2015 in Review
Both the Gallery and our office will remain closed throughout the Christmas & New Year period.
The office will re-open Monday 4 January 2016
The Gallery will re-open Friday 15 January 2016
Thank you for all your support in 2015, we look forward to welcoming you in the New Year! Our full programme for 2016 will be announced in January, sign up to our e-newsletter and be the first to find out.
2015 in Review
In January Robert Heinecken: Lessons in Posing Subjects drew to a close. The exhibition focused on the Polaroids Heinecken took between 1976 and 1982 with a SX-70 camera. Curated by Devrim Bayar, the show was produced in partnership with Wiels (Brussels, Belgium) and Fri Art (Freiburg, Switserland).
Metamorphosis of Japan After the War reflected on the turbulent period that followed WWII, exhibiting over 100 black and white photographs by 11 leading post-war Japanese photographers, including Yasuhiro Ishimoto, Shomei Tomatsu, Eikoh Hosoe and Ken Domon. The exhibition was organised by The Japan Foundation. Photography critic Sean O’Hagan reviewed the exhibition and named the show one of the best in 2015.
In May, with the support of the Brian Mercer Charitable Trust, we presented the first of three annual exhibitions to show the most compelling work received through our on-going call for Exhibition Submissions, Open 1. Photographers Helen Marshall, Louis Quail, Deborah Kelly, Sonal Kantaria and Richard Ross presented work thematically grouped around ideas of social portraiture.
Also in May, internationally renowned photogeapher John Davies selected 70 prints from Open Eye Gallery’s extensive collection of over 16,000 photographs for Out of the Archive, which was exhibited at Kirkby Gallery. Together, the selected works illustrated a personal and collective expression of our local and national culture from the 1930s to the present day.
In July we said goodbye to Artistic Director Lorenzo Fusi and welcomed Executive Director Sarah Fisher to Open Eye Gallery’s team.
In September, supported by Homotopia and Dr. Martens we opened Zanele Muholi: VUKANI/RISE. Muholi’s work explores gender, race and sexuality, particularly in relation to South African society and political landscape. The exhibition at Open Eye Gallery was the first major presentation of Muholi’s work in the UK. You can watch video interviews Zanele Muholi on our YouTube channel.
In December, in collaboration with Curios Minds and SLiCE, we presented Curious Gallery: An Exhibition Designed by Children. The artworks were produced by students from Liverpool and the Wirral in response to a previous exhibition, Metamorphosis of Japan After the War, then developed through a series of workshops on writing and local post-war history. Read student Jess German’s experience of taking part in Curious Gallery on our blog.
Rounding off the year in style we hosted our first ever Festive Photo Fayre which included an independent photobook market, practical workshops, portrait sittings and an exhibition, Cascading Relevant Information, curated by local studio CBS!