Art of the Terraces is a major first-of-its kind exhibition opening at Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery in two weeks time (5th November), and running until 12th March next year. The exhibition explores the culture of football ‘casuals’ – fans who originally combined hooliganism with expensive designer brands, while exerting a powerful influence on a generation of young people from the late 1970s onwards.
Art of the Terraces showcases the fashion, music and art that defined the football culture of the casuals, as well as the numerous encounters between rival groups of fans over the years. Perhaps the movement’s most important legacy is in the fashion domain, with the current worldwide mass popularity of sportswear worn as leisurewear originating in the trend set on UK football terraces over 40 years ago.
Liverpool is closely linked to the casuals movement, with many tracing the subculture’s roots to Liverpool F.C. fans returning from European fixtures like the 1977 European Cup quarter final with the latest French and Italian designer sportswear brands. The trend for continental European fashions caught on among rival fans, particularly because expensive-looking clothing and footwear helped casuals escape the attention of the police, who at the time paid more attention to skinhead fans. Ironically, by the late 1990s, the police were increasingly on the lookout for fashion brands seen as part of the casual ‘uniform’.
The Walker Gallery’s Art of the Terraces exhibition explores the work of the contemporary artists and designers who have been influenced by the casuals movement over the last 40 years, celebrating a cultural scene that was outside the mainstream, but still managed to define an era and generation.
Last month provided a significant boost for those looking to buy their first property, with the government’s mini-budget announcing that the threshold for paying stamp duty is being raised from £300,000 to £425,000 for first-time home buyers (the property must now cost less than £625,000 to be eligible for stamp duty relief, rising from the previous £500,000 threshold). This means that first-time buyers will now only start to pay the standard 5% stamp duty tax rate when the transaction is worth more than £425,000, and continue in line with the standard rate by paying 10% tax on the value in excess of £925,000, rising to 12% above £1.5 million.
A reminder for those living in or visiting Liverpool this year to take a trip to the Doctor Who: Worlds of Wonder exhibition at Liverpool’s World Museum, which opened on 27th May this year and runs until 30th October.
Dip dye hair colouring has been one of the most in-demand treatments at hair salons for over a decade now, with its popularity fuelled by social media exposure and numerous celebrities adopting the two-tone fading colour technique.
The UK government is proposing a crackdown on dangerous cyclists, including updating what it regards as antiquated and insufficient current legislation covering prosecutions for injuries and deaths caused by dangerous cycling.
While hair dye products are not necessarily unsafe for the under 16s, children have much finer hair and greater sensitivity to chemicals than adults, which increases the likelihood of hair dye solutions damaging their hair. They are also more likely to develop allergies from exposure to these chemical ingredients which may affect their health in the future. All legal hair dye products used in the UK are labelled as “not intended for use on persons under the age of 16”, and any salon which offers hair dye treatments to clients under that age will not be covered by their insurance in the event of a procedure going wrong.
As part of a new Transport Bill that could come into effect in 2023, the UK government intends to create a new category of ‘low-speed, zero-emission’ vehicles that will include e-scooters and most likely legalise their private use on public roads. While the government hopes that riders, pedestrians, cyclists and other road users have become increasingly familiar with the vehicles since rental trials began in 2020, the use of private e-scooters on public roads is controversial due to safety concerns over technical regulations and confusion over which areas they are allowed to access.
House prices across the United Kingdom have continued to rise rapidly, with Liverpool and Merseyside reaching record new highs in April 2022. Average prices in Liverpool rose by 10.5% year on year to reach £174,890, and by 10.2% to reach £184,880 in Merseyside as a whole. St Helens recorded the biggest annual increase of anywhere in Merseyside with 15.5%, followed by Knowsley with 13.5%, while Sefton had the highest average price at £201,519, representing 9.8% annual growth.
Being Human is a new exhibition at Liverpool Cathedral that opened this week on Wednesday 27 July and runs until 30 August. Created by the internationally renowned artist and sculptor Peter Walker, the exhibition explores the meaning of being human and what makes us who we are through multiple artworks located around the Cathedral, themed around connection, creativity, identity, and reflection. Inspired by Michelangelo, a sculpture entitled Connection will be at the heart of the exhibition, offering a contemporary twist on a Renaissance masterpiece.
Refractive Pool: Contemporary Painting in Liverpool is a new exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery which opened in April this year and runs until January 2023. It was borne from the Refractive Pool project which began life in 2019, and has since used events, a book and online resources to explore contemporary painting by Liverpool-based artists, and the diversity of painting styles and art being created in the city today.