A first year student’s writing skills have been recognised after he won a competition to write a review based on an induction week visit to FACT Liverpool.

Nathaniel Southworth-Barlow was rewarded with £30 of book vouchers and two runners up, Lucy Naylor and Stephanie Harrison, were given £20 vouchers each.

Nathaniel wrote…

The FACT: a review from an independent perspective

Down a side-street in the heart of Liverpool hides a unique building. Contrasting sharply with older structures from an earlier time stands FACT; an impressive neo-modern structure with a dual identity.

The immediate experience is the FACT itself. Designed by Austin Smith Lord, the architecture is a stunning synthesis of wood, stone and steel. Everything is open and well lit – nothing gaudy or overpowering takes away from its subtle presence. If the FACT is a centre for art, then the building itself certainly qualifies.

After the initial shock, you learn what the FACT sets out to accomplish. On the one hand it’s a fully equipped cinema; showing new releases and premiers in a high-tech facility. On the other hand, the fact is a patron of the arts; a place that not only commissions artists to create new work, but also exhibits art created using new media.

This creates a gallery that is unlike any other. Using technology to create expressions of artistic merit isn’t often found in more traditional galleries; seeing it showcased first-hand was an eye-opening experience.

For example, one exhibit was an M-16 Assault Rifle used to protest against violence. It used video technology to link the rifle’s sight to a camera that watched the person holding the weapon. Normally, you wouldn’t think this was art, but after witnessing it for yourself those misconceptions are dispelled. It was art like a painting is art.

I left FACT with a new appreciation for what the definition of art is, and how the advances in new-media we have seen over the last decade alone can contribute to a growing field of artistic expression. The building itself is impressive, what it provides to the community is commendable, but what it taught me was simply enlightening.

More info
BA (Hons) Public Relations

Related news
Publicity taster for new undergraduates