Rules and Regs 2008 National Finale

Top: Jordan McKenzie 'Condensation Box' (photo by Stu Rodda). Middle: Mem Morrison 'Emergency' (photo by Seth Kriebel). Bottom: Search Party 'The Corridor' (photo by Kate Greyner)

Date: Saturday, 15 November 2008 | 8:00pm - 10:30pm

Location: Various

Ticket Prices: Free

Rules and regs is a programme of artists' residencies hosted throughout 2008 at six venues in the UK. Selected from an open submission, the artists were asked to respond to a set of rules designed to challenge their usual creative strategies. Rules so far have included: "Less isn't more. MORE is more", "Do not start at the beginning", "The artist must not work alone", "Don't move", "Spend 24hrs awake in Blackpool" and "Go ahead punk, make my day".

Each host venue worked with several artists. The Bluecoat, one of the six hosts, selected three artists for its Rules and Regs - Eitan Buchalter, Grace Surman and Ange Taggart, the results of which were presented here on Fri 3 and Sat 4 October. For Liverpool Live we are pleased to host highlights from the whole of this year's Rules and Regs. Now that the artists have completed their residencies, the line up for this finale event, which will inhabit the Bluecoat's performance spaces and public areas, can be revealed. Expect an eclectic bill of truly unusual performance by artists with refreshing new approaches to live art.

Rules and Regs finalists:

Mem Morrison

Mem Morrison is a performance artist who has been making his own, highly personal work since 1995. He is interested in performance as a means of finding a voice. Emergency is a playful response to an unusual performance site.

Mem's Rules and Regs residency was at Colchester Arts Centre and the rules he was set are as follows:

Jordan McKenzie

Jordan McKenzie's work explores the performativity of drawing and mark making. Here he presents an intimate performance exploring breath and breathing as physical mechanism and emotional signifier, investigating themes of loss and restriction.

Jordan's Rules and Regs residency was at A Space, Southampton, and the rules he was set are as follows:

Search Party

Search Party is the collaboration of artists Pete Phillips and Jodie Hawkes. Their work invites its audience to become a part of the experience. Search Party are optimists. The Corridor is an exploration of intimacy, non-place and solitude.

Search Party's Rules and Regs residency was at South Hill Park, Bracknell, and the rules it was set are as follows:

Levantes Dance Theatre

Levantes consists of Eleni Edipidi and Bethanie Harrison and is characterised by an enthusiasm for an aesthetic of visual indulgence. Room Temperature Romance is currently being developed with the support of The Oxford Samuel Beckett Award.

Levantes Dance Theatre's Rules and Regs residency was at Nuffield Theatre, Lancaster, and the rules it was set are as follows:

Rules and Regs 2008 National Finale is part of Liverpool Live 08, the Bluecoat's Live art programme for the Liverpool Biennial.

Presented in association with Rules and Regs. With support from Arts Council England, the Liverpool Culture Company, Liverpool City Council and the National Lottery. 

Associated links: