Liverpool will reflect how the pandemic brought communities together, on the second anniversary of the 2020 lockdown.
The Museum of Liverpool is hosting the finale of ‘Visible Virals’ – a unique arts project which has provoked public discussion and celebrated the city’s resilience, kindness and ‘scouse spirit’.
Throughout March, Culture Liverpool partnered with the city’s Public Health team to light up the city and reflect on Liverpool’s experience of Coronavirus, with the final installation #WeAre game taking place on Wednesday evening (23 March) on the Waterfront.
From 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. visitors can be part of this unique and immersive experience, which will see players use a hands-free console to adopt a character from Liverpool’s Lockdown story, whilst the game play is projected onto the outside of the Museum.
Created by local graphic design agency apt.creative, the game has been created by local creative company DefProc with projections devised by creative media and technology studio Focal Studios – artworks have shared local people’s stories of their lives during lockdown.
Visible Virals has built on the foundations of other ‘viral’ marketing campaigns, with exact locations and times of the installations not revealed beforehand. People were instead encouraged to share images on social media using #WeAre – enabling messages to spread more organically.
The event is free and everyone is welcome to be part of the evening by visiting the Museum and playing the #WeAre game or simply reflecting on we’ve worked together to get through the pandemic – because “that’s just who we are”.
Visible Virals was made possible through funding from Arts Council England and Public Health Liverpool.
For more information on the Visible Vitals project visit www.cultureliverpool.co.uk/WeAreScousers
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The evening will also mark the launch of the 2021 Public Health Annual Report (PHAR) – a reflection on Liverpool’s response to the pandemic so far, and ongoing recovery.
The report details part of Liverpool’s Covid journey and how the city has been at the forefront of the response to pandemic by chronicling key moments of 2021 – such as the opening the Pandemic Institute, restarting live music events as part of the Events Research Programme and supporting ongoing community testing and roll out of the NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme.
You can read the PHAR at: https://phar2020.liverpool.gov.uk/PHAR21/contents
Councillor Frazer Lake, Cabinet Member for Public Health, said:
“The pandemic has affected everyone, so provoking discussions and sharing experiences has all been part of the healing process.
The Visible Virals project has been a chance to shine a spotlight on the incredible community spirit shown over the past 2 years and celebrate the kindness and generosity that scousers are known for.”
Director of Public Health Liverpool, Matthew Ashton said:
“Visible Virals has given us a chance to share local people’s experience of lockdown and allow them to tell their stories.
Bringing culture and health together isn’t often seen – but the project has been the perfect platform to showcase and celebrate how we’ve worked together throughout the pandemic and how we approach our recovery.”
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