dot-art celebrates 20 years of championing local artists

Since 2006, dot-art has been at the heart of the Liverpool City Region’s cultural landscape, championing local artists and making art accessible to all.

To celebrate their 20th birthday in 2026, the social enterprise is planning a series of events and exhibitions, as well as reflecting on their impact over the past two decades.

February will see the launch of two exhibitions. At the dot-art space at INNSiDE hotel on Old Hall Street, “TWENTY” will showcase large scale work by twenty dot-art Member artists and open with an evening of drinks, nibbles and live music on Thursday 5^th February. One week later, on 12^th February, the dot-art Gallery will host the launch of “20×20”, another group show, this time focusing on smaller, more affordable works, with each piece measuring just 20x20cm. This pair of exhibitions allows dot-art to showcase as many of their talented artists as possible in this milestone year.

Another highlight is the launch of the dot-art Prize Draw, which will offer the chance to win original artwork worth over £1000 while raising money for their work with schools. Every quarter, the draw will feature a stunning new painting from a dot-art artist, which you could win for just £5 per entry. You’ll be supporting both dot-art’s community of brilliant visual artists, and Art Bytes, their national programme bringing creativity and confidence to young people in schools across England.

Enter the draw here (open until 15^th March).

dot-art’s small, dynamic team have achieved a lot in the past twenty years. From 2011 they were the first in the city to deliver regular art classes for working people at evenings and weekends, which ran for 14 years. They introduced an art rental service to the city’s businesses which operates successfully to this day. Shorter term projects include the dot-art Dark Room and the Liverpool Plinth, which gained international publicity. Liverpool Art Fair was started back in 2012 to give artists across the region a selling platform and has gone from strength to strength since moving to the Royal Liver Building in 2023. More recent highlights include the twelve Flower Streets murals, which transformed a neighbourhood in Kirkdale and won awards along the way, and the launch of Art Bytes, a national inter-school art programme based on the success of the dot-art Schools programme in our region since 2012.

Facts and figures:

600 artists given long term support
21,000 school children engaged
£5 million in social value for school children
30,000 hours of creative teaching delivered
68,000 visitors to Liverpool Art Fair
2300 artists shown at Liverpool Art Fair
100 public and corporate art projects
122 exhibitions of local artist’s work
54 studio spaces provided
750 works of art rented to businesses
16 regional and national awards won

Lucy Byrne, dot-art’s founder and Managing Director commented:

“I am incredibly proud and thankful to see dot-art reach this landmark anniversary. Reflecting on the past twenty years, I feel so privileged to have been able to build an organisation I am passionate about, that enriches people’s lives in many ways. Art brings people together, and none of this would have been possible without my fantastic team, past and present, and the many wonderful partners we collaborate with. This could only have been possible in Liverpool where creativity and culture part is part of our DNA. Imagine what we can achieve in the next twenty years!”

After two decades of nurturing creative talent, building confidence, and developing the local art market, dot-art remains committed to their founding belief: art is for everyone. From schoolchildren discovering their creative voice to businesses investing in local talent, from community groups creating murals to individuals finding their perfect artwork – dot-art continues to make visual art accessible, relevant, and life-changing.