Past exhibitions

This fascinating exhibition looks at a dazzling array of women’s accessories that helped to add a touch of sparkle to fashionable outfits. The items on display range from when Queen Victoria was a girl up to the outbreak of the Second World War.

All of the 60 bags, shoes, hats, gloves and other accessories are from National Museums Liverpool's collections and many have never displayed before.

Find out more about The Finishing Touch: women’s accessories, 1830-1940

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© Ian Berry/Magnum Photos (detail)

A powerful touring exhibition from Magnum Photos of some of the most dramatic and iconic moments over 40 years of South Africa’s history, captured by photojournalist Ian Berry.

Berry made his reputation as a photojournalist in South Africa in the 1960s and has since returned to document some of South Africa’s most significant moments. These have included the collapse of apartheid, the rise and fall of Nelson Mandela and the development of right-wing white group AWB, led by the infamous Eugene Terre Blanche.

Find out more about Living Apart: photographs of apartheid by Ian Berry

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A unique display of glass dresses and barbed wire corsets in the Craft and Design Gallery by contemporary artist, Diana Dias-Leão. Through this collection of inspirational dresses, the artist explores issues around beauty and body image.

Find out more about Dare To Wear: Glass Dresses by Diana Dias-Leão

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Detail of: Vincent van Gogh, 'The Oise at Auvers' © Tate, London, 2011

‘Art in Revolution: Liverpool 1911’ celebrated a ground-breaking art exhibition that took place in Liverpool 100 years ago amidst great social unrest in the city. It featured works by van Gogh, Matisse, Gauguin and Signac and brought together a mixture of works from the 1911 show and those similar in style and period.

‘Art in Revolution: Liverpool 1911’ also highlighted the wider socio-political context of the 1911 exhibition and the art establishment’s reaction to it.

This exhibition was part of the Liverpool and the World Exhibition Series, part-funded by the European Union. It was also part of the City of Radicals programme.

Find out more about Art in Revolution: Liverpool 1911

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Copyright Paul Trevor

Photographer Paul Trevor came to Liverpool in 1975 as part of the 'Survival Programmes' project, which looked at inner city deprivation. Over a period of several months he recorded family life on the fringes of the city centre, concentrating in Granby and Everton. Among the terraced streets and high rise flats, Paul captured images of a community defiant and proud despite a backdrop of mass unemployment and poverty. This exhibition was the first time that many of those photos had been shown.

Are you in one of Paul's photos? If you are then he'd like to get back in touch and maybe take an up-to-date photo of you. Find out how to get involved on the exhibition website.

Find out more about Like you've never been away

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The award-winning 'Eye for Colour' exhibition is back by popular demand!

Visit the museum to immerse yourself in the amazing world of colour through hands-on interactives. You can experience the Mood Room and Colour Food Cafe, create your own virtual masterpiece with The Art Machine or create a Flashy Fish using your own colour scheme.

From science to art, from the natural world to human culture and language, Eye for Colour demonstrates how colour brings our planet to life. This fascinating exhibition is a real eye-opener for all the family!

Find out more about Eye for Colour

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Stephanie George, Haiti. Copyright Pete Pattison.

Home alone, invisible to society and lacking legal protection, domestic workers are among the most exploited and abused workers in the world. Many are in slavery. International action is needed to give them legal protection and end the abuse.

Home alone: end domestic slavery explored some of the issues faced by domestic workers around the globe and the continuing fight to promote workers’ rights. It was organised by the International Slavery Museum and Anti Slavery International.

This was the first exhibition in the museum's Campaign Zone - an exhibitions and community space that aims to shed light on the legacies of transatlantic slavery and to raise awareness of the modern forms of slavery existing in the world today.

Find out more about Home alone: end domestic slavery

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Wael Shawky is one of Egypt’s most prominent contemporary artists, creating film, animation, drawings and sculptural installations. In his series of works 'Cabaret Crusades' he re-tells the story of the crusade, often blurring the distinction between good and evil, and between aggressors and victims. What at first sight appear like charming and harmless images and objects, soon reveal a darker side.

Part of Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival 2011.

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© STOP THE TRAFFIK

An exhibition that highlighted the ongoing struggle to combat human trafficking around the world, through the experiences of people whose lives have been affected by this modern day slave trade.

Today millions of men, women, and children are being tricked or transported into slavery across the globe. It is the fastest growing form of organised crime and one of the largest money earners for criminals.

It’s not just someone else, somewhere else. It’s happening right here, right now, across the UK.

This exhibition was put together by the international coalition STOP THE TRAFFIK in partnership with the International Slavery Museum.

Find out more about Trafficked

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An installation from David Jacques, the winner of the Liverpool Art Prize 2010. The artist's work is inspired by the history of trade union banners and the entrepreneur George Tutil, whose workshop dominated banner production in the 19th century. The work represents items from a fictional subversive banner workshop discovered in an abandoned flat in Irlam House, a tower block in Bootle.

Part of 'City of Radicals' a city wide programme of events commemorating the 1911 General Transport Strike in Liverpool.

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© David Lewis family interests

'A Collector’s Eye: Cranach to Pissarro' will include five centuries of art and 60 works ranging from tender 15th-century devotional images to 19th-century French Impressionist landscapes. Old Master artists Rubens, El Greco, Delacroix and Cranach are included alongside Impressionists such as Pissarro and Sisley.

The exhibition features works from the Schorr Collection assembled by private collector David J. Lewis for his family interests. As well as being an exhibition of great breadth and depth of style and time periods, it is also a story of how a collection grows and develops, and how the taste of the collector changes and diversifies.

Image: Detail of 'Battle of the Amazons' by Rubens

Find out more about A Collector's Eye: Cranach to Pissarro

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A little DNA can make a big difference! This touring exhibition from At-Bristol will help you get to grips with the latest issues in genetics and genomic research. Looking at subjects such as identity, health and evolution, 'Inside DNA' will feature interactive exhibits that offer a fascinating insight into cutting edge science. You will be able to tell us your views in the Dialogue Zone and the News and Views pods will give access to the latest news on genomic research.

This exhibition was developed on behalf of the Association for Science & Discovery Centres.

Find out more about Inside DNA

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After Guido Reni, 'Head of a Young Man', drawn about 1600.

Featuring 31 works from the Old Master collections of the Lady Lever and Walker Art Galleries, this exhibition explores why artists have drawn over the centuries. Some used drawing as a warm-up exercise to loosen the wrists before starting a painting or sculpture, while others used drawing as part of the creative process.

Artists in the exhibition include Luca Signorelli, Giorgio Vasari (author of the Renaissance classic Lives of the Artists), Guido Reni, Claude Lorraine and François Boucher. Fifteen of the works were bought in 1995 from the Weld Blundell Collection, formerly at Ince Blundell Hall, near Liverpool.

Find out more about Old Master Drawings: Guercino, Rubens, Tintoretto

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'Hitched, Wedding Clothes and Customs' will explore the history of marriage and the customs surrounding it, from Victorian times to the present day. While focusing on the changing styles in wedding dress during that time, the exhibition will also look at contemporary ceremonies such as same sex partnerships and pagan weddings.

About 20 outfits, including wedding dress from Liverpool's Jewish, Chinese and Traveller communities will be featured. The exhibition will show historic costume dating from1850, photographs, contemporary artefacts and personal histories.

This exhibition is available for tour. See the touring exhibitions page for further information.

Find out more about Hitched, Wedding Clothes and Customs

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‘From Past to Present’ is a collaborative display produced by the Walker Art Gallery and Hope University’s design students. Students will use objects from our ceramic, metalwork and textile collections to inspire them to produce an object of their own. Their final pieces will centre around three themes; commemoration, status and form/function. A small selection of the best pieces will be displayed in our Craft and Design gallery at the Walker, while all of the other pieces produced by the students will be displayed at The Cornerstone Gallery.

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Hauling the James Caird. Copyright: Royal Geographical Society

A landmark exhibition about an incredible real life tale of survival, the epic story of Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Endurance expedition.

The exhibition features about 150 compelling photographs of the expedition's ordeal taken by ship photographer Frank Hurley, who dove into frigid waters to retrieve his glass plate negatives from the sinking Endurance. The photographs, printed from the original negatives and Hurley's album of prints, are accompanied by gripping memoirs from the voyage.

Find out more about Endurance: Shackleton's Antarctic adventure

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Courtesy of David Munden/Popperfoto/Getty Images

An exhibition that explored the relationship between cricket, culture, class and politics and how it can be seen as a legacy of British imperialism and colonialism and, paradoxically, as a means of resistance against it.

Beyond the Boundary explored the story of enslavement and oppression of people from the African Diaspora globally, and their deep connections with cricket. Through photographs featuring cricketers such as Viv Richards, Paul Adams and Basil D’Oliveira, the exhibition celebrated contemporary players who, by playing within the boundary of the cricket pitch, broke the boundaries of racial apartheid.

Find out more about Beyond the Boundary

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A small selection of work by Ruth Ball; a well established designer enameller from Southport. Ruth is highly acclaimed for her innovation in enamel as well as her commitment to education work in this specialist area. The display focuses on the various methods of enamelling, demonstrating how traditional techniques can be used in a contemporary way. This includes a new painted piece of the Walker Art Gallery which will become part of the Decorative Art collection. ‘Enamelling’; a ‘how to’ book written by Ruth Ball, is also on sale in the Walker Art Gallery gift shop.

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Detail of 'Spectrum Jesus' by Prizewinner, Keith Coventry

A major exhibition of contemporary paintings, selected through open competition and one of the most illustrious events in the British art world. The exhibition, which was founded by the late Sir John Moores and continues to be supported by the Moores family, has a track record for spotting rising talent. The exhibition also forms a major part in the Liverpool Biennial, the only biennial of contemporary art in the UK.

In partnership with the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition Trust

Find out more about John Moores Painting Prize

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The former Museum of Liverpool Life closed in 2006 to allow construction to begin, so while the new Museum of Liverpool was under construction we toured some of its fantastic collections ‘on the road’ to different locations across the city and occasionally further afield.

Find out more about Museum of Liverpool on the road

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Detail from the 1987 winner, 'Cow Mutations' by Tim Head

A rare chance to see a selection of the prestigious competition's past winning art works together in one place.

Find out more about John Moores Prizewinners 1957-2006

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Courtesy of Cunard

This small exhibition takes a light hearted, sensitive look at life on board passenger and merchant ships at a time when homosexuality was illegal, and for gay men there were few places to be safe. Personal stories and mementoes give a glimpse of what life was like for gay men at sea.

Originally shown at the Merseyside Maritime Museum, this exhibition has since been on tour around the country. It is now back at the Maritime Museum as a permanent display.

This exhibition is available for tour. See the touring exhibitions page for further information.

Find out more about Hello Sailor! Gay life on the ocean wave

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Biscuits. Copyright Joel Penkman

An exhibition showcasing the best artworks from the open exhibitions held throughout 2010 in the Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens and Halton boroughs.

This exhibition has been developed by galleries outside Liverpool (a group of arts development and gallery officers from the five boroughs).

Find out more about Art Merseywide - the best of the open exhibitions

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paper drop (London), 2008

An exhibition featuring nine photographic works by the Turner-prize winning artist, recently acquired by the Arts Council Collection, as well as a number of works from Tillmans’ own collection. The photographs are displayed as installations and interventions, curated by Tillmans, around the Walker Art Gallery.

The installations reflect the artist’s very personal response to the Walker Art Gallery’s distinguished permanent collection. The exhibition promises to reinterpret some of the gallery's best-known works as Tillmans invites us to consider the relationship between works and the locations in which they sit, rather than simply looking at an individual piece.

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Biodiversity, the variety of life on Earth, provides us with everything that we need to survive and thrive. We are causing the diversity of life on Earth to disappear very quickly and are damaging the Earth's life support systems.

This exhibition will help you learn more about biodiversity through interactive displays, which explain what it is, why it is important to us and how it is under threat.

'Biodiversity: what on Earth is it?' is part of World Museum’s Wild Wild World programme of events for the International Year of Biodiversity 2010.

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 'The Temple of a Thousand Bells' is an evocative and poignant work featuring a thousand hand-blown glass bells and polyphonic sound, filling the Oratory in St James' Cemetary, Liverpool.

Brazillian artist Laura Belém’s beautiful installation is a new commission for 'Touched', Liverpool Biennial’s International 10 exhibition. The Oratory is not normally open to the public, so this is an unusual opportunity for visitors to gain access to a wonderful heritage site. Sound will move between loudspeakers in the Grade I listed building, unveiling an ancient legend about a temple of a thousand bells that was built on an island. 

Location: This exhibition is NOT showing at the Walker Art Gallery. The Oratory is located next to Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral and is owned by National Museums Liverpool. It houses many pieces from the Walker Art Gallery's collections. Check Google Maps here for the location of the Oratory.

Opening hours: The Oratory will be open to the public Thursday - Sunday, 10am - 6pm until the Biennial officially opens on 18 September. From this date onwards it will open daily from 10am - 6pm, including Bank Holidays. Find out more about the Oratory here.

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We have a wealth of exciting art on display for you during the Biennial period from Saturday 18 September - 28 November 2010. With everything from full exhibtions of contemporary paintings to individual video installation pieces, you can explore a variety of mediums that make up contemporary art today.

All the following exhibtions and one-off pieces will be on show during the Biennial and some will continue beyond this period:

John Moores Painting Prize exhibition - Now, in its 53rd year the competition boasts a roll call of esteemed winners, including David Hockney and Peter Doig. Almost 3,000 entrants submitted work in the hope of winning the first prize of £25,000. Forty five works are included in the exhibition. More information here.

Wolfgang Tillmans - Look out for Tillmans' stunning photographic interventions around the gallery, showing the Turner Prize winning artist’s very personal response to the Walker Art Gallery’s distinguished permanent collection. More information here.

Marcus Coates: Journey to the Lower World - A unique video artwork featuring residents from a tower block awaiting demolition who watch with a mixture of anxiety, faith and good humour as Coates performs a shamanic ritual. More information here.

The Temple of a Thousand Bells by Laura Belém - Situated at The Oratory in St James' cemetary (not at the Walker Art Gallery), this evocative and poignant artwork features a thousand hand-blown glass bells and polyphonic sounds. More information here.

All exhibitions are free.

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Detail of 'Adam and Eve'

Albrecht Dürer was one of the most successful Renaissance artists and the greatest of all printmakers. Focussing on Dürer’s engravings, which spread his ideas and imagery across Europe, this exhibition revealed how influential his prints were by displaying his masterpieces alongside work by his contemporaries.

A loan exhibition from the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow.

Find out more about Dürer and Italy

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This exhibition shows a sample of work from 150 local people who have produced  around 200 embroidered tapestry panels. They feature iconic images of the city such as the Superlambananas, historic buildings and aspects of Liverpool with special meaning to the individual embroiderers.

The project is a continuation of Liverpool's 2008 Capital of Culture celebrations. TJ Morris Ltd, the company behind discount retailer Home Bargains, is working with the Merseyside Embroiderers’ Guild to use these panels to create a tapestry that will capture the spirit of Liverpool - its people, places and passions. The tapestry will be completed in 2011. 

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Discover the secret world of plants in Plantastic!, an exhibition for all the family.  Enter a magical realm with giant leafy canopies, massive seed pods, huge root systems and strange man-made trees. Forty exciting interactive displays help explain how we use plants in our daily life and show that plants are essential for the planet’s survival.

An exhibition co-produced by National Museums Liverpool, The Museon (Netherlands), Technopolis, the Flemish Science Centre (Belgium), Bruns (Netherlands) and Le Vaiseau (France). Touring details are available on the Plantastic! partners micro-site.

This exhibition is available for tour. See the touring exhibitions page for further information.

Find out more about Plantastic!

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This exhibition of photography taken in one of the UK's oldest and most iconic department stores revealed a world that had been hidden since the fifth floor was closed to the public in the early 1980s. Local photographer Stephen King beautifully captured the faded glamour of the hair salon, cafeteria and restaurant which were the epitome of style when they opened on Lewis's fifth floor in the 1950s.

Although the fifth floor remained empty from the 1980s until Lewis's itself finally closed in 2010, it was once a bustling hive of activity. The exhibition included a series of portraits of former employees from several decades, photographed in their original place of work, alongside reminiscences of life at Lewis's during that era. Their presence injected life into the spectral setting of the deserted floor.

Find out more about Lewis's fifth floor: a department story

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Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 'Divan Japonais', 1893.
Colour lithograph. © The Trustees of the British Museum.

An exhibition of evocative prints that portray theatrical life and studies of daily life, including Lautrec’s very personal observations of the lives of prostitutes. The exhibition includes depictions of the dancer Jane Avril and the actress Sarah Bernhardt, as well as Lautrec’s iconic poster 'La Goulue' at the Moulin Rouge.  

A British Museum tour.

Find out more about High Kicks & Low Life: Toulouse-Lautrec prints

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'The sense of sight' by Annie Louisa Swynnerton

Tracking the historical changes influencing women artists, this exhibition explores the similarities and differences between the status and careers of women working in different areas within the fine and decorative arts fields as reflected in the collections of the Walker Art Gallery.

A rich variety of work from both recent and contemporary painters and designers such as Paula Rego, Helen Chadwick, Louise Bourgeois and Alison Britton will be shown alongside historic works drawn from the Gallery’s collections. Includes paintings, prints, textiles and ceramics.

Find out more about The Rise of Women Artists

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Emma Rodgers is a Wirral based artist who has achieved international acclaim for her sculptures. This display focuses on a recent work called 'The Dancer'. This beautiful sculpture is shown alongside original preparatory sketches and items from the casting process. These objects explore how the idea for a work of art becomes reality.

This sculpture was commissioned and is now owned by Hugh Frost.

You can watch videos of Emma at work and talking about her practise here.

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Artist Lubaina Himid has hand-painted 30 Victorian jelly moulds to celebrate the ongoing contribution of the Black community to the city of Liverpool.  These are models of monuments which will probably never be built.  The ceramic forms are covered in brightly coloured patterns, texts and portraits.  Lubaina chose to use jelly moulds as they symbolise sugar, trade, commerce and pleasure.

This exhibition is part of 'Liverpool and the Black Atlantic', a city-wide series of exhibitions and events.

Find out more about Jelly Mould Pavilions

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A Manchu bride, Beijing 1871-2. ©The Wellcome Library

Merseyside Maritime Museum is the first UK venue to show this extensive exhibition of almost 150 photographs by the legendary Scottish photographer and travel writer John Thomson (1837-1921).

The photographs document his journeys through China from 1868 to 1872. Unlike most photographers working in the Far East at that time, Thomson was not a government official, nor a missionary. He was a professional photographer who was fascinated by China. Thomson possessed an open mind and was sensitive to the lives and surroundings of his subjects. He was able to capture people and street life in a most natural way. His photographs therefore form a unique archive documenting 19th century China's landscapes, architecture, people and customs.

Thomson's collection of 650 glass plate negatives is now housed in the Wellcome Library, London. This exhibition of prints from the collection was shown in venues across China in 2009 before coming to Liverpool.

Find out more about China through the lens of John Thomson 1868 - 1872

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Mary fishing c1915 © National Museums Liverpool
(by kind permission of Heather Price)

An exhibition of personal photographs giving a fascinating insight into the life and leisure time of a middle class family at the beginning of the 20th century.

The family in the photographs are the Urtons of Bebington on the Wirral – Jack, the keen amateur photographer, his wife Biddy, and their young daughters Mary and Lois. They show the family at home and in the garden, relaxing with relatives and friends. Days out to New Brighton and the Wirral coast are recorded, along with trips further afield including excursions into the Derbyshire countryside.

From these pictures we can also learn about the world of the amateur photographer in the early 1900s, and understand more about the significance of the still relatively new medium of photography during that time.

Find out more about An Edwardian Family Album

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'Rhianna Pop Art' by Jessica Williams

'Reclaim Your Space' was an exhibition of 71 works by talented young people, displayed at the Walker Art Gallery and World Museum. Themes including identity, diversity and environment are explored, giving a voice to topics and issues deemed relevant by local young people today.

Works in watercolour, acrylic, photography, collage, mixed media and recycled materials were featured, bringing an eclectic feel to the display.

Highlights included a colourful portrait of pop star Rihanna and a painting depicting the city’s top cultural attractions peppered with contruction and roadwork signs.

'Reclaim Your Space' gave emerging artists from local schools an extraordinary opportunity to exhibit in venues that house rare artefacts and world-class masterpieces.

The scheme was part of Liverpool City Region’s Find Your Talent pathfinder, a government initiative which aims to get young people into creative and cultural activities. 

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Aubrey Williams, 'Hymn to the Sun IV' (Olmec Maya series) 1984
© Estate of Aubrey Williams, All Rights Reserved DACS.

Aubrey Williams is an important modern artist whose paintings resist classification. They include influences and elements as diverse as American abstract painting, Amerindian and Mayan symbols, and the music of Shostakovich. Williams' work reflects the meeting of Atlantic and black Atlantic cultures in Europe, the Caribbean, North America and the Americas.

Presented in collaboration with October Gallery, London and the Aubrey Williams Estate. This exhibition was also part of 'Liverpool and the Black Atlantic', a city-wide series of exhibitions and events.

Find out more about Aubrey Williams: Atlantic Fire

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A small exhibition, which showcased some of the highlights of the Tinne Collection of clothing worn by a Liverpool lady, Emily Tinne, and her six children between about 1910 and 1940.

The collection was originally the focus of the exhibition A Passion for Fashion, held at the Walker Art Gallery in 2006. 'A Sweet Life' was partly based on recently discovered letters between the family that gave fascinating new insights into the Tinne family's lifestyle, including life as a family doctor, the challenge of dressing six small children, wrangles with the servants and, of course, Emily Tinne's love of shopping.

Together with family photographs these helped to bring a long-vanished part of Liverpool's past back to life.

Find out more about A Sweet Life: fashion in a Liverpool sugar merchant's family

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© John Ferguson

An exhibition of portrait photographs by John Ferguson celebrating the contribution that Black people have made to British culture and public life over the last few decades.

Find out more about Black Britannia

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Copyright Stephen Shakeshaft/Liverpool Daily Post and Echo

Liverpool Daily Post and Echo photographer Stephen Shakeshaft has been capturing the lives of local people since the 1960s. This exhibition featured an engaging selection of his portraits and candid shots of the people of Liverpool.

Find out more about Liverpool People by Stephen Shakeshaft

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Bridget Riley, 'Ecclesia' 1985. Courtesy Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London.

Flashback was the first in a new series of monographic exhibitions from the Arts Council Collection; each exhibition brought together outstanding early works by high profile British artists, and set them against major recent works borrowed from the artists themselves.

The series launched at the Walker Art Gallery with internationally renowned abstract painter Bridget Riley. It tracked her career from its sensational beginnings in the early 1960s to the ambitious and powerful works of recent years.

Find out more about Bridget Riley Flashback

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Inspired by Liverpool’s significant contribution to popular music, The Beat Goes On showcased Merseyside’s vibrant music scenes that have played a major part in the city’s life over the past 60 years. The first exhibition of its kind, it brought together material from record companies, institutions and private collectors.

Find out more about The Beat Goes On

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Traditionally crafted quilt

To celebrate the Guinness Liverpool Irish Festival 2009, we hosted this beautiful exhibition of textiles, brought together by curator Roberta Bacic. The pieces were created by a variety of community groups and individuals, who have used their craft to express their thoughts and feelings.

The exhibition comprised a number of traditionally crafted quilts from Ireland and England, covering topics such as community, daily life and family. Some of these pieces were created by women directly affected during the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland and demonstrate both their feelings of loss and their hope for peace within their community.

The exhibition also contained a selection of arpilleras (pronounced “ar-pee-air-ahs”); three-dimensional appliqué textiles from Latin America. The pieces that were displayed were from Chile and Peru, with most of the Chilean pieces coming from the times of the country’s dictatorship (1973 - 1990.) Many of these textiles depicted the experiences of people living during that difficult time and reflect their determination and courage.

For an extensive archive on this subject, visit www.cain.ulst.ac.uk/quilts

Photos by Colin Peck and Martin Melaugh

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This major exhibition took visitors on a journey of discovery through 800 years of Liverpool history.

The displays told the story of the city's changing fortunes, from medieval 'Lyverpoole' to 21st century 'Livercool', the European Capital of Culture.

Find out more about Magical History Tour

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Bernard Meninsky, The Bathers © National Museum Liverpool

'New Radicals: From Sickert to Freud' focused on the Walker Art Gallery’s impressive collection of early 20th century British masterpieces. The exhibition included responses to Impressionism and works by members of groups such as the Camden Town and London Group, through to independent figures including Ceri Richards, L.S. Lowry, Cecil Collins and Stanley Spencer. The display explored the development of art in Britain from the start of the 20th century to the period just after the Second World War, looking at the stories behind these unique works of art. 

Find out more about New Radicals: From Sickert to Freud

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'The Doorway' © The Hunterian Museum & Art Gallery, University of Glasgow

James McNeill Whistler was one of the great masters of etching. This fascinating exhibition, drawn from the University of Glasgow's world-famous Whistler collection, explored the artist's creative processes, from the unmarked copper plate to finished print. 'The Gentle Art of Making Etchings' provided an illuminating picture of Whistler and his distinctive technique.

A loan exhibition from the Hunterian Museum & Art Gallery, University of Glasgow.

Find out more about Whistler: The Gentle Art of Making Etchings

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Clubbers at Kirklands, 1981 © Francesco Mellina

Music and fashion photographed by Francesco Mellina, Liverpool, 1978-82

An exhibition of previously unseen pictures recording the many different fashion scenes in Liverpool clubland during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Individuality and self-expression, through dress and musical innovation, was the order of the day during this pivotal period in British popular culture. In the aftermath of punk and before multi-national brands took over the high street, local styles included New Wave, New Romantic and Rockabilly.

Photographer Francesco Mellina trained at Liverpool Art School and was well known on the Liverpool club scene at the time. After managing Dead or Alive he developed a career as a rock photographer, capturing some of the most iconic bands of the period.

Find out more about Sound and Vision

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Audrey Hepburn © Cecil Beaton Archive, Sothebys London / Collection National Portrait Gallery, London

This major restrospective exhibition brought together captivating images from Cecil Beaton, one of the most celebrated photographers of the twentieth century. Renowned for his images of elegance, glamour and style, Beaton's work has inspired many famous photographers including David Bailey and Mario Testino. The exhibition covered five decades of Beaton's career capturing 50 years of fashion, art and celebrity. Highlights included portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Onassis, Audrey Hepburn, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles.

Exhibition organised by the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Find out more about Cecil Beaton: Portraits

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This small exhibition takes a light hearted, sensitive look at life on board passenger and merchant ships at a time when homosexuality was illegal, and for gay men there were few places to be safe. Personal stories and mementoes give a glimpse of what life was like for gay men at sea.

Find out more about Hello Sailor! Gay life on the ocean wave

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Taking her inspiration from traditional forms of Islamic art and architecture, Cassell juxtaposes established styles with a more modernist approach, creating new and surprising forms. Her main material is heavily grogged clay that allows her to work on a large scale and utilise thick surfaces to carve patterns to the desired depth. This approach provides her with the tools to create the compelling drama and playful dynamism that characterises her work. Halima Cassell was born in Pakistan in 1975, brought up in Manchester and is now living in Blackburn, Lancashire. She exhibits internationally and was selected to exhibit at Parcours Ceramique Carougeois 2009 Biennial in Switzerland.

This exhibition was part of the Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival.

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'Stop Using Cars!' © Lara Poroardottir, Shoot Nations

An exhibition of photographs taken by young people as part of the Shoot Nations global photographic competition. The images capture the impact of our changing environment, particularly the effects of global warming and intensive farming.

Find out more about Shoot Nations

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Showcase was an exhibition of A-level art students’ work, created as part of the Find Your Talent initiative. Young people from Sutton Sports College, All Saints Catholic High School and North Liverpool Academy were given the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see their work exhibited at the Walker.

Each school  created art work with different themes and in different mediums. Sutton Sports College explored the theme of sanctuary, All Saints Catholic High School worked with artists in residence and North Liverpool Academy produced a series of stunning digital images.

The diversity in their artistic approaches and influences provided a broad range of art work on display, including drawings, paintings, photographs and sculpture.

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A science exhibition showing how Darwin’s ideas are relevant today and how they have influenced learning and research, including Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection.

Exhibition created by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council on behalf of the Research Councils UK.

Find out more about Darwin Today

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Photograph courtesy of Rudolph Murray

A small display of videos and images exploring the lives and experiences of individuals from the Black communities within Liverpool and their relationships with an ever-changing city.

Find out more about My life, my words

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French Impressionists gave a rare opportunity for visitors to see works usually only on display in Sweden’s capital. Works by Renoir, Monet, Degas and Rodin were amongst some of the artists featured in this exhibition of 13 treasured works. There were pieces from a selection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist pieces from the Walker Art Gallery collection and from Nationalmuseum Stockholm.

This small but exceptional exhibition, included Monet’s 'Break-up of ice on the Seine' and Renoir’s 'Young Parisian Lady' along with bronze sculptures by Rodin and Degas. It was an intimate study of the artists’ innate abilities to capture colour, light and movement in a style that is still much admired amongst today’s audiences.

The exhibition was a result of a collaboration between National Museums Liverpool and Nationalmuseum Stockholm.

Find out more about French Impressionists

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Photograph by Ibrahim Rahmin and Ian Burns.

Inspired by Fashion V Sport, the striking images from Liverpool street fashion explored current fashion trends among young people today. It was made up of two exhibitions by students from Liverpool Community College. 

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'George Always I', Maggi Hambling (2007/2008), courtesy of The Ivy

Liverpool's George Melly - jazz performer, surrealist, comic, raconteur, critic and author - was captured in this exhibition of portraits by his great friend, the distinguished contemporary artist Maggi Hambling.

The exotic nature of her subject inspired a rich, compelling celebration in works that were shown together for the first time at the Walker Art Gallery, including ink drawings from life, oil paintings executed during his final days and a series of portraits painted after his death from memory and imagination.

Find out more about George always - portraits of George Melly by Maggi Hambling

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Dashing Tweeds Cycle Suit © Guy Hills/Victoria and Albert Museum London

This stylish exhibition on tour from London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, explored the relationship between contemporary fashion and global sportswear brands over the last 20 years. Divided into four sections, Dare, Display, Play and Desire, the exhibition guided visitors through a range of styles, outfits and objects to reveal the factors which interlink fashion and sport.

Around 50 outfits and 120 objects were on display, including contemporary sportswear, streetwear, accessories and shoes. 'Fashion V Sport' showed how designers such as Dries van Noten and Vivienne Westwood reworked original sportswear staples such as the grey jersey tracksuit, redefining them as high-end must-have fashion items.

Find out more about Fashion V Sport

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Image copyright Lode Saidan 2007

This spectacular UEFA football exhibition was on at World Museum Liverpool. From the classic era of the 1950s to the modern age of global superstars, Europe’s love affair with the beautiful game was explored.

European culture was examined from a footballing perspective. Topics such as solidarity, success, participation, celebration, racism and integration were all tackled. 

Visitors saw player memorabilia from the National Football Museum - the shirts, medals and trophies of great European players such as Phil Neal, George Best, Ferenc Puskas, Franz Beckenbauer, Bobby Moore, Stanley Matthews and Petr Cech. They discovered the city’s own part in this European tale and saw key items from the Everton Collection and from the Liverpool FC Museum, plus glorious UEFA trophies - the Champions League trophy and UEFA Cup.

Visitors had a ball with our interactive displays, and mixed their own football highlights into a video clip and set it to a soundtrack, or rose to the challenge with our multimedia quiz.

Players and managers, legends and fans, friends and foes - we’re all part of the extended European family of football which was celebrated at World Museum Liverpool. Only a Game?

Only a Game? was a collaborative project between UEFA, The National Football Museum, The North West Development Agency and National Museums Liverpool and was UEFA’s contribution to Liverpool 08.

Find out more about Only A Game?

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Philip Jones Griffiths/Magnum Photos. Courtesy of the Philip Jones Griffiths Foundation

This exhibition showcased the British work of Philip Jones Griffiths, one of the most celebrated war photographers of our time, who sadly died in 2008.

Born in North Wales, Philip studied pharmacy in Liverpool, a time that proved influential both to him personally and as a photographer. He later moved to London and became a freelance photographer for the Observer. Perhaps best known for his photographs of Vietnam which helped crystalise public misgivings about the war, his images also captured social and political upheaval in Britain from the 1950s to the 1970s.

One of the most respected photographers of his generation, Griffiths was made president of Magnum in 1980. His photographs have appeared in every major magazine in the world.

Find out more about Recollections: photographs of Philip Jones Griffiths

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The Botanic Garden was an installation created especially for the Walker. Artist Jyll Bradley constructed a 'virtual' Liverpool botanic garden using a series of large scale documentary style photographic images. Seen as a group they propose an idyllic garden, yet in reality this garden does not exist.

The work was a response to the artist’s year long exploration of Liverpool’s extraordinary botanic history. This 200 year history has always been strongly identified with William Roscoe, one of Liverpool’s best-loved figures who in 1803 founded the first Liverpool Botanic Garden.  The garden was Roscoe’s version of ‘elysium’ in Liverpool and in time led to the creation of two more botanic gardens in the city, both of which played an important role in Liverpool’s identity.

Find out more about The Botanic Garden

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'Unfolding' was an exhibition of art works created by artists Steve Rooney and Sue Williams in collaboration with designer, Damian Cruickshank.

The ‘interventions’ on display were a response to the work that Steve and Sue have undertaken over the past three years with former patients of the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Centre at Mossley Hill Hospital, part of the Merseycare NHS Trust

All of the works were made from paper based material, which was folded to form three dimensional shapes. Each of these sculptures use geometric design to investigate different facets of the conscious mind. The facets that they explored were: executive function, memory, creative self, social self and industrious self. The sculptures were made for different rooms in Sudley House and each piece of work was inspired by the way that room was originally used.

Included in the exhibition were a series of artworks created by participants at the Mossley Hill Brain Injury Rehabilitation Centre following their visits to Sudley House during 2008, as part of the ‘Making More Sense’ project.

Find out more about unfolding

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This projected display celebrated the museum's first year with a look at how the many visitors who have passed through its doors have responded to the thought-provoking displays inside.

Find out more about We are one

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Detail from 'Fontana', Peter McDonald, first prizewinner in John Moores 25

2008 marked the 50th year of this exhibition, which continues to be a major part of the Liverpool Biennial, a city-wide festival showcasing international contemporary art. The first prizewinner, Peter McDonald, was awarded a prize of £25,000 and visitors were able to vote for their favourite painting from the exhibition. The winner of this Visitors’ Choice Award was Julian Brain and he was awarded a prize of £2008.

Find out more about John Moores 25 Contemporary Painting Prize

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'Maybe in the sky' took a fresh look at time and space through the work of visual artists Lily Markiewicz and Anne Robinson. These two exciting video works were installed in the planetarium creating shifting orbits, bringing the far-away near, questioning vision and perception.

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A rare opportunity to see some of the highlights of the incredible collection of British drawings and watercolours at the Lady Lever Art Gallery. The delightful works on display included pieces by JMW Turner, David Cox, Peter de Wint, Edward Lear, Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. These illustrated the flowering of the British watercolour school in the 18th century and followed its development through the 19th to the early 20th century.

Through these works visitors could trace the development of William Hesketh Lever (1851-1925), the Bolton- born grocer’s son and wealthy soap manufacturer, as a notable collector of British drawings and watercolours. The exhibition also showcased the additions to the collection made by the Trustees of the Lady Lever Art Gallery after its founder’s death.

Find out more about Masterpiece watercolours and drawings

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For 2008, National Museums Liverpool commissioned celebrated artist Ben Johnson to create an iconic cityscape of Liverpool, the most ambitious of his distinguished panoramas to date.

This painting is now part of the permanent collection in the Walker Art Gallery.

Find out more about Ben Johnson's Liverpool Cityscape 2008 and the World Panorama Series

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'Man in a Blue Sweater' by Michael Kirby

Works from the 2008 Merseyside borough open exhibitions

We hosted this exhibition showcasing some of the best of Merseyside's contemporary artists ss part of the Capital of Culture celebrations. Fifty artists were represented from the open exhibitions held throughout the year in the Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens and Halton boroughs.

This exhibition was developed by galleries outside Liverpool (a grouping of the arts development and gallery officers from the five boroughs) and was supported by the Arts Council.

Find out more about Best of Merseyside

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This community exhibition was a collection of striking self-portraits created by the Young Learners Group at EMTAS, using a variety of collage and textile techniques.

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This thought provoking community exhibition, displayed in the World Cultures gallery, tells the stories of displaced womn and those living in conflict around the world.

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A ground-breaking experiment‚ which could unlock some of the biggest mysteries of the universe‚ was explored in 'BIG BANG! which celebrated the 'World’s Largest Physics Experiment'.

This exhibition enabled visitors to see the different stages of this unique experiment through a wide range of objects‚ video footage‚ images and interactives.

Find out more about BIG BANG!

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Some of Liverpool and Wirral’s lost Victorian and Edwardian mansions were shown in this stunning photographic exhibition. Twenty-five photographs by Harry Bedford Lemere (1864-1944) gave a rich insight into the houses of local merchants at the time, including the home of Lord Leverhulme, Thornton Manor.

This exhibition (and its previous incarnation at Lady Lever Art Gallery) was organised in collaboration with English Heritage (National Monuments Record).

Find out more about Merchant Palaces

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RESPECTacles was Liverpool's artistic response to the events of the Holocaust and other Nazi atrocities, in particular to the images of the mounds of spectacles discovered in Auschwitz Birkenau concentration camp on its liberation.

Find out more about RESPECTacles

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This visually exciting international exhibition included some of the great names of European and North American art including Frith, Manet, Monet, Van Gogh and Hopper.

With over one hundred works including paintings, drawings, prints and photographs covering a variety of themes, the exhibition celebrated the power and impact of the railway on artists - from its embryonic beginnings in the 19th century through the golden age of rail to the 20th century.

At the time, it was the only European showing of the exhibition, which was organised in collaboration with The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City.

Find out more about Art in the Age of Steam

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St George's Dock Building, 1935

Stunning photographs from the collection of Stewart Bale Ltd, a local family run photographic practice specialising in commercial and industrial photography.

Spanning a period of great change in the city from the 1920s to the 1970s, these photographs were taken to celebrate, promote and record great events, landmark buildings, cutting edge developments and city life. Monumental in scale and beautifully composed they reflect a Victorian city embracing modernity and the industrial 20th century.

Read more about Stewart Bale Ltd and see a selection of themed online exhibitions from the collection on this website.

Find out more about Metropolis - capturing modern Liverpool

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Steve Higginson and Tony Wailey, authors of Edgy Cities, working with local photographer John Lafferty created a series of ‘edgy’ visuals which try to represent Liverpool as a unique place and space.

Find out more about Edgy Cities, Take a Look on the Westside

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'Standing Stones by Terry Duffy' was a vibrant and challenging start to a series of exhibitions by the Liverpool born international artist in 2008. It formed part of his 'MONUMENTS' project, that were held at various venues across Liverpool during European Capital of Culture year.

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Still from 'Ascension', Rikke Lundgreen, 2007, inspired by 'The punishment of lust', Giovanni Segantini, 1891

For their project ‘Changing Places’ the artists Phil Sayers and Rikke Lundgreen made artworks which reinterpreted selected paintings and sculptures in the collections of the Walker and Lady Lever Art Galleries.

19th century images that depict women as passive, submissive objects of male desire are of particular interest to them. Other themes, including gender, identity, myths, ageing and the architecture and ‘power’ of the galleries are also a focus for their work. The artists seek to connect our everyday experiences with precedents from art historical sources.

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Still from 'Ascension', Rikke Lundgreen, 2007, inspired by 'The punishment of lust', Giovanni Segantini, 1891

For their project ‘Changing Places’ the artists Phil Sayers and Rikke Lundgreen made artworks which reinterpreted selected paintings and sculptures in the collections of the Walker and Lady Lever Art Galleries.

19th century images that depict women as passive, submissive objects of male desire are of particular interest to them. Other themes, including gender, identity, myths, ageing and the architecture and ‘power’ of the galleries are also a focus for their work. The artists seek to connect our everyday experiences with precedents from art historical sources.

Find out more about Changing Places

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An exhibition exploring the highly creative and experimental world of Victorian photography including images by some of the most famous names of the period: Julia Margaret Cameron, Lady Hawarden, Roger Fenton, Gustave Le Gray, Peter Emerson, Robert Howlett and BB Turner. The images record the people and places of a very different era; intense, haunting and romantic. Other images evoke the world of painting in their composition and style, with arresting landscapes.

The exhibition is a collaboration with the V&A, London.

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© University of Dundee

Recently rediscovered photographs of The Beatles on show in Liverpool for the first time in this exhibition - a must-see for fans of the fab four.

Michael Peto was one of the great photo journalists of the 1960s, with much of his work appearing in the Observer. These photographs of The Beatles, taken in 1965 around the time of Help! and Rubber Soul, demonstrate Peto’s unobtrusive approach, capturing his subjects in a relaxed, natural manner.

The pictures show The Beatles off guard and behind the scenes at a time when most professional photographers only had access to them at carefully managed photo-calls. No-one knows how Peto secured such unfettered access to the most famous group in the world, but these photos provide a fascinating insight into The Beatles at work and off duty.

This exhibition has been produced by the University of Dundee, the custodian of the Michael Peto photographic collection.

Find out more about Now these days are gone - The Beatles photographs of Michael Peto

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An exhibition of major works by Joseph Wright of Derby, one of the most significant British artists of the mid 18th century and the first major artist to make his career outside London.

The exhibition will focused on the period 1768-1771 when Wright worked in Liverpool, a dynamic time in the city’s development as it aspired to be a centre of artistic excellence.

Find out more about Joseph Wright of Derby in Liverpool

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This exhibition allowed you to immerse yourself in the amazing world of colour through hands-on interactives. You could experience the Mood Room and Colour Food Cafe, create your own virtual masterpiece with The Art Machine or create a Flashy Fish using your own colour scheme.

From science to art, from the natural world to human culture and language, Eye for Colour demonstrated how colour brings our planet to life. This fascinating exhibition was a real eye-opener for all the family!

Eye for Colour was produced by National Museums Liverpool for eTEC (the ecsite-uk travelling Exhibitions Consortium). eTEC is a consortium of At-Bristol, ecsite-uk, National Museums Liverpool, Magna and W5 together producing three interactive, travelling exhibitions funded by the Millenium Commission through a ReDiscover grant. www.ecsite-uk.net.

Eye for Colour opens at Le Vaisseau in Strasbourg on 22 Sept 09 to 29 August 2010.

This exhibition is available for tour. See the touring exhibitions page for further information.

Find out more about Eye for Colour

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A  display and online feature to mark the 25th anniversary of the sinking of MV Derbyshire, the biggest British registered merchant ship ever to have been lost at sea.

Find out more about The sinking of MV Derbyshire

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© Anthony Brown

Merseyside Maritime Museum hosted ten of the 100 mixed-media portraits that Liverpool artist Anthony Brown has displayed across the city throughout 2007. Brown’s work is a tribute to the many talented people the city has produced from musicians to writers, lawyers to artists. Employing a collage technique, he uses personal information on the subject such as birth and school certificates, family photographs and related news articles to form each image.

The display at the Maritime Museum included portraits of Sara Wilde, Joe Ankrah, Wai McWatt, Tom Simpson, Alan Bleasdale, Angela Heslop and Sue Wiliams as well as previously un-seen portraits of George Melly, Gareth Abbott and Bill Citrine.

Find out more about 100 heads thinking as one

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Menagerie - by Emily Stainer. Part of the Bound exhibition

'Menagerie' by Emily Stainer was part of Bound, a group exhibition between Open Eye Gallery, FACT, National Museums Liverpool and Tate Liverpool  that explored slavery from historical manifestations to modern-day bondage.  Menagerie could have been seen in contrasting and contradictory ways and uses cages that are copies of elaborate, ‘gilded’ birdcages belonging to the Victorian drawing room. But in their new configurations they were moved beyond the safe domain of the domestic environment. The caged items - stuffed birds and mechanised body pieces – suggested an atmosphere of brooding menace. The boxed theatres foregrounded the ‘doll’, trapped in a never-ending cycle of movement, forever impaled and captive. Menagerie was permeated by many historical allusions, but its major concern was with the hidden practices of human bondage that still exist today.

Find out more about Menagerie - by Emily Stainer. Part of the Bound exhibition

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We are pleased to present the first major British exhibition of Liverpool artist Peter Chang which includes jewellery, sculpture, objects and prints.

The extraordinary sculptural shapes of the objects made by Peter Chang are unique. He exploits the intrinsic qualities of plastic; its malleability and colour, adding depth and sensuality. This is the first time early and contemporary drawings, prints and sculptures are presented alongside his explorations into jewellery, objects and current sculptural activities showing a comprehensive overview of his work.

His drive to continually develop new ideas and techniques has earned him an international reputation, and his work is collected by individuals and museums all over the world. He is also the recipient of numerous National and International Awards, including the Jerwood Prize for the Applied Arts in 1995 and has recently been awarded a 2005-2007 Wingate Scholarship.

Find out more about Unnatural Selection: jewellery, objects and sculpture by Peter Chang

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Out of this World: The Art of Josh Kirby

This exhibition was the first retrospective of science fiction artist Josh Kirby. Born in Liverpool in 1928 and trained at Liverpool School of Art he began his career producing film posters, moving to book and cover art for magazines. Some of his more famous work includes the first cover of Ian Fleming’s Moonraker and the poster for Monty Python’s Life of Brian. He is best known for his cover illustrations of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.

The exhibition comprised around 150 works spanning the whole of his career such as artwork for book covers, for magazines, personal studies, large-scale oils, film posters, preparatory sketches. Selections from the Discworld series were included, but the exhibition also reached far beyond that to show visitors the full range of his output. It was packed with visions of weird worlds, fantastic and magical creatures, monsters, maidens and much more. The incredible detail, imaginiation and skill behind Josh's art was fully revealed.

Find out more about Out of this World: The art of Josh Kirby

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A special showing of the paintings, drawings and etchings of James Ensor (1860-1949) on loan from the Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent. Described as the most original Belgian artist of the 19th century, James Ensor painted around 1880-85 in a style fashionable amongst the modernists of the day.

Find out more about Masquerade: the work of James Ensor (1860-1949)

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© 1997-2005 Romuald Hazoumé. Photo: Benedict Johnson.

A contemporary art installation by the Benin artist Romuald Hazoumé exploring issues of slavery. The artwork, made from jerry cans designed as masks, mirrors the plan of the slave ship the Brookes and was accompanied by sound effects and audio-visual commentary. The display of La Bouche du Roi coincided with the opening of the International Slavery Museum in August 2007 and a series of events planned around the city's annual Slavery Remembrance Festival.

Find out more about La Bouche du Roi

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Animated Adventures captured the full animation process from storyboards to set design. Find out how the world’s top animators, including Wallace & Gromit creators, Aardman Animations, create their on screen characters and discover the art of cel painting, stop frame and CGI technology. All the industry’s secrets were revealed through a fun and engaging mix of hands-on exhibits and multi-media pods that guarantee to get everyone animated!

Find out more about Animated Adventures

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This half size surf boat was built for use in the celebrations marking Ghana’s independence from colonial rule in 1957. Ghana was formed from the former colonies of the Gold Coast and Togoland and became the first African country south of the Sahara to achieve independence.

The boat, which was raced by a crew representing Liverpool’s Elder Dempster Shipping Line in the 1957 celebrations, was on display in the entrance of the Maritime Museum to mark the 50th anniversary of Ghanaian independence.

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Photograph (detail) copyright Bernard Fallon

An exhibition of atmospheric, often humorous, images capturing the Liverpool streets and the characters that Bernard Fallon met on them during the 1960s and 70s. His photographs document the trip home that he frequently made at the time, from Liverpool Art School to Crosby, with diversions 'the long way' around the docks and derelict areas of Scotland Road.

Find out more about The Long Way Home - Bernard Fallon's Liverpool images

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Imagine you have been shipwrecked on a desert island! How would you survive and how would you escape? This imaginative interactive exhibition gave young visitors and their families the chance to find out for themselves the survival techniques, boat building and navigation skills needed to escape. 

There are still fun activities to try and a photo tour of the exhibition on the Shipwrecked website.

Find out more about Shipwrecked - can you escape the island?

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The music room, Thornton Manor, 1903 (detail). Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR (BL17551)

To celebrate Year of Heritage, some of Liverpool and Wirral’s lost Victorian and Edwardian mansions were shown in this stunning photographic exhibition. Twenty-five photographs by Harry Bedford Lemere (1864-1944) gave a rich insight into the houses of local merchants at the time, including the home of Lord Leverhulme himself, Thornton Manor.

This exhibition was organised in collaboration with English Heritage (National Monuments Record).

Find out more about Merchant Palaces

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Engraving depicting an enslaved woman, c1820, ref D/CR/12/4

25 March 2007 marked the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire.

To commemorates this bicentenary, the Maritime Archives and Library held a small display from their collections, including items relating to the trade, those who profited and suffered due to it, and its eventual abolition.

Highlights included letters to and from leading figures in the campaign against the slave trade, including William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson, as well as pamphlets and engravings produced as part of the campaign.

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LoveSport was an exciting new exhibition that celebrated the benefits of sport and encouraged everyone to get active! You were able to find out about the sporting body and mind, the latest sport technologies and its impact on performance. From learning about the science of sport to actively engaging in new and unusual activities, this exhibition provided a fun challenge for all the family, regardless of  fitness level. 

Find out more about LoveSport

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The stunning architectural model of Lutyens' design for Liverpool's catholic cathedral brings to life the story of an ambitious building that was never built. The model was displayed in this exhibition for the first time since the completion of a major 13 year conservation project to restore it, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The exhibition helped to interpret the model and its construction, as well as the background to Lutyens' commission.

Find out more about The cathedral that never was - Lutyens' design for Liverpool

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Doves and Dreams: The art of Frances Macdonald and J Herbert McNair

This is the first major exhibition devoted to the avant-garde art of Frances and J Herbert McNair, exploring their life and work in both Glasgow and Liverpool, featuring more than 80 pieces including watercolours, graphics, furniture, metalwork and decorative art. The exhibition will spotlight the achievements of these two remarkable artists: McNair, the innovator and inspirational teacher and his wife, Francis Macdonald, sister-in-law to Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who produced some of the most remarkable symbolist watercolours of the early 20th century. Exhibition organised by the Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow, in partnership with the Walker Art Gallery

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Image copyright Christian Aid/Leah Gordon

The Merseyside Maritime Museum was the first venue to display this original sculpture, representing the continuing struggle for freedom and human rights in Haiti.

The Freedom! sculpture, made out of recycled objects found in the dangerous slums of the capital, Port-au-Prince, was created by young Haitians and sculptors Eugène, Céleur and Guyodo from Atis Rezistans in collaboration with internationally renowned Haitian artist Mario Benjamin. It was commissioned by international development charity Christian Aid and National Museums Liverpool to mark 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade.

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A wonderfully colourful display of statement flags created by local school children around the theme of fair trade and what it means in Liverpool in 2007. Tibetan prayer flags provided the inspiration for this glorious display on the third floor.

This display, which was created in partnership with Liverpool World Centre and Liverpool John Moores University, ran for the duration of Fair Trade Fortnight. It was part of a larger project working with faiths from across the city.

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Insyde is a unique interactive installation created by multi-disciplinary design collective, Airside. The artwork is specially commissioned for the fourth Liverpool Biennial. The piece is designed specifically for the upper hall in the Walker and envelops the exterior and interior of a large, cubed space built within four existing neo-classical columns. On entering the space, visitors are transported to a fantasy world– a mixture of actual and virtual objects where the distinction between reality and fantasy is blurred. The world comprises a mixture of real world objects, wall projections and music. Fred Deakin, who is one half of dance act Lemon Jelly, has specially composed the music.

As the viewer immerses in the environment, they meet the animated inhabitants of the world. Creatures gradually emerge from the projections until they become clearly visible, reacting to motion detected by sensors built into the structure. But, the inhabitants are shy. Sudden movements can scare them away. They respond only to slow, gentle movement from individuals, encouraging viewer and inhabitant to come to an understanding, which in turn, allows for a scene to fully unfold.

Find out more about Insyde

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National Museums Liverpool together with John MooresUniversity is hosting the thought-provoking exhibition Cape Farewell: Art and Climate Change as part of the Liverpool Biennial. Cape Farewell came into being when artist David Buckland gathered together a group of artists to join climate scientists and educators onboard The Noorderlicht, a 46m schooner, bound for the High Arctic. To date there have been three expeditions enabling both the scientists and the artists to chart the effects of climate change in the region. The artists have created work inspired by their voyages, using a range of different media including sound, video, sculpture, photography and painting. At the National Conservation Centre you can see:

Stranded, Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey. A minke whale found off the coast of Skegness, is used in Stranded, a collaborative piece by Ackroyd and Harvey. Using a process of crystallisation the artists have covered the 6m long skeleton in a dazzling diamond-like frosting, suggesting the need to conserve these threatened animals. A video shows the retrieval of the mammal and how the artists created the final piece.

Nymark (Undiscovered Island). Alex Hartley was inspired by the discovery of a piece of Arctic land that was exposed for the first time as a direct result of climate change. The process of the discovery and Hartley’s attempt to claim and name the island are all documented in a stunning 8m long photographic montage.

Ice Texts, David Buckland. Haunting photographs of warning messages projected onto Arctic glaciers from the Noorderlicht schooner.

Gautier Deblonde’s photographs of Rachel Whiteread’s Embankment, her installation at Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall that was influenced by her experience of theArctic.

Find out more about Cape Farewell: The Art of Climate Change

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Objects of Desire is an exhibition with a difference. Visitors can view an ever-changing selection of beautiful objects, which are available to purchase.  This wonderful display showcases contemporary crafts by designers who work with ceramics, jewellery, glass, metal and textiles.

It is the first collaborative exhibition between National Museums Liverpool and the Bluecoat Display Centre, Liverpool.  It is also the first selling exhibition at the Lady Lever Art Gallery and a new venture for this venue which has a fascinating collection of historic decorative and fine art.

All the exhibitors are from or are based in the north of England, most of them currently exhibit and sell at the Bluecoat, in addition to many other galleries both nationally and internationally. Between them they have collected many prizes and awards for their creations.

Find out more about Objects of Desire

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Detail of model of developments on Liverpool's waterfront

A small display, organised by Liverpool Vision, about proposed developments around the Mann Island area of Liverpool's waterfront, with information on the new Museum of Liverpool and the British Waterways canal project

The display included a model of the new proposals and an audio visual presentaion with images of the new buildings together with a flythrough of the Museum of Liverpool.

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The John Moores competition produces Britain’s leading contemporary painting exhibition.  John Moores 24 coincides with the Liverpool Biennial and runs from 16 September to 26 November 2006. It promises to be as exciting and inspiring as ever with artists Tracey Emin, Sir Peter Blake on the jury, as well as curator Ann Bukantas and Head of Visual Arts at the British Council, Andrea Rose . 

Find out more about John Moores 24 exhibition of contemporary painting

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National Museums Liverpool together with John Moores University is hosting the thought-provoking exhibition Cape Farewell: Art and Climate Change as part of the Liverpool Biennial. Cape Farewell came into being when artist David Buckland gathered together a group of artists to join climate scientists and educators onboard The Noorderlicht, a 46m schooner, bound for the High Arctic. To date there have been three expeditions enabling both the scientists and the artists to chart the effects of climate change in the region. The artists have created work inspired by their voyages, using a range of different media including sound, video, sculpture, photography and painting. At the Walker you can see:

Hermaphrodite Polar Bear, Gary Hume – an enamel painting is inspired by the effects of pollution on the polar bear population.

80° 05’N 16°44’E; Ultima Thule; Fata Morgana, Nick Edwards – three video artworks inspired by Edwards’ watercolour sketches of the mysterious Arctic seascape displayed amongst the Walker’s Impressionist paintings.

Find out more about Cape Farewell: The Art of Climate Change

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Norman Parkinson: Portraits in Fashion

Norman Parkinson was a dazzling fashion photographer who worked on the British edition of Harper's Bazaar, as well as contributing to many publications such as Vogue, Queen, and Town & Country. His work was famous for its liveliness, spontaneity and humour, and for his creative use of outdoor locations. Born in 1913, Parkinson became a photographer's apprentice and at the age of 21 opened his own studio. By the end of his life he had become a household name, the recipient of a CBE, a photographer to the Royal Family, and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society. This sparkling collection demonstrates Parkinson's ability to capture the essence of the periods in which he worked, in a career that spanned seven decades.

Find out more about Norman Parkinson: Portraits in Fashion

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Liverpool’s famous dance halls are depicted in banners for this colourful community exhibition. The Grafton and The Liverpool Olympia have witnessed many eras of dance over the years. The flappers of the 1920s, the mop-tops of the 1960s and the punks of the late 1970s to early 1980s are some of the periods explored in the display. The banners – created by local youth and community groups - explore the cultural roots of families living around the Grafton and the Liverpool Olympia. They highlight a love of dancing as a link between four generations of residents, proving that present-day Grafton regulars are repeating history without realising it.

Dancing Not Football is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The community groups involved in this project are Vernon Sangster Community Centre, L6 Community Centre Streets Project, Edge Hill Youth Club, Central Youth Centre.

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You could experience the amazing world of colour through this hands-on interactive exhibition. Visitors were able to explire the Mood Room and Colour Food Cafe, create their own virtual masterpiece with The Art Machine or create a Flashy Fish.

From science to art, from the natural world to human culture and language, Eye for Colour demonstrated how colour brings our planet to life.

Eye for Colour was produced by National Museums Liverpool for eTEC (the ecsite-uk travelling Exhibitions Consortium). eTEC is a consortium of At-Bristol, ecsite-uk, National Museums Liverpool, Magna and W5 together producing three interactive, travelling exhibitions funded by the Millenium Commission through a ReDiscover grant. www.ecsite-uk.net.

This exhibition is available for tour. See the touring exhibitions page for further information.

Find out more about Eye for Colour: the rainbow revealed

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Romuald Hazoumé: ARTicle 14

Romuald Hazoumé explores signs, symbols and mythologies of West African culture. His works carry traditional and coded information, but they are also accessible to a wider public as aesthetic vehicles of a powerful history.

Hazoumé's art is steeped in cultural and personal experience. His themes are derived from the 'oracle' of life, which is to be found in ancient rock engravings between Nigeria, Benin and Ghana.

Find out more about Romuald Hazoumé: ARTicle 14

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Photograph copyright Victoria Spofforth

Street Life: Liverpool in Fashion, an unusual photography exhibition celebrating 'scouse' style, featured the work of North West photographers Mark McNulty and Victoria Spofforth. Their pictures documented the unique look of Liverpool fashion including subjects young and old.

Find out more about Street Life: Liverpool In Fashion

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The history of the Blue Funnel Line, the premier Liverpool shipping company trading to China for over a century, brought to life with posters, film, ship models and personalised items from the crew.

Find out more about Blue Funnel to China

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This exquisite costume exhibition gave an exclusive glimpse into what is probably the largest surviving collection of period clothing from one person's wardrobe in Britain. The exhibition told the story of Mrs Emily Tinne's passion for clothes and shopping. Among the 130 items on display were daywear, evening wear, coats, swimwear and accessories such as hats, shoes and jewellery, dating between 1910 and 1940, all formerly belonging to Mrs Tinne and her children. Together they provided an insight into a long-vanished part of Liverpool's past.

Find out more about A Passion for Fashion: A Liverpool Lady's Wardrobe

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Detail from 'Molly Longlegs' by George Stubbs

An exhibition celebrating the work of George Stubbs, Liverpool's greatest artist and the nation's best sporting artist. The display highlighted the Walker's own collection, with masterpieces such as 'Molly Longlegs' and 'The Lincolnshire Ox', as well as loans from Tate Britain and other private and public lenders. Featuring 26 pictures, the exhibition paid tribute to this magnificent painter, marking the bicentenary year of his death.

This exhibition was organised by the Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool, the Tate Britain, London and the Frick Collection, New York.

Find out more about George Stubbs: A Celebration

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From t-shirts to jeans, to fluffy towels and the sheets we sleep on, cotton is something we take for granted. But have you ever thought about where cotton comes from? That it's not just a plant but a commodity traded around the globe? Liverpool is a city built on cotton and the industry shaped the North West. This exhibition explores how cotton has been grown, used and traded and why a plant from the tropics has played such a significant role in local history.

As part of exhibition we have linked with the Jeans for Genes Campaign and will be displaying denim jackets and T-shirts signed by Jeans for Genes’ celebrity supporters. Visit www.jeansforgenes.com for more information.

Find out more about 100% Cotton

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This was the first ever exhibition revealing what life was like for people in Liverpool and the North West during the Roman period. The exhibition took visitors back in time, bringing them face to face with people who lived in the region nearly 2000 years ago. A full-size Romano-British farmhouse with realistic sounds and smells, plus artefacts, dioramas and models portrayed a vivid picture of daily life. 

North West England is well known for its Roman sites, from the great legionary fortress at Chester, forts at Manchester and Northwich, and civilian settlements such as Wilderspool, near Warrington. But until recently little was known of the native people who for generations farmed the land much as their ancestors had done. In this exhibition we showed how local people lived, worked and died in our region under Roman rule. It is only now that their story is beginning to emerge. Their homes and farms are difficult to find and it is only through the patient work of archaeologists, including the National Museums Liverpool Field Archaeology Unit, that we have been able to uncover traces of their lives. Some of the results of that work tell the story of the local native pople who were ‘Living with the Romans’.

Find out more about Living with the Romans

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Detail from 'The Murder' by Cézanne

Manchester Art Galleries and the Walker Art Gallery present two paintings on the theme of murder as part of their latest partnership project. Partners in Art aims to bring together significant works of art to people in the North West.

Sickert's gloomy and mysterious interior entitled, 'Jack The Ripper's Bedroom' from Manchester's collection has been paired with 'The Murder', a bleak early painting by Cézanne from the Walker.  The display is at Manchester Art Gallery until 5th February 2006, before coming to the Walker Art Gallery in March.

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