New Pavilion for Tate

Tate Liverpool is about to see a new building rise in the courtyard between the gallery and the Piermaster’s House. The UFO-shaped venue will be beaming art stuff directly into space. Alas, it will only be picked up by the Astra satellite, as this strange arrival has been sent from Planet Sky, as part of its Sky Arts project The Source. Within, NYC artist Doug Aitken will set up court, interview a host of creative figures for the channel.

Designed by british architect David Adjaye of Adjaye Associates, and New York artist Doug Aitken - his first public installation in the UK - the temporary structure will stand within Mermaid Court. It’ll form part of the seventh Liverpool Biennial and, Aiken says, “will be a fast moving portrait of modern creativity.”

The 14.2 diameter circular structure will have a sloping roof, and bitumen and acrylic sides displaing a projection of Aitken’s work at night, similar to the artist’s recent project at washington DC’s hirshhorn museum, ‘SONG 1′.

Aiken is an established contemporary artist, widely known for his innovative fine art installations. His body of work encompasses photography, sculpture and architectural interventions to films, sound, moving image pieces and installations, with high profile commissions at the MOMA, NYC and the Museum of Contemporary Art/Enel Contemporanea, Rome.

While in residence, Doug Aitken aims to pose two questions: ‘Where does the creative idea start and how is it realized’ to a wide range of artists and architects.

The filmed interviews will be aired inside the pavilion featuring the interactions with David Adjaye, Devendra Banhart, Liz Diller, William Eggleston, Jacques Herzog,Tilda Swinton, Ryan Trecartin (star, for us, of the last Biennial, with his day-glo video installations in RAPID) and Jack White. Yes. Him.

Doug Aitken said: “This project is about the roots of creativity. Many of the people in this project are working in very diverse mediums and it’s that common thread that I’m interested in. The project is very much about the empowerment of the viewer. I want the installation at Tate Liverpool to be a destination: a place that one can go to and walk into this field of ideas. It will be a celebration of the power of the individual and the forging of a borderless new creative territory – I’m incredibly excited.”

We all might have our opinions on Sky Broadcasting, but there’s no denying their Arts Channel’s increasingly essential output is worth the admission fee alone.

The Sky Arts Ignition Series was launched last year to support the creation of major new works of art as well as nurture emerging talent. Sky Arts Ignition: Doug Aitken – The Source, the first project in the series, has chosen Liverpool as its base, and will see a cash investment of up to £200,000 for its chosen arts partners to bring their projects to a wider audience.

“At Sky Arts, it’s clear to us just how fascinated people are by the creative process that goes into making works of art,” says their Programme Director James Hunt, “Doug’s plan for the first Sky Arts Ignition project really captures that; opening up the creative process and making it more relatable and accessible. That’s another thing that we try to do at Sky Arts, and Doug’s project fits with that ethos perfectly.”

Sky Arts Ignition: Doug Aitken – The Source 15 September – 13 January 2013
Free admission
Albert Dock, Liverpool, L3 4BB