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'Pay What You
Can' weekend at Tate Liverpool
WITH less than a month to
go before Tate Liverpool's special exhibition Art Turning Left: How
values changed making 1789 to 2013 closes on 2 February 2014, visitors are
invited to see it at a price of their choosing.
From Saturday, 18 January 2014 to Sunday, 19 January 2014 from 10am – 5pm the
gallery will host the 'Pay What You Can' weekend. From £0-£20
the public are invited to pay what they can to see the exhibition.
The weekend responds to themes found in Art Turning Left the first
exhibition to examine how the production and reception of art has
been influenced by left-wing political values. Ideas such as
collectivism, equality and the search for alternative economies are
explored in the show and link to the ethos of the weekend.
As well as choosing what they spend on an exhibition ticket,
visitors will also find The Grizedale Honesty Shop in the Tate Café
for the weekend. With a number of craft, folk and homemade items for
sale, made by members of the Grizedale community, visitors are asked
to decide what they'd like to pay and drop it into the honesty box.
The Tate Shop will also be asking the public to pay what they can on
selected lines.
During the weekend families are invited to join artist Sarah Marsh
in the Doodle Den, her interactive response to the current display
Palle Nielsen: The Model. Danish artist Palle Nielsen (born 1942)
constructed a large-scale adventure playground for three weeks in
Moderna Museet, Sweden in 1968. His work aimed to highlight the
importance of play in childhood as a basic right of the child.
Families have been sharing their thoughts, ideas and designs with
Sarah for her to design and build a creative play space. Visitors
are invited to explore the Doodle Den during the weekend and until 2
February when Palle Nielsen - The Model closes.
Francesco Manacorda, Artistic Director, Tate Liverpool said:-"Hosting
a 'Pay What You Can' weekend fits in perfectly with the ethos
of Art Turning Left. We hope that in the last remaining weeks of the
exhibition being open this will encourage those who haven't seen the
show to come to Tate Liverpool and enjoy it."
A number of additional activities will also be taking place
throughout the weekend. On Saturday at 14:00 and 15:00 artists'
Patrick Staff and Ed Webb-Ingall alongside students at Liverpool
John Moores University and Manchester Metropolitan University will
present an artistic response to Art Turning Left produced by PhD
student, Laura Guy. Patrick and Ed will present short
interventionist performances within the exhibition involving speech
and movement.
Visitors to Tate Liverpool can also continue to see collection
display DLA Piper Series; Constellations for free. DLA Piper Series:
Constellations explores connections between major works from the
Tate collection across art history by arranging them in 9
'constellations'. Presenting over one hundred works from the
collection, including works by Picasso, Matisse and Pollock, the
displays offer a fresh way of viewing and understanding artworks
through correspondences rather than chronological narrative.
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Help for people
hit by 'bedroom tax' error
THE Mayor of Liverpool has
pledged to support residents who have been wrongly hit by the
so called 'bedroom tax', after it emerged that thousands of
people across the country may be exempt.
The under occupation penalty; which sees benefit reductions of up
to 25% for working age social housing tenants who are deemed to have
more bedrooms than they need; was introduced by the Government last
year, and affects around 11,000 people in Liverpool.
The Department of Work and Pensions has now announced that an error
when drafting the legislation means that tenants are exempt from the
penalty if:-
► They have been continuously entitled to housing benefit since 1
January 1996 (breaks of 4 weeks or less are ignored) and were
under 45 years old in 1996.
► They have occupied the same dwelling since that date (except for
any period where a fire, flood, explosion or natural catastrophe
made the property uninhabitable).
While the exemption is not expected to apply to the majority of
tenants in Liverpool, the Mayor has pledged to try to identify
affected claimants and ensure they are recompensed.
City Council benefits officers and Registered Housing Providers are
now working through their databases to identify customers who should
not be affected by the 'under occupation penalty'.
Mayor Anderson said:- "Not only does the bedroom tax hit the
poorest and most vulnerable in our society, but to add insult to
injury, it appears that many people who are struggling because of
these welfare reforms should not even be affected, due to errors by
the Government. I'll be doing everything in my power to make
sure that any Liverpool resident who has been unfairly hit gets back
every penny they are entitled to. And while this work is on-going,
I'll be asking our social landlords - if the tenant may be exempt;
to put any potential bedroom tax legal action on hold, to allow an
assessment to take place. Of course, this exemption may only apply
to a minority of the tenants; and the Government may try to amend
the legislation. It's vital that we continue to support all those
who continue to suffer due to the welfare reforms. We are carrying
out a huge amount of work, including setting up the Tackling Poverty
Action Group, supporting food banks through the Mayor's Hope Fund
and giving £1 million to credit unions to try and stop people
turning to loan sharks. Our social landlords have also been
extremely supportive of their tenants, helping as best they can to
resolve issues and campaigning to the Government about the impact of
this policy. I would urge anyone who is in arrears as a result
of the bedroom tax to contact us, as they may be eligible for
additional benefits such as Discretionary Housing Payments. People
should also contact their landlord, as there is a lot of support and
advice available."
The City's benefits service has already made over 5,000
Discretionary Housing Payments awards, totalling £1.25 million, to
people who need extra help with their rent due to Housing Benefit
reductions. Further City Council investment in the fund means there
is still £700,000 available to residents up until April. The City
Council is urging any residents threatened with eviction as a result
of the under-occupation penalty to get in contact to see if they can
make a claim.
Liverpool, like many other cities, faces challenges in pulling
together evidence going back to 1996, because local authorities and
Registered Providers are not allowed to hold information for that
long, under data protection rules. The City is now working to draw
down the 'best available' evidence to meet the rules that the
Department for Work and Pensions will apply.
Tenants who have been wrongly hit by the under-occupation penalty
could be eligible for refunds worth on average at least £560 per
claimant.
The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that the law will
be amended so that the 'under-occupation penalty' can be reapplied
to these cases at a future date.
Any tenant who thinks the bedroom tax exemption applies to them
should talk to their landlord and let the Benefits Service know by
letter, by email
email
or by calling the City Council on 0151 233 3009. Tenants who want to
make a claim for a Discretionary Housing Payment to help them cover
rent arrears should call 0151 233 3009 or can download a form to
apply
online.
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