Manchester vs. Liverpool

Mar 13, 2010 | Comments: 9

Are Manchester and Liverpool really locked in a duel for the cultural domination of the Northwest? Ella Wredenfors reckons it’s not that simple.

I moved to Liverpool last year, leaving behind the bright lights of Oxford Road and wondering whether Liverpool’s art scene could ever rival the energy and historical provenance that made me fall for Manchester. Thankfully, I seem to have found that the two cities are linked by more than an evident fondness for Greggs the Baker.

If I wanted to be bureaucratic about it, it wouldn’t be difficult to decide which city deserves the title of cultural capital of the Northwest. On paper it’s not much of a challenge. Liverpool, although a much smaller city than Manchester, has more museums and galleries than any other city outside London. And when I began weighing up the two cities’ art identities, it was tempting to start pairing off institutions into easily manageable pairs. The list began something like this:

The Whitworth vs. Victoria Art Gallery
Cornerhouse vs. FACT
Manchester Art Gallery vs. Walker Art Gallery
Islington Mill vs. A Foundation

But this approach really doesn’t do justice to the complexity of the art scene in the two cities. Although on paper they might be comparable, in reality they have very different temperaments and curatorial styles – and what about those places than have no equivalent? Does Liverpool have anything like the artist-run gem that is the Castlefield Gallery? How could anything in Manchester possibly be compared to the eclectic Bluecoat?

And this is missing out the big kahuna, because any discussion of art in the Northwest absolutely must mention Tate Liverpool. Although I dislike Albert Dock, the power that the Tate can exert in drawing visitors, touring exhibitions and access to collections there is something to be reckoned with. Simply by being there, the Tate, in a similar fashion to the Capital of Culture nod in 2008, acts as a constant encouragement to the art scene in Liverpool. It is the ultimate cultural affirmation; imagine Liverpool waking up every morning, looking in the mirror and repeating to itself ten times: “We are a proper cultural city – we’ve got a Tate!”

It seems that relationship between Manchester and Liverpool is one of symbiosis rather than rivalry. The annual cycles of festivals in the Northwest is the perfect example of this relationship. Although it’s tempting to think of Manchester International Festival squaring up to the Liverpool Biennial – with, to a bystander at least, very similar remits – by occurring on alternating years they effectively share their audience and public attention.

The cities’ position in the wider regional arts scene is nicely illustrated by the current habits of some of the smaller arts festivals. Moves, the International Festival of Movement on Screen, may have international in its name but last year took place in Manchester, Liverpool and Chester. Similarly, NICE, the Festival of Nordic Art and Culture, calls its home for 2010 “Manchester & North West UK”, where in 2009 it was Liverpool-based.

I timed my move to Liverpool well. No sooner had I unpacked and settled into my new job, a wonderful festival came along to introduce me to the art scene and spaces in the city. AND (Abandon Normal Devices) , a festival of new cinema and digital culture, presented an exciting and varied collection of arts events, and most of all it was incredibly fun. Last year its home was FACT in Liverpool, this year it’s at Cornerhouse.

This is, of course, just a broad brushstroke of the culture in the two cites. It doesn’t express the more ingrained differences between the art scenes in Manchester and Liverpool. Like the character of their people, there are too many cultural and historical influences to trace and untangle. To begin to understand these would take years of research and investigation. However, right now, it seems to me that there are more similarities and synergies between the cities than not. So whether you’re a lover of Liverpool or a Manchester aficionado, it’s time to park the rivalries and just say “Viva the Northwest!”

Ella Wredenfors is an art history graduate, a Captain Beefheart aficionado and fizzy water connoisseur. Amongst other things she writes Run Paint Run Run, an unfortunately opinionated blog about art in the North West.

Images: Both Inside the Promising Land, part of Urbanism 09 in Liverpool, courtesy Alexandra Wolkowicz.

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