THERE is less than a week left to vote for artist Mat Collishaw to create work for Liverpool Cathedral in a national competition.

The Cathedral is competing with venues across to the country in the Connect10 competition, which is part of the Culture 24 Museums at Night initiative.

Mat has proposed a one-night visitor experience incorporating a light projection, music and participation in a 3D human zoetrope. The artwork will be specially designed to use the Cathedral's own space and light. This would be produced on Liverpool Light Night, on Friday May 17. Members of the public will also get the opportunity to meet the artist on the night and help him put it together.

Click here to place your vote

I PROMISED to share the winning photograph of our Thomas Joshua Cooper competition, so here it is....

We had lots of entries - and all were of a very high quality - but Mark McGowan's stood out to our judging panel, made up of Cooper and Metal director Ian Brownbill.

As a prize, Mark spent the day shadowing Cooper as he took photographs of the Mersey coastline. He has written a really interesting blog about it here, complete with plenty of pictures taken on the day.

If you want to know more about Cooper and what he was doing in Merseyside you can read my interview with him here.

THE newly-restored Florence Institute opens the first of what it plans to many exhibitions tomorrow.

The exhibition explores the lives of the local boxers such as the late Alan Rudkin, Billy Williams, Stan Atherton, Tommy 'Demolition Man' Bache and Larry Paul.

It features an array of vests, shorts, boxing gloves, photographs, winning
certificates, programmes, and film footage, telling the story of the lives of local boxing legends and Dingle's finest boxers.

The Florrie's general manager, Femi Sowande, says: "Boxing was a major part of The Florrie when it was first set up. The Florrie had such an impact on the local community gaining disciplinem as predicted by Bernard Hall the benefactor of the Florrie. We have had world champions box from here and it is therefore befitting that we continue in that tradition".

LIVERPOOL Cathedral's annual photography competition is this year looking for entries on the theme of "Liverpool Life".

There are two categories - Life in the Hope Street Area and Life in the City Centre with both accepting junior (under 17) and adult entries. Participants are allowed to enter both categories, provided they fit the age criteria.

This year's judges are: Mike McCartney, former Liverpool Post photographer Martin Birchall, Dr Laura MacCulloch (curator of British art at National Museums Liverpool) and Liverpool artist Anthony Brown.

The competition closes on Friday, August 28 (5pm) and all entries will go on display at the Cathedral from September 22 - October 28.

A COUPLE of events that are worth looking out for this week:

First up photographer Zoe Richards is giving a talk on fashion through the ages with special reference to paintings and sculpture in The Walker's collection. It's at 1pm. Places are free of charge but limited so book ahead on 0151 794 6900.

STEPHEN KING's amazing images of Lewis's hidden fifth floor, which were displayed at the National Conservation Centre in 2009, are going on display at the Orange Dot Gallery in Bloomsbury, London. They give a snapshot of a lost way of life - when shopping was an real experience rather than a push and shove contest.

He records the beautiful old-fashioned lifts, hair salons complete with those funny space-age bubble hairdryers and a room filled with pink Christmas trees. It's deliciously kitsch and leaves you nostalgic for an era beyond your own lifetime.

As the Liverpool department store is now closed, these photographs have become even more historically significant - a rare snapshot of a proud shopping emporium that kept its doors open for 150 years despite Luftwaffe bombings, radically changing lifestyles and tough trading conditions.

Lewis's Fifth Floor: A Department Story runs from March 18 to April 23, 2011.

THIS amazing image is part of an exhibition of rare photographs depicting the influence of Italian style on film opening at FACT today.

Co-curated by celebrated photographer Rankin and fashion commentator Anna Battista, the exhibition will explore the relationship between Italian fashion design and its continual influence on film making, image making and characterisation.

KEVIN CASEY'S Closing Time exhibition of photographs of defunct Liverpool pubs is launching at Milk and Sugar gallery, within RIBA, tonight - an interesting venue for a show about lost/crumbling architecture.

Here is my interview with him from yesterday's Daily Post with a few more pictures from the exhibition.