FACT Liverpool

FACT Liverpool is an arts and media centre in Liverpool, England, focused on contemporary visual art, film, digital culture, and technology-led creative practice. Its name is associated with the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology, an organisation established to support and present video, electronic, and new media art that historically had limited exposure in the United Kingdom. FACT combines exhibition-making, artistic production, cinema, public programming, learning, and community engagement within a purpose-built venue in Liverpool's RopeWalks area. The centre's building opened in 2003 and was designed by the Liverpool architectural practice Austin-Smith:Lord. Its opening represented a major addition to Liverpool's cultural infrastructure: it was described as the city's first new arts building in more than six decades, following the opening of Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. The venue includes three galleries, four cinemas operated by Picturehouse, a café, bars, and spaces for talks, workshops, screenings, and other public events. This combination allows FACT to operate both as a contemporary art institution and as a public-facing film and cultural venue. FACT's programme is centred on the relationship between art, moving image, digital technologies, and society. It has commissioned, produced, exhibited, and toured works by established and emerging artists, with a particular interest in immersive, interactive, experimental, and technologically mediated forms. Artists associated with its exhibition history include Isaac Julien, Pipilotti Rist, Nam June Paik, Haroon Mirza, Agnès Varda, Wu Tsang, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Chila Kumari Burman. Its first exhibition, Isaac Julien's "Baltimore," was commissioned for the building's opening and subsequently toured for approximately a decade. The venue also functions as a cinema and event platform. Picturehouse at FACT has hosted filmmaker conversations and premieres, including a 2007 question-and-answer event with Quentin Tarantino connected with the UK release of "Death Proof," and the 2017 world premiere of "Kenny," a documentary about former Liverpool Football Club player and manager Kenny Dalglish. FACT has participated in major regional and international cultural collaborations, including work with Liverpool Biennial and institutions such as Arts at CERN, the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, Le Lieu unique in Nantes, and iMAL in Brussels. Beyond conventional gallery presentation, FACT has used Liverpool's urban environment and digital communications networks as parts of its artistic programme. Examples include the 2015 "Follow" exhibition, which included a participatory work involving Shia LaBeouf answering telephone calls from members of the public, and "AURORA," an immersive installation commissioned for Toxteth Reservoir in 2018. By its fifteenth anniversary in 2018, FACT had presented more than 350 new-media and digital artworks. Its continuing role is that of a Liverpool-based cultural institution with an international outlook, connecting artists, audiences, cinema, technology, and questions about contemporary life.

FACT emerged from an effort to establish a dedicated platform for video, electronic, and new media art in Liverpool and the wider United Kingdom. The organisation was concerned with artists and practices that had comparatively limited representation in British cultural institutions. Graeme Phillips was among the people involved in its foundation, although the available reference material does not establish him as the sole founder or provide a complete founding roster. The organisation's purpose-built centre was designed by Austin-Smith:Lord and opened in 2003. Its arrival was significant in Liverpool's architectural and cultural development: the venue was regarded as the city's first new arts building in more than sixty years, after Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. The building created a permanent home for FACT's programme while also incorporating public amenities and a cinema operation. The completed venue contains three galleries, four cinemas operated by Picturehouse, a café, bars, and rooms used for educational, social, and event programming. FACT's inaugural exhibition was Isaac Julien's "Baltimore," commissioned for the opening of the building. The project subsequently toured for roughly ten years, illustrating the organisation's interest not only in exhibiting new work but also in producing and circulating it. Over the following years, FACT presented hundreds of new-media and digital artworks. Its programme included video installation, interactive art, immersive environments, networked projects, and work examining the cultural effects of technology. Artists connected with its exhibition history include Pipilotti Rist, Nam June Paik, Haroon Mirza, Agnès Varda, Wu Tsang, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Chila Kumari Burman. The centre developed a hybrid institutional model. Its galleries support contemporary art, while Picturehouse at FACT provides a mainstream and specialised film programme, festival activity, premieres, and filmmaker events. In 2007, the cinema hosted a question-and-answer session with Quentin Tarantino connected with the UK release of "Death Proof." In 2017, it hosted the world premiere of "Kenny," a documentary about former Liverpool Football Club player and manager Kenny Dalglish. These events broadened FACT's connection with popular cinema while remaining consistent with its interest in moving-image culture. FACT has also worked beyond the traditional gallery setting. In 2015, the exhibition "Follow" included an artwork in which Shia LaBeouf answered calls from members of the public, turning remote communication and celebrity interaction into a participatory artistic format. FACT has been a partner venue for Liverpool Biennial, including the 2018 edition, for which it presented work by Agnès Varda and Mohamed Bourouissa. In the same year, it commissioned "AURORA," an immersive installation by Invisible Flock at Toxteth Reservoir. It also presented "Broken Symmetries," an international exhibition co-produced with Arts at CERN, the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, Le Lieu unique in Nantes, and iMAL in Brussels. By 2018, when FACT marked its fifteenth birthday, the centre stated that it had presented more than 350 new-media and digital artworks. Its historical role is therefore not limited to operating a Liverpool venue: it has acted as a commissioner, producer, exhibitor, touring partner, cinema host, and public forum for the interaction of contemporary art and technology. The available sources do not provide sufficient information to identify current leadership, ownership arrangements, annual finances, or a detailed programme after the cited 2018 activities.

• 2018

  Fifteenth anniversary

  [1]FACT Liverpoolen.wikipedia.org

  FACT marked fifteen years of operation and reported having presented more than 350 new-media and digital artworks.

• 2018

  AURORA commissioned for Toxteth Reservoir

  [1]FACT Liverpoolen.wikipedia.org

  FACT commissioned Invisible Flock's immersive installation AURORA for Toxteth Reservoir.

• 2018

  Broken Symmetries presented

  [1]FACT Liverpoolen.wikipedia.org

  FACT presented Broken Symmetries, an international exhibition co-produced with Arts at CERN and partner institutions in Barcelona, Nantes, and Brussels.

• 2017

  World premiere of Kenny

  [1]FACT Liverpoolen.wikipedia.org

  Picturehouse at FACT hosted the world premiere of Kenny, a documentary about Kenny Dalglish.

• 2015

  Follow exhibition

  [1]FACT Liverpoolen.wikipedia.org

  FACT presented Follow, an exhibition involving participatory and communication-based work, including a project featuring Shia LaBeouf answering public calls.

• 2007

  Quentin Tarantino event at Picturehouse at FACT

  [1]FACT Liverpoolen.wikipedia.org

  Picturehouse at FACT hosted a question-and-answer session with Quentin Tarantino connected with the UK release of Death Proof.

• 2003

  Purpose-built FACT centre opens

  [1]FACT Liverpoolen.wikipedia.org

  FACT opened its purpose-built arts and media centre in Liverpool, designed by Austin-Smith:Lord and incorporating galleries, cinemas, and public event spaces.

• 2003

  Baltimore becomes the inaugural exhibition

  [1]FACT Liverpoolen.wikipedia.org

  Isaac Julien's Baltimore was commissioned for the opening and later toured for approximately a decade.

A public-facing contemporary arts centre that bridges galleries, cinema, digital culture, creative technology, and participatory practice.

• Contemporary art exhibitions · 2003

  FACT galleries

  The centre's gallery programme presents contemporary visual art with an emphasis on video, digital, interactive, immersive, and technology-related practices. FACT has exhibited both historically important media artists and newer practitioners, and has worked as an exhibitor, producer, commissioner, and touring partner.

• Cinema · 2003

  Picturehouse at FACT

  Picturehouse operates four cinemas within the FACT building. The cinema supports film screenings, premieres, filmmaker conversations, and special events, extending the centre's focus on moving images from gallery installations into a broader public film programme.

• Art commissions

  Digital and immersive commissions

  FACT commissions and produces projects using digital media, creative technology, immersive environments, and participatory formats. AURORA by Invisible Flock, presented at Toxteth Reservoir, illustrates the organisation's practice of taking technologically mediated art beyond conventional gallery spaces.

• Cultural programming · 2003

  Public events and learning

  FACT's venue supports talks, workshops, artist encounters, community activity, and other public programmes linked to its exhibitions and cinema operation. The available reference material confirms this broad activity but does not provide a complete current programme structure.

• 2018Liverpool Biennial partnership

  Liverpool · International contemporary art community

  FACT participated as a partner venue in the 2018 Liverpool Biennial, presenting work by Agnès Varda and Mohamed Bourouissa.

  Outcome. The partnership connected FACT's programme with Liverpool's major international contemporary art festival.

  Source
• 2015Follow

  Liverpool · United Kingdom

  FACT's Follow exhibition examined participation, communication, and the relationship between public audiences and mediated cultural figures. One featured work involved Shia LaBeouf answering telephone calls from members of the public.

  Outcome. The exhibition became a notable example of FACT's participatory and digitally mediated programming.

  Source

• 2018

  Expand immersive programming beyond the galleryStrategy

  Background

  FACT's programme increasingly addressed digital and creative technology through site-specific and immersive work.

  Action taken

  The organisation commissioned AURORA for Toxteth Reservoir and presented internationally co-produced work such as Broken Symmetries.

  Aftermath

  These projects demonstrated FACT's approach of linking Liverpool locations and international cultural partnerships with new-media art.

  Source

• 2003

  Adopt a hybrid arts-centre and cinema modelStrategy

  Background

  FACT was established to support video and new media art while creating a public cultural venue accessible through exhibitions, film, and events.

  Action taken

  The purpose-built centre combined three galleries with four Picturehouse cinemas, hospitality spaces, and facilities for public programming.

  Aftermath

  The structure positioned FACT simultaneously as a contemporary art institution, a cinema venue, and a platform for digital culture.

  Source

1. 1FACT Liverpoolen.wikipedia.org
2. 2FACT Liverpool official websitefact.co.uk