excellence. We have received awards and huge critical acclaim equal to any of our regional peers. As a subsidised organisation we try hard to serve our art and our community, with an extensive outreach policy and a strong commitment to new writing. I know I've missed something significant because there is just so much going on!

Toby Coffey:

In short, I think Liverpool has a fantastic, vibrant, arts scene and is a strong match for many other cities. Considering its size and more importantly the resources that have been available over the years I think Liverpool should take a lot of pride in the cultural scene that it has developed. It has a strong reputation of having a history of art and creative talent within the city. Factors such as the award of ‘Capital of Culture’ and the choice by the Tate to choose Liverpool as the home of the largest modern art gallery outside London are testament to the external confidence of the city.

You cannot ignore the rate of development of the city in terms of the visitors that are now being attracted to the city’s venues and events. Liverpool Biennial has just won in the ‘Best Event’ category at the TMP annual tourism awards, the world museum is already showing record figures and Tate Liverpool has attracted more than six million visitors since it’s opening. All of this shows that not only is the cultural scene here strong, it is continually getting bigger and better.

What has been the biggest change in the last 5 years?

Lewis Biggs:

The biggest change in Liverpool's arts is that arts people co-operate with each other more, and advocate what they do to business people and politicians more than they used to. One result has been that culture is now on Liverpool Council's agenda in a serious way for the first time in 30 years. And at some point in the future this will mean that business will invest in the arts much more fully than at present.

Gemma Bodinetz:

Well I've only been here since September 2003 so I'm not really qualified to answer. Of course the energy and promise of The Capital of Culture has to be the most significant positive development. There's no doubt that Liverpool deserved to win that bid (just look at my answers to question one) and that the excitement that followed the announcement is a wave of energy that people like me have to harness and build on. A city is defined in my opinion by its cultural identity and that in turn is created by its people. It will be great if the infrastructure of Liverpool is improved for 2008, that process is in evidence right now, but the real excitement for me is how inclusive and of what quality the cultural feast and legacy will be for that year.

Toby Coffey:

I think the biggest change has been perception, and I think this is twofold really. One in terms of internal perceptions of local people who are recognising art as part of what their city has to offer. I found it so refreshing at outdoor installations for Liverpool Biennial 2004 that I was talking to people that would not have gone anywhere near a gallery a few years previously. They were really enjoying themselves, they were engaging in the art and more importantly they were being encouraged to visit galleries in the future. I think Liverpool Biennial deserves serious recognition for what they have done on that level. The other element is the external perception of the city. The positive press that the city is getting in terms of Liverpool Biennial or the resurgence of the Everyman & Playhouse and the continued success of the Liverpool Philharmonic all contribute to the context of the cultural city that we are. I am missing out many organisations here such as FACT, Bluecoat, Open Eye, Static, the Unity and many more that all contribute to what is a vibrant arts scene here in the city. It is the effort that each of these organisations have put in over the years that have helped create the positive perceptions that now exist for the Liverpool arts scene.

If you could have 3 wishes to improve Liverpool’s arts what would they be?

Lewis Biggs:

A single established listings magazine, with critical writing, that everyone used. (All three wishes).

Gemma Bodinetz:

a) It may sound irrelevant but plenty of cheap inner city parking and a later running safe public transport system would please every artistic venue in this city.

b) For subsidised arts establishments money is tight and advertising proves very expensive. It would be wonderful if the newspapers, radios and city bill boarding organisations could support non-commercial Liverpool cultural life with cheaper advertising space.

c) We now have every ticket in each of our theatres priced at £5 on a Monday as well as many other ticket deals. Money is no longer such a big excuse for not supporting your city arts venues. There isn't an artistic director in this city who would not say that our audiences are the key to our growth and success in 2008 and beyond.

Toby Coffey:

1) A better infrastructure. From talking to many of the arts organisations within the city this has developed considerably over the past few years but still has a long way to go.

2) A Capital of Culture year that truly pays tribute to what the city has to offer and that secures continued development of the arts and tourism sectors over the long-term.

3) A central arts based resource or listing for what is going on in the city.