As part of Collective Encounters’ Above and Beyond project, we commissioned 10 emerging artists to create new works responding to themes of “community power” or “community action”. This was in response to the first COVID Lockdown, during which time freelance artists were particularly badly affected. Each artist was commissioned to make a personal response to the Pandemic, and to create a piece of digital media.

Nathan Powell
Nathan is a Writer and Director. He has created a short film that responds to the way Covid-19 has forced us to have uncomfortable conversations with ourselves about the world we have created. He says: “Covid-19 has forced us to stop. it has forced us to take the time to think and have uncomfortable conversations with ourselves about the world we have created. This video is a pledge. It is a series of words that will become actions moving towards a world we want to see”. At the time of this project, Nathan was the Associate Director at 20 Stories High and a trustee on the NAYT board.

Emily Garratt
Emily is a poet who has created a poetical short film celebrating the grassroots projects of the community to show how power is taken back by the people, binding us on our journey through COVID-19. Our Grassroots is a poetical short film that captures the power and actions of the community during the current pandemic. It celebrates the grassroots projects of the community and shows how power is taken back by the people, binding us on our journey through COVID-19.

Kate Reilly James
Kate is a journalist whose creativity is fuelled by photography and textiles. She has created a Community Power Coat, which is a symbol of what communities feel in reaction to COVID-19. The Community Power Coat is a symbol of what communities feel, in reaction to COVID19. ‘The Shirt Off Your Back’ is part of a saying Kate has grown up with; her Scouse roots are born from her Mum’s nature to do anyone a favour and this coat acknowledges that this is actually a city-wide attribute. The coat is made up of remnants and reminders of community power in Kate’s local area.

Dora & Jonathan
‘We Are All Stardust’ is a collaborative music piece exploring The Overview Effect; a theory used to describe the awe inspired feeling astronauts experience when viewing the Earth from Space. The piece asks whether it is possible to feel Earth’s awe from the confines of living and remaining on Earth, and uses verbatim from collected interviews of participants. Dora and Jonathan are a musical collaboration comprised of artists Dora Colquhoun and Jonathan McGuire based in the Northwest of England. They came together inspired to make heartfelt, endearing pop/folk music that explores themes of the natural world and the complexity of our ‘human’ relationship with it. Dora Colquhoun comes from a performance background and is interested in traditional storytelling; this combined with the rich musicality of Jonathan makes for the unique sound of Dora and Jonathan.

Tom George
This piece is a videoed poem celebrating parks and the wellbeing benefits they offer. Tom says: “I believe parks are a vital resource that have been essential during the lockdown. They provide people with a means to maintain their mental and physical health and stay in contact with the natural world”. Tom George is a Liverpool-based cultural activist and wellbeing facilitator who has embarked on countless creative projects in the past 20 years. In addition to creating albums, poetry books and video projects, he has appeared on Channel 4 Television and at festivals around the UK.

Amber Akaunu
Amber has created an illustration piece that visualises the people involved in the beautiful and courageous community acts we’ve seen in Liverpool, nationally and globally. Amber is an artist from Liverpool working with film, photography and illustration to dissect issues on identity, race, music and culture. She is also a co-founder of ROOT-ed Zine which is a quarterly magazine for creatives of colour in the North West of England.

Heidi Henders
This is a poetic manifesto for community action; a piece of art that can also be applied practically as a basis for collective organising. Art is vital to community action, and at a time when we need to make our voices heard, this is intended to inspire those in our city who fight inequality everyday. Heidi is a poet and theatre-maker based in Liverpool. She studied Contemporary Theatre and Performance at MMU and has been a member Young Everyman Playhouse for the last 7 years. As part of the BBC Words First programme in 2019, Heidi was published in their poetry anthology Use Words First.

Aisling Leyne
A soundscape commissioned by Collective Encounters asking: 1. What have you been hearing more of now that our world has got quieter? And 2. What do you want to hear when this is all over? Aisling has been a performer for many years and, more recently, a voice actor. Locally she has voiced audio projects for The Alligator Club,  Mercy Productions and The Lantern Company, and co-produced a community soundscape with Torrid Star Productions for Hope Street Ltd’s “Four Corners” exhibition at The Bluecoat. Best enjoyed with headphones

Anthony Scott
This piece of work has been developed through workshops with participants who identify as LGBTQ+ from a variety of ages, and led by facilitator Anthony Scott. Participants explored the power of their community and identified their own queer icons, interrogating the history told about this community and recognising those who may have gone under the radar. Over the weeks participants wrote a series of letters that are performed here. These letters are addressed to specific people but they’re for the world to hear. This project aims to ignite the community action in all of the participants because as queer people we still have a lot to fight for. Anthony Scott is 18 years old and from Anfield. They began to develop an interest in drama and art at a young age when part of youth clubs that have now sadly closed down. As a queer person, Anthony is determined to use their art as a way to communicate with others and challenge the oppressions within society. Anthony is currently studying on the Applied Theatre course at LIPA and this is their first solo-led project as a facilitator.

Immy Llewelyn
Immy sent letters to friends and neighbours asking them what community means to them. These are their responses, with images of Immy’s local area. Immy is a photographer based on the Wirral who “hails from Wales” and gained a first class degree in Photography from the University of Salford. Immy loves all things colourful, and loves people – but has tried to delve into other subjects within photography.