Exhibition – Page 5 – Uncover Liverpool

Albert Richards

March 2025 will mark 80 years since the passing of Albert Richards, the youngest official war artist to be killed in action during WWII. The Williamson holds over two hundred of his works, spanning from his days at the Wallasey School of Art to the frontlines of France in 1944. These works show the incredible talent that Richards possessed, and his influences, from surrealism to Art Deco.

As well as displaying works by artists that inspired him and worked alongside him, such as Stanley Spencer and George Jardine, this exhibition will commemorate his life as a soldier, in which he served a key role in the D-Day landings. This incredible personal narrative, mixed with his unique style of painting, makes him one of the biggest ‘what ifs?’ in twentieth century British art.

The Plant that Stowed Away

Through art in the Tate Collection, The Plant that Stowed Away traces the connections between the trading history of cities like Liverpool and the global movements of plants and people.

This display is inspired by the Weeds of Wallasey series by Wirral-born photographer Chris Shaw which highlights the battle between nature and the post-industrial landscape of the area where he grew up.

The Plant that Stowed Away builds on the narratives in Shaw’s imagery, drawing attention to the extraction and shipping of plants and other products of trade. It highlights how urban and natural environments have been changed by industrialisation, colonisation, and migration.

The display includes collage by French modernist Henri Matisse, the Afro-futurist photography of Cristina de Middel, Turner Prize-nominated artist Delanie Le Bas’s textile work and Kader Attia’s caustic film exploring our relationship with oil and sugar.

Image Credit: Henri Matisse, The Dancer 1949. Tate.

Future Retrospective Art Exhibition

“Future Retrospective” is an art exhibition that explores how our future is intricately woven into the fabric of the past.

This unique event brings together a diverse collection of artworks spanning multiple mediums and disciplines, all unified by a common theme: the profound impact of historical moments and cultural heritage on contemporary creativity and societal evolution.

Big Tiny Worlds

Gill Smith is a Liverpool based illustrator, working mostly in children’s books. This exhibition brings together work created for published picture books, children’s fiction and personal projects over the last 5 years.

For as long as she can remember, she has loved to draw people, capturing their expressions and mannerisms. Illustrating stories allows her into a character’s mind, to see the world through their eyes. She is inspired by everyday life, finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.

She graduated with an MA in Children’s Book Illustration from Cambridge school of Art in 2019. Previously Gill worked as a primary teacher, community artist and as a designer and maker. Her work has been short listed for The Klaus Flugge Prize for Illustration 2023 and longlisted for The Yoto Carnegie Prize for picture books.

The Liverpool Collection 2024

The Liverpool Collection 2024

28th November 2024 – 8th February 2025

An exhibition featuring dot-art Members.

The heart and the history of Liverpool comes to dot-art. Closing out 2024 and welcoming in the new year; this exhibition features art that reflects the beauty and diversity of the city and it’s surrounding region.

Offering art that is both rooted in history and alive with modern perspectives and practices, highlighting the well-loved and hidden gems alike, this exhibition reveals Liverpool through the eyes of 25 dot-art Artist Members. This is a unique opportunity to showcase their Artist Members; while their group shows often feature a select few, this exhibition highlights a diverse cross-section of artists they support — local, affordable, and committed to developing and showcasing their work in their home city.

Longstanding member Susan Finch is a storyteller through her art, she uses motifs that create drama and nostalgia against the backdrop of her home city. New member Joao Coelho who is St. Helens based, creates detailed dioramas inspired by the history and architecture around him, capturing time worn facades and the rust, graffiti and urban decay that comes with them.

Frank Leung is an extremely skilled portraitist and has developed a series of street scenes of buskers and residents of Liverpool. The city’s landmarks are hidden in the background, while these bright and lively characters entertain you in the foreground.

Joseph Venning recently completed a live painting for the Beyond Van Gogh experience at ACC Liverpool. Utilising the iconic modern artist’s style, he created a portrait of Van Gogh painting the Liverpool skyline. From this exhibition, Joseph has developed an incredible painted collage of Liverpool landmarks with a twist of Van Gogh’s infamous blue swirling sky, suspended stars and crescent moon.

Ali Barker is showing work from her dot-art x Everyman Artist Residency last year. Over 6 months Barker spent time with the staff, watched productions and toured the Everyman and Playhouse Theatres. Here, she shows the façade of the iconic Hope Street based Everyman theatre as well as the interior of the Playhouse, looking up to the Radio City Tower.

They want to enable everyone to enrich their lives through art, whether that is through our Art Classes, Artist Membership or buying affordable art. You can help us with this goal by giving the gift of art! Prints start from £35, and we have vouchers for any budget available to gift for the art lover in your life.

Their longstanding Creative Courses are live now with fantastic venues and amazing artist tutors. Art Course Vouchers make thoughtful gifts for those looking to give creative experiences rather than material items that may go unused.

All artworks are for sale.

Join them for the Private View of the exhibition on Thursday 21st November from 5pm-7pm.

All welcome, but please register here: theliverpoolcollection24.eventbrite.co.uk

The dot-art Gallery can be found at 14 Queen Avenue, Castle Street, Liverpool, L2 4TX (just 5 minutes’ walk from Liverpool One).

Opening times: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am-6pm

The exhibition runs 28th November 2024 – 8th February 2025.

Sound and Vision: A night of art and m...

CERT presents Sound and Vision, an art exhibition taking place on 21st November, 2024, at Elevator Studios, Liverpool. Featuring artists like Kelly Irvine, Stuart Harrison, and Mark Wigan, the show explores the relationship between sound and visual art.

Sound and Vision explores the ways artists interpret the world of sound, its rhythms, moods, and emotions, through visual mediums. Using varied styles and approaches, the artists create visual experiences that evoke the essence of music, voice, and silence, transforming the intangible quality of sound into a rich visual landscape.

Johnny V, Community Engagement Marketing Manager at CERT and the exhibition’s curator, shared his vision for the event: “Sound and Vision isn’t just an art exhibition; it’s a sensory exploration. We wanted to give artists a platform to interpret what sound means to them and translate it into visuals that viewers can feel. This show is all about pushing boundaries and blending artistic senses in a new way.”

CERT strives to create opportunities for local communities, turning the vacant space at its music and tech hub Elevator Studios into an opportunity to support under-represented talents.

Howard Lord, Managing Director of CERT, comments on the event, saying, “Sound and Vision is part of our commitment to giving back to the community. By opening up spaces like Elevator Studios with free events that bring local people together, we’re not only showcasing incredible talent from the region, we’re also contributing to meaningful causes that matter in our communities.”

All the donations from the exhibition will benefit Music in Mind’s Voices of Hope and Peace project, an initiative dedicated to sharing the experiences of Ukrainian communities displaced by conflict and now living across the North West. Their stories will culminate in a multimedia performance by Ukrainian musicians and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, streaming across Britain and internationally on February 24, 2025, the third anniversary of Ukraine’s invasion, to share messages of resilience and hope.

CERT invites the public to join Sound and Vision at Elevator Studios for a night of art that celebrates Liverpool’s creative spirit while supporting a project that honours the strength of displaced communities.

The event tickets are FREE via Eventbrite, but donations to the charity are strongly encouraged. Please visit CERT’s Sound and Vision Fundraising Page to contribute.

Southport Contemporary Arts Members’...

A seasonal sack full of artwork will soon be gracing the walls of the ArtHouse in Eastbank Street as part of Southport Contemporary Arts Members’ Christmas Exhibition.

This eagerly anticipated show has established itself as a key event in the region’s arts calendar and provides an opportunity for savvy shoppers to snap up unique gifts from an eclectic mix of local creatives keen to reveal their latest artworks.

Norrie Beswick Calvert, one of the Southport Contemporary Arts directors, enthusiastically points out that: “The ‘SCA Christmas Collection’ represents over 30 different artists and makers and is always an exciting mix of hand produced pieces that our members have been busy creating. Imbued with the love and passion they have for making unique items, each piece has real integrity.”

She adds: “Christmas is a lovely time to buy something that bit different, beautiful and useful and visitors are sure to find something just right for that special person. By shopping locally for locally made things, you are not only gifting someone something they can’t find elsewhere, but also, supporting our community economically, ethically and sustainably.”

Originally from Hull, local artist, Henrietta Ackah Joyce, will be showing a range of festive items from her current portfolio including some more examples of her ‘fluid art’ that proved such a success with visitors at her solo show at the ArtHouse earlier this year. She explains: “This technique involves the use of a pouring medium mixed with acrylic paint or mica pigments or inks. The acrylic paints react with each other when combined to make interesting and visually organic motifs.“

Henrietta will be featuring examples of her decorative ‘fluid’ art on glassware and the face of a wall clock.

Also on show will be the tactile work of Southport based artist, Serah Stringer Grech, who’s love of rhythm and pattern will be well to the fore in the artwork for sale: “I enjoy exploring the intersection of the natural with the manufactured. My work tends to vary immensely in the ways they are experienced and through which senses they are enjoyed. For this show I have used varied materials, from pressed flowers, gold leaf and shells to ceramics.”

With his own personal take on ceramic art, self-taught Southport potter, Mervyn Thomas, will also be presenting more of his own unique creations: “The dishes are pressed out of porcelain clay using old Indian wood blocks previously used for block printing textiles. I utilise the texture and a variety of glazes to produce the abstract decoration. The small bowls, decorated with stamped and extruded motifs, were made to encourage me to have smaller portions at breakfast!”

Also on show will be watercolours from Angela Birchall, who spent her formative years in Central Africa where she admits to playing more with big cats than she did domesticated felines and a personal selection of framed prints taken from professional Ainsdale artist, Neil Prior’s original oil paintings.

Guaranteed to provide more than a sprinkle of Christmas magic, this latest showing by members of SCA is certainly not one to be missed.

This year’s Members’ Christmas Exhibition will be on display at the ArtHouse, Eastbank Street, Southport from 19th November – 24th December 2024. The gallery is open Tuesday – Friday 10.00-15.00. Saturday 11.00-16.00.

Sweet: The Taveners Story

Mojos, Traffic Light lollipops, the Candy Queen contest and annual picnics were all part of everyday life at the Liverpool confectionary company Taveners.

Discover the history of this beloved local company in their display. Founded in 1885 Taveners originally produced pickles and sauces but quickly became famous for its boiled sweets sold in glass jars.

By 1931 they had created the original chocolate Eclair and other classics like Bovril Caramels and Fruit Drops. Even Mickey Mouse and Liverpool Football Club legends Emlyn Hughes and John Toshack visited the factory to promote the brand!

The annual staff picnic, with seaside trips and the Candy Queen contest, was a highlight for employees. This display at the Museum of Liverpool showcases Taveners’ remarkable legacy.

Gingerbread Party People Trail

Blue Room artists have created a mischievous troupe of gingerbread characters inspired by Kayleigh Murray’s Gingerbread Party design for LUSH’s festive gift collection.

Pick up a free trail sheet from Children’s Corner and visit their garden to see how many you can spot.

From Sat 30 Nov
Open 11am-5pm, Tue-Sun
Free entry

The Year That Was

The Year That Was is an end of year celebration of the exhibitions and public artworks shown at the Bluecoat in 2024. The exhibition features limited edition prints, posters and original artworks from our gallery programme and cultural legacies programme. Throughout December, the Bluecoat will transform into a space where visitors can not only see art but buy it to enjoy in their homes or gift to friends and family.

Tue 3 – Sat 21 Dec, 11am-5pm

Their main display features artists such as Michelle Williams-Gamaker, Roxy Topia and Paddy Gould, Babak Ganjei, Tess Gilmartin, Joshua Clague and more. Our end of year display is also an opportunity to reflect back on a year that has explored who artists are, how the future will be shaped, and how we might connect with our histories.

Each weekend of December galleries will be transformed into a bustling marketplace, beginning with Bluecoat Art Fair which will host stalls from Bluecoat’s creative community, print studio members and beyond. Later in the month, Bloom Makers Market and still Out-of-Print book fair will bring their fairs to the space.

Free entry.

Event type: Exhibition