Conversations between passengers and taxi drivers usually follow a standard format. There might be some football chat, a few moans about how society is going downhill, and a mention of celebrity passengers.
Tate Liverpool helped buck the trend in 2007. The Taxi Project saw drivers taking part in ten weekly discussions at the gallery, discussing contemporary art and the Turner Prize in particular.
The reasoning behind the project was that when people visit a city, their taxi driver is often the first person they talk to. The taxi driver, by default, provides a welcome – so why not make it an engaging welcome?
By taking part in the project, drivers were encouraged to act as ‘cultural ambassadors’, discussing contemporary art and Liverpool’s approaching status as European Capital of Culture in 2008. As the Turner Prize neared, drivers also debated its value and meaning with passengers – in keeping with the controversy associated with the annual competition.
Two of the drivers had special video equipment installed in their cabs, and visitors to the Turner Prize 2007 exhibition in Liverpool could climb into an actual taxi to watch films of the drivers’ conversations with passengers.
Brian Bretherton was one of the taxi drivers who took part. ‘I'd always thought the art world wasn't for the likes of me,’ he said in the footage. ‘But I'd volunteer for anything that'll enhance my knowledge. I want to provoke opinions from people who have never thought about art before.’
