Sefton Council’s celebrations for the 20^th anniversary of Anthony Gormley’s Another Place artwork on Crosby beach is taking a Qwerkie turn on Saturday.

Forty Qwerkies, life-sized statues made by schools and community groups, will mark a walking/cycle trail from Crosby beach to Salt and Tar in Bootle.

Performances on the Saturday

On Saturday (12^th July), after a short performance beside the Bus Yard from 12 noon  to 12.30pm celebrations will move to Salt and Tar where there will be a festival style afternoon of workshops, live music, dance and games. The event will be a family friendly journey of discovery and acceptance, told through the acting, singing and dancing. And it will include short ending performances at 2.30pm and 4.30pm.

The scarecrow-like Qwerkies have been constructed out of donated recycled materials like fabric and wood. All of them are completely different celebrating our diversity and contrasting with the uniformity of the 100 iron men of Another Place. The scheme has been supported by the Council through the Community Transition Fund.

Cllr Liz Dowd, Cabinet Member for Communities and Partnership Engagement said:

“It is great to be celebrating the anniversary of one of our iconic attractions in Sefton with the community in such a quirky Qwerkie fashion.

“The Qwerkies statues will line the route along Sefton’s cycle path to Crosby beach for the summer holidays and are a great example of how Sefton Council can use the Community Transition Fund, creating free, sustainable attractions for residents and visitors to enjoy.

Celebrating 20 years

Annie Spiers from In Another Place said:
“Our first performance was in 2005 on Crosby Beach, where we held a nativity with a real camel to over 5000 people. Since then, we’ve continued to grow and are proud to be part of Sefton. We’ve done many events large and small, and have spent the last 6 years based in Bootle Strand Shopping Centre, after being in Crosby for 14 years.

“We feel very connected with the iron men, as our history is linked and we are celebrating our anniversary too. Over the years we have held many performances on the beach, workshops in the Strand, after school clubs and more that are free and for all. We are looking forward to sharing our 20^th anniversary with the art works and the community.”

Find out more about In Another Place at https://inanotherplace.com/