Students help kick off major Liverpool football exhibition

A ground-breaking new exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery combining fashion, football, and art, showcases work from LJMU fashion communication students.

Art of the Terraces (5 November 2022 to 12 March 2023) is the first major exhibition to tell the story of a movement that defined sports culture of the 1970s, 80s and 90s.   

The exhibition considers the culture of Terrace ‘casuals’, which began on Britain’s football terraces in the late 1970s through the medium of art.  Visitors will see artwork by Turner Prize winners Mark Leckey and Mark Wallinger, and leading contemporary artists Pete McKee and Lucy McKenzie. Supporting the narratives is a special edition (76 page) of UN_FOLD magazine, a fashion magazine dedicated to exploring themes of Youth, Style and Identity which features in the exhibition, both in print and on display.

Pauline Rushton, Head of Decorative Arts at National Museums Liverpool, said: “Terrace culture originated among football fans here in the northwest in the 1970s, and it’s difficult to overemphasise quite how far-reaching its influence has become”. 

“We will consider the highs and lows of going to the match, and the sense of identity and belonging that could be discovered and signalled to others through wearing a certain pair of trainers or branded sports top.”

Privileged

Paul Owen, Senior Lecturer on BA Fashion Communication at LJMU, who began working with National Museums Liverpool, four years ago, embedded the ‘live project’ into his teaching last year with 2nd year students, who responded fantastically.

“UN_FOLD magazine has been going for eight years, it aligns higher education with industry practices. We have been privileged to have collaborated with Pauline Rushton and her team on this very special project, which also gained support from retailers Tessuti and Scotts, who kindly provided us with garments that were used in some of the photoshoots.”

 “Once the initial live brief was complete in studio, I began the second phase to take UN_FOLD magazine into production as an extra-curricular activity. This involved co-ordinating a small dedicated editorial team who interned on the magazine over the summer vacation. The whole project is a real testament to the skills our students have”. 

The UN_FOLD magazine team is: Emily Davies, Izzy Gallagher, Jake Le Grys, Georgia Lischke, Natalie Auger, Jenni Bickford, Nia Minnery and Dan Nicholas.