My first trip to the UK began with weather that felt closer to autumn than summer. Upon arriving in Manchester, the cool air had me reaching for my sweater—something I hadn’t expected during the season. I waited for Kakizi Jemima, another delegate from Rwanda who landed around the same time, before we travelled together by train to Liverpool Lime Street Station.
Participating in the Liverpool Biennial x British Council Biennial Connect Curators Week programme was an opportunity to encounter the UK’s arts and cultural ecosystem firsthand. The programme lasted six days, with an additional two days of travel to visit several arts organisations, museums, and Bradford, the UK City of Culture 2025. After the programme, I extended my trip to Manchester and London before returning to Indonesia.
Arriving in Liverpool
Upon arriving in Liverpool, our cohort was warmly welcomed by members of the Liverpool Bienniale and British Council teams. With only eight curators in the group, it was easy to connect and learn about one another’s practices. Meeting Nala, James, Hajra, Joel, Parsa, Lillian, and Kakizi felt meaningful, and it was clear that without this programme our paths might never have crossed.
Our first visit was to The Bluecoat, a historic building that also serves as a hub for studios, creative initiatives, and cultural programmes. For the Liverpool Bienniale, the venue presented works by several artists including ChihChung Chang, Amber Akaunu, Alice Rekab, Amy Claire Mills, Odur Ronald, and Petros Moris.
We then continued to Tate Liverpool/RIBA and Open Eye Gallery. At Tate Liverpool/RIBA, Hadassa Ngamba’s Cerveau 2 (2019) left a strong impression on me. The work reflects on the aftermath of colonialism and spatial division, and its connections to extractivism and Indigenous rights.
At Open Eye Gallery, three artists presented different approaches to lens-based practices. Nandan Ghiya transformed archival photographs and wooden frames into a room-sized installation. Wildline Cadet reinterpreted family histories through photographic prints of varying scales. Meanwhile, Katarzyna Perlak presented a poetic single-channel video projection within a dimly lit red room, featuring a red sofa and filmed at the historic Adelphi Hotel.
At Pine Court, I noticed a wooden box placed near the entrance. At first glance it appeared to contain toys, but it actually held various tools designed to support visitors’ different needs and make the exhibition more accessible.
Nearby, Karen Tam’s site-specific installation, Scent of Thunderbolt 雷霆之息, reinterpreted the Cantonese opera stage to explore Chinese diasporic memory and cultural heritage. At the Black-E, Elizabeth Price’s film ‘HERE WE ARE’ examined Catholic churches in Britain—particularly in Liverpool—as spaces of community life.
In addition to the biennial venues, the Liverpool Bienniale team introduced us to several other organisations, including FACT, METAL, the International Slavery Museum, and The Royal Standard.
The programme also included Sector’s Day at The Bluecoat, where each curator led a 45-minute session about their interests and curatorial practices. I presented a session titled ‘70 Years In: The (in)Significance of Political Stages in Cultural Climates’, using the 1955 Bandung Conference as a starting point. What was intended to be a casual sharing session quickly evolved into a deeper discussion about solidarity, the role of arts and culture in society, and how art professionals might reconsider their own agency.
Bradford and the question of cultural legacy
As the UK City of Culture 2025, Bradford has received £50 million in funding to support artistic programmes, commission public artworks, revitalise buildings, and develop a new cultural team.
During our visit, the Bradford team presented how the funding had been allocated over the past year. Yet they also raised an important question: how can the long-term legacy and impact of such investment be sustained?
We attended a networking lunch organised by Bradford Producing Hub, which brought together local arts practitioners. Afterwards, we visited Impressions Gallery and Loading Bay, a newly renovated multifunctional venue designed as a space for artistic experimentation and community engagement.
Before returning to Liverpool, we stopped at Salts Mill to see Ann Hamilton’s installation We Will Sing, also part of Bradford 2025. The work reflects on the mill’s history as a textile factory established in the 1850s. Through textile installations, kinetic speakers, vinyl players, and newspapers, Hamilton created a contemplative environment.
Visitors were invited to submit ‘Letters to the Future’, which were then read aloud from a small booth resembling an announcement box. Experiencing the work felt both serene and nostalgic, as if momentarily stepping back into the era when the mills were still active.
