14 Exhibitions around Liverpool that you need to check out

Liverpool is well known for its thriving arts scene and rich cultural heritage.

There’s a diverse range of exhibitions around Liverpool that cater to every taste and interest. From world-class art galleries to unique interactive displays.

Take a look here at some of the incredible exhibitions you need to check out in the city.

Happiness! – Museum of Liverpool

Happiness! is an exhibition filled with fun and humour. Celebrating one of Liverpool’s iconic comedians, the exhibition charts the life and career of the legendary Sir Ken Dodd, and his connection to today’s comedic stars.

This exhibition highlights Ken Dodd the entertainer – comedian, performer, actor, and singer. Ken’s unique blend of whimsical, physical, surreal and theatrical humour transformed the UK’s comedy scene.

Using memorabilia from Ken Dodd’s personal archive, this show will explore Ken’s career and how his comedic approach continues to be used and adopted by some of the UK’s most well-known and emerging comedians.

Find out more here.

Liquid a Place 2021 – Tate Liverpool

Liquid a Place 2021 by Torkwase Dyson is inspired by the sailing route between Europe, West Africa and the Americas upon which millions of enslaved Africans lost their lives.

The curved edges of the sculptures echo the hull of a ship and have triangular voids within them that represent a gateway or shelter.

Shown in Tate Liverpool’s ground floor gallery, this artwork recalls the history of the water and docks which surround the gallery.

Find out more here.

Photie Man – Walker Art Gallery

‘Photie Man’ celebrates the internationally-acclaimed Irish artist Tom Wood, showcasing his iconic images of Liverpool and bringing together his work from across all decades, it will be the first major retrospective of Tom’s work in Liverpool.

Embraced locally as ‘photieman’, Wood has dedicated much of his career to the people and places of Liverpool and Merseyside to create an intimate, diverse and knowing portrait of the city and the surrounding area, and his pioneering photographs capture a definitive phase in the social and political history of the region. 

He is one of the most influential photographers working today.

Find out more here.

Return of the Gods – World Museum

Return of the Gods is an amazing new exhibition that’s on until early next year and, as Chrissy Partheni, curator of Classical Antiquities, explains, it’s more than just your average display.

The exhibition features a stunning collection of more than 100 sculptures and objects that have never been displayed together before.

Find out more here.

Flower Fairies – Lady Lever Art Gallery

Flower Fairies is an absolutely beautiful exhibition that’s a real treat for all ages, featuring the original illustrations of Cicely Mary Barker who created the famous Flower Fairies books.

Celebrating 100 years since the publication of her first book, Flower Fairies in the Spring, curators from NML collaborated closely with Penguin Ventures, which is part of publishers Penguin Random House UK, to present her work in a unique and magical way.

Find out more here.

Reimagining Black Futures – FACT Liverpool

Reimagining Black Futures, is a new commission from collaborators Sumuyya, Ni Maxine and Mia Thornton.

For Black History Month, we invited Liverpool and North West-based artists, curators, collectives, and creatives to share proposals for events that celebrate Black Futures and think about how they affect the here and now.

On Friday 13 October, Sumuyya, Ni, and Mia invite you to celebrate Black creativity and build connections across the Liverpool creative scene.

Find out more here.

The Beatles Story

The Beatles Story is the world’s largest permanent exhibition telling the story of the lives and times of The Beatles.

The Beatles Story takes visitors on an immersive journey through the story of the lives, times, culture and music of The Fab Four.

Key places like Abbey Road Studios, NEMS Record Store and The Cavern Club have been recreated so you can imagine what it was like decades ago, and you can see unique memorabilia in the flesh, from George Harrison’s first guitar to John Lennon’s last piano. 

Find out more here.

Epiphone 150th Anniversary – British Music Experience

This exhibition charts the history of the iconic Epiphone brand through the guitars of one of its most loyal artists, Noel Gallagher.

To mark the anniversary from a British perspective, this temporary exhibition will feature some of Noel Gallagher’s most treasured guitars.

Noel has loaned four of his private guitar collection for this exhibition, including his Epiphone Riviera with Bigsby from the Definitely Maybe album cover and his Epiphone Frontier FT110 used on the (What’s the Story) Morning Glory recording.

Find out more here.

Tony Phillips, Above Us Only Sky – The Bluecoat

Above Us Only Sky, is an art trail that began in 2021 and is being relaunched with a refreshed route, starting and ending at the Bluecoat.

Weaving through the Ropewalks district via the ‘Bombed Out Church’, the icon-like images trace the story of man-made flight, both its positive and the negative aspects. 

Find out more here.

Life Line: Photographs by Jonathan Cooper – Williamson Art Gallery & Museum

Life Line exhibits two photography series set along the West Kirby waterfront. Employing magical realism and unique printing techniques, Cooper’s photographs place their inhabitants in a dreamlike world.

Cooper began this series when the old West Kirby promenade still existed, and these photographs also track the development of the new flood defence wall.

Find out more here.

Artist of the Month – ArtHouse Southport

Two stalwarts of Southport Contemporary Arts will be sharing the spotlight as ‘Artist of the Month’ during October at the ArtHouse in Eastbank Street.

Linked by their appreciation of all things tactile, textile designer Jo Landy and ceramicist, Linda Smith, will be exhibiting distinctive examples of their craft.

This exclusive showing is certainly not one to be missed.  Jo and Linda’s work will go on display at the ArtHouse, Eastbank Street, Southport from 30^th September – 28^th October 2023.

Find out more here.

Linda Stein: Gender Scrambling – Victoria Gallery & Museum

Linda makes visual a world where men wear dresses and women wear armour so the lines of gender become blurred into androgyny.  She encourages the oppressed ‘other’ to be their own superheroes and fight their own battles.

Themes of protection and valour in the face of bullying and struggles for social justice are integral to her work.

Find out more here.

A Place of Our Own – Open Eye Gallery

A Place of Our Own is a group exhibition that brings together the local stories of people across Walton (North Liverpool), Prescot (Knowsley) and Chester town centre.

What connects these three projects is a pride in people’s memories and associations with each place, but also an acknowledgement of redevelopment and regeneration needed within each area.

Find out more about this exhibition here.

FACT Together – FACT Liverpool

FACT Together is an annual commissioning scheme set up to support early-career artists in the North of England to create new digital art!

This year, you can explore the works online as well as in the gallery. The physical display runs from 8 September – 26 November and is a focal point to engage with the works, as well as gain further insight into the artists’ practices.

Find out more here.

For more exhibitions around Liverpool take a look at our calendar HERE.