Announcing our newest Artists and Curator in Residence

We’re proud to announce three more residents at the Winter Garden as part of our Arts Council-funded residency programme. Meet them below:

Michelle Peterkin-Walker

See the archive of Michelle’s residency project here.

Michelle Peterkin-Walker will be our curator-in-residence this autumn/winter. She is an artist, activist and videographer, born and raised in L8, with over 20 years of experience working in community arts. Taking inspiration from people, places, and symbols within African history and culture, she's organised a myriad of activities – poetry events, film screenings, lectures, launch events, cultural markets, exhibitions, et al. Since 2018, she has been engaged in social history projects exploring Liverpool’s Black Archives, including Liverpool Black Archive Hub and Yore Lens on L8, to promote and catalogue cultural activities from Liverpool's Black Community. She's also the founder of LADFN (Liverpool African Diasporic Film Network), a collective of filmmakers and other creatives from the African Diaspora that incorporate Black identity in their work. She's produced short films for the International Slavery Museum, has been an Artist in Residence at Metal Liverpool, and is a fellow of the School of Social Entrepreneurs, among other appointments. 

Maxine Brown

Maxine Brown is an artist, teacher/lecturer and choreographer specialising in African People’s classical and contemporary Dance (APD). Her dance training began in 1981, with teachers from Ghana’s National Dance Company, and led to further trading in many other African countries and Caribbean Islands. She was a founding member, and lead performer/teacher, of the Delado Drum and Dance Ensemble in the 1980s, and has since performed with many companies and community groups both in and outside of the UK. Her African People’s dance group Riddim&Roots regularly perform across the NorthWest using a range of dance style from the African diaspora. She also practices African Crafts, making costumes for performers and running workshops.  Maxine is currently Community Engagement Manager at National Museums Liverpool and a freelance creative artist and Movement Educator.

Claudiu Oprea – Homotopia partnership residency

We’re excited to be hosting a collaborative residency in partnership with Homotopia, the UK’s longest-running LGBTQIA arts and culture festival held each year in Liverpool. Claudiu Oprea is a nomadic artist and permaculture educator who makes installations made of living plants and recycled materials. His work connects people to the natural world, particularly in urban environments, and inspires a symbiotic relationship with the planet. Notable creative achievements include exhibiting at The New York Hall of Science and participating in Glastonbury Festival and Boomtown Fair. He also teaches permaculture and natural crafts to people of all ages, and has worked on projects such as the experimental Biomodd at Hampstead School in the UK, where students engaged with the natural world through photography, food growing, and science subjects in a self-designed environment. In Goa, India, he completed a three-year seasonal residency as a permaculture and arts teacher at Yogi Art Centre. Additionally, he served as a mentor, facilitator, and artist for the MAD Design Summer School in Latvia.

Announcing our Spring / Summer 2023 Residents

After an open call and selection process led by our volunteer arts committee, we’re pleased to announce our selected Artists and Curators in residence for Spring/Summer 2023. Residents will be working at the Winter Garden to develop and deliver workshops, present artworks, and host arts events in the space for our community. Meet them below:

Ni Maxine

Hailed a ‘Black Woman at The Forefront of the UK Jazz Scene’ alongside KOKOROKO’s Sheila Maurice-Grey, Ni Maxine is a Neo-Jazz Singer-Songwriter and curator; a Black British woman sparking intergenerational conversations for change, exploring themes of home, identity, self-esteem & belonging. Described as Erykah Badu & Gil Scott-Heron’s lovechild, her conscious & political lyricism has taken her to the main stage at Liverpool’s Africa Oyé & London Jazz Festival.

Ni Maxine’s artistry extends beyond singing and songwriting: creating spaces for the Black community to gather and have honest conversations is also at the heart of what she does. Since September 2021, ‘The Wombat Jazz Club’, curated by Ni Maxine, has been popping up to produce iconic events which bring the community together and celebrate Black music, in all of its forms, with a focus on Jazz being the perfect genre to bridge generational gaps with its legacy and recent resurgence.

Ni Maxine will be a Curator in residence during our Spring residency cycle, and has already started producing events like The Jazz Project.

Addae G.

Addae G. is a writer, playwright, carnival artist and dancer. Born and raised in Trinidad & Tobago, Addae’s passion for the arts was ingrained in him from a young age. Growing up, he was inspired by the vibrant energy of Trinidad’s carnival culture and honed his skills as a dancer and carnival artist, participating in numerous masquerade bands and theatrical productions.

His work is heavily influenced by his Caribbean heritage and the rich cultural tapestry of Trinidad, infused with the dynamic rhythms of calypso and the bold hues of the island’s vibrant Carnival traditions.

Addae will our Artist in residence this Spring, and invites us to join him on a journey of self-discovery, healing and empowerment, encouraging us to embrace our roots and to celebrate the diversity that makes us all unique. 

Aous Hamoud

North-West based artist-curator Aous Hamoud will join this summer’s Winter Garden residency season, starting in July. He moved and completed his art practice at Lancaster University, then he decided to begin his art career in Liverpool.

His practice developed through investigating found elements in nature and translating their unseen dialogues to be shown and presented as research and sound sculpture. Currently, he is curious about the varieties of connecting drawing and sound. He’s excited to curate and support the art residency programme. His experience in working with Arduino and interactive sound equipment will be part of the upcoming workshops and events planned for this summer. 

Hellen Songa

Hellen Songa is a Rwandan-Zambian food grower, community activist and socially-engaged photojournalist focused on environmentalism. Hellen works, volunteers and sits on the board of L8-based community food organisations and is passionate about using photography as a visual tool to tell inspiring stories about people and their relationship to nature.

Hellen will be an Artist in residence in the Summer cycle, starting in July.

Our residency programme has been supported using public funding by Arts Council England, with additional funds from the Granada Foundation.