Liverpool BID Company, in collaboration with the church, also known as St Nicholas’s, has joined forces with city gallery and art organisation, dot-art, for the project. Tony McDonough reports

A plinth at the famous Liverpool Parish Church close to the waterfront is to become a showcase for local artists.

Liverpool BID Company, in collaboration with the church, also known as the Church of Our Lady and St Nicholas, has joined forces with city gallery and art organisation, dot-art, for the project.

£1,000 prize

It will see local artists given the opportunity to have their sculptures displayed on The Liverpool Plinth – an empty platform which overlooks Chapel Street and the waterfront at the side of the church.

The plinth will host a new sculpture every 12 months. As well as the exposure and publicity given to the artist and their work, they will also receive a £1,000 prize.

The unveiling of the first piece of art is scheduled for spring 2018.

Public art

It fulfils one of the pledges in the BID’s business plan for the commercial district – to create a public art programme that will serve to enrich the experience of those visiting and working in the area.

Lucy Byrne, managing director of dot-art, said: “The Liverpool Plinth at St Nick’s Church has been empty for several years and so we’re delighted that Liverpool BID Company and Liverpool Parish Church have commissioned us to bring a thrilling piece of new art to this beautiful area of the city.

“This is also a great chance for established and up-and-coming sculptors in the north to be able to showcase their works in a very prominent part of Liverpool. We look forward to seeing the submissions.”

‘Animate the city’

In the mould of Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth, the plinth has lain empty since the removal of Brian Burgess’s “Christ on a Donkey” several years ago.

The Revd Dr Crispin Pailing, rector of Liverpool, added: “There is a long history of the church helping the arts to flourish.

“Art does not have to be explicitly religious to connect with people’s spirituality. We see this as an opportunity to help animate the city, and for those who engage with the sculpture to experience new horizons.”