1985 School Students’ Strike Recreated For Liverpool Biennial
Artist Koki Tanaka recreated the iconic march throughout the city on Sunday 5 June with some of the original participants
In April 1985, children in Liverpool and cities across the country took to the streets in an impromptu strike against the Conservative Government’s Youth Training Scheme. The Liverpool strike was the largest in the country, with 10,000 children participating.
On Sunday 5 June, as part of Liverpool Biennial 2016, artist Koki Tanaka revisited this event by recreating the original protest.
Bringing together the original participants, their children and current students, Tanaka led a walk through the city from St George’s Hall to the Pier Head, retracing the original route. The event was filmed and will be shown at Open Eye Gallery throughout this year’s Liverpool Biennial, running from 9 July until 16 October.
Koki Tanaka said, “The energy, joy and optimistic feeling in Dave Sinclair’s images of the march really struck me. I wanted to work with those involved to look back at what happened, and wonder if any have children and how they feel about the current social situation in the UK, in particular the current Work Experience Scheme, which is not dissimilar from the Youth Training Scheme of 1985.”
Connecting Liverpool’s past, present and future is central to the narrative of Liverpool Biennial 2016. This year 44 international artists will create new work to be presented in locations across the city organised as a story narrated in several episodes. For the first time, children are working together with artists to create ambitious projects.
For more information about Liverpool Biennial and this years events visit the official website here.
