Liverpool has an abundance of incredible art galleries and museums, showcasing some of the best local photography the city has to offer. Following is a list of places where you will find photography exhibitions, big and small, shining a light on all kinds of talent, from emerging artists to photography legends.

Open Eye Gallery

The Open Eye Gallery was established in 1977 and was one of the UK’s first dedicated photography galleries. It is located on the Liverpool Waterfront the Gallery is near RIBA North, the Museum of Liverpool, Tate Liverpool and the Albert Dock.

Current Exhibition: The gallery is currently showing ‘A Place of Our Own’, a socially engaged group exhibition, with photos and local stories of people from Walton, Prescot and Chester. On the exterior wall, ‘Reflections’ is a separate exhibition capturing the lives and experiences of communities across Cheshire during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The exhibition includes the work of 3 separate photographers and groups; Tony Mallon and participants from the Prescot Photography Club, Suzanne St Clare and Chester Traders, and Lucy Hunter and young people from Walton Youth and Community Project. Reflections includes work by Ciara Leeming, Tadhg Devlin and Sam Ivin.

The photography in this exhibition shows the diversity of people in these areas, their values and the value they add to the communities they belong to. It shows their varied self-expressions, their daily life, the work they do and the legacies they hope to leave behind. It portrays a sense of belonging to the places they call their own. The photographs in Reflections describe the lives of Gypsy and Traveller women and girls, unpaid carers and rural residents.

Dates and times: 29 September 2023 – 23 December 2023, Tuesday – Sunday, 10 am – 5 pm

Address: 19 Mann Island, Liverpool L3 1BP

Website: openeye.org.uk 

Walker Art Gallery

Established in 1877, the Walker Art Gallery has housed some of Liverpool’s oldest and most impressive art collections. It has shown a range of collections, from painting and sculpture, to video art and photography.

Current Exhibition: Apart from the permanent collection, the gallery is displaying ‘Photie Man: 50 Years of Tom Wood’, showcasing work spanning his career of 50 years. Many of the photos on display were taken in Liverpool, where he lived from 1978 to 2003.

The photos are all taken by Tom Wood, an Irish photographer and artist, exploring the medium of photography and the world around him. The documentary style of photography captures the life of people Tom encountered and built relationships with, set against the backdrop of social change. Tom emphasises his desire to make ‘interesting’ photographs, and illustrates the everyday in a special and intimate manner. The photos capture and collect memories of the people that make the places that Tom lived in.

Dates and times: 20 May 2023 – 7 January 2024, Tuesday – Sunday, 10 am – 5 pm (10 am – 4 pm, 6 November onwards)

Address: William Brown St, Liverpool L3 8EL

Website: liverpoolmuseums.org.uk

Museum of Liverpool

Opened in 2011, the Museum of Liverpool is on the waterfront and showcases the local history, geography and culture of Liverpool and its diverse and resourceful people have shaped it.

Current Exhibition: The small photography display in the Skylight Gallery is called ‘Liverpool through the Lens’, highlighting the diversity, resilience and strength of the people of Liverpool 8 amidst and after protests for racial equality and justice. Leroy Cooper, a Liverpool 8 resident, used his photography to educate people about Black history and culture, and used his art in an attempt to heal th wounds of slave trade.

The photographs in this display highlight the diverse people of Liverpool 8 and their lives, and attempt to change peoples’ perceptions of the area after the riots of 1981. Leroy used his art to fight systemic racism and make social commentary on people, social change and progress. His photography is the legacy he left to the city of Liverpool.

Dates and times: 1 April 2023 – 31 March 2024, Tuesday – Sunday, 10 am – 5 pm (10 am – 4 pm, 6 November onwards)

Address: Pier Head, Liverpool L3 1DG

Website: liverpoolmuseums.org.uk

Tate Liverpool

Tate Liverpool is an art gallery that houses modern and contemporary art. Tate Liverpool Albert Dock building is now temporarily closed while renovations take place, and the exhibitions moved to RIBA North.

The first exhibition in the Tate’s new home is called ‘Long Life, Low Energy: Designing for a Circular Economy’, which draws from RIBAs collection and considers how the design, construction, maintenance, and demolition of buildings is vital in the journey towards a global reduction of carbon emissions. The exhibition is from the Royal Institute of British Architects.

The exhibition includes photographs from a range of photographers like William Burn, Sam Lambert, Janet Hall, Tim Crocker, James Morris, Daniel Hopkinson and more. The photos complement the models, floor plans and construction of the buildings featured in the exhibition.

Dates and times: 27 October 2023 – 14 January 2024, Monday – Sunday, 10 am – 5.50 pm

Address: 21 Mann Island, Liverpool L3 1BP

Website: tate.org.uk

The Real Camera Co

The Real Camera Co is a camera shop in the city centre holding one of the largest and most varied stock of used photographic equipment in the UK. They also offer repair and maintenance services.

Current Exhibition: The gallery space has a collection of photographs called the ‘J.E. Marsh and Sons Collection’, taken locally. These were selected, edited, and restored by the Real Camera Co team, alongside the photographer’s grandson, Ian Marsh and printed and finished by Come Through Lab, Manchester.

Joseph Edward Marsh, born 1883, was a local press photographer who worked in the Liverpool area for the Daily Post, Liverpool Echo and freelance, in the early 20th century. He worked with his sons, Stuart Hardy Marsh and Lesley John Marsh, and together they established ‘J.E. Marsh and Sons’, a family photography business, in Hoylake after World War II.

The photographers covered historical local moments like World War II, Gandhi’s visit to Lancashire in the 1930s, and a Royal visit by King George VI in the 1940s. They also covered local people and places; the photographs in the selection include local photographs of Liverpool city, the Waterfront, New Brighton beach and North Wales. The Real Camera Co has prints of these photographs available in their shop.

Dates and times: The exhibition is on indefinitely as of now. Monday – Saturday, 9.30 am – 5 pm.

Address: 7 Hatton Garden, Liverpool L3 2FE

Website: realcamera.co.uk

Ropes and Twines

Ropes and Twines is a specialty coffee shop and wine bar in the Ropewalks area of Liverpool. In the shop, the Lightbox Gallery showcases photographic work exclusively developed using traditional film and darkroom techniques.

Current Exhibition: The current exhibition in the Lightbox Gallery is called ‘Going to the Sand: Inshore fishing around Morecambe Bay’ by Tessa Bunney.

Tessa Bunney is a Yorkshire based documentary photographer who photographs rural life, working closely with individuals and communities to investigate how the landscape is shaped by humans. The exhibition gives an insight into the work and lives of the Flookburgh fishermen, and the skills that have been passed down through generations of fishermen.

Dates and times: Sunday – Wednesday 10 am – 6 pm, Thursday 10 am – 9 pm, Friday & Saturday 10 am – 11 pm.

Address: 70 Bold St, Liverpool L1 4HR

Website: ropes-and-twines.co.uk/

Milap Fest – 92 Degrees

92 Degrees is a roastery and coffee shop founded in Liverpool, with more shops in Manchester, Leeds and Edinburgh.

Current exhibition: As part of the Indika Festival, the exhibition, called ‘The Other ‘Art-iste’’ showcases the beauty of Indian classical art and artists and the impactful work of the Sarvam Foundation, a unique arts trust that promotes performing arts in fresh and innovative ways.

Inni Singh is one of India’s leading art photographers, capturing the moods and movements of Indian classical artists in a way never seen before, making that which is often hidden appear at the forefront of his work. From grassroots work in rural India to working with legendary artists on the mainstage, the life-changing work of The Sarvam Foundation is showcased with stunning photographs by Inni Singh, featuring some of India’s most prominent artists.

Dates and times: 1 November 2023 – 12 November 2023, Monday – Sunday, 9 am – 6 pm

Address: 49 Jamaica Street, Liverpool L1 0AH

Website: milap.co.uk

The Hardmans’ House

The Hardmans’ House was both a photographic studio and home for E. Chambré Hardman and his wife Margaret. The majority of the house provided space for clients to wait, change their clothing and sit for photographs. Behind the scenes, the staff would be busy developing prints in the cellar and then preparing them to be sent to clients in the retouching room and mounting office.

The house has all of its 1950s furniture and equipment intact, and walking through it is like travelling back in time, with all of the Hardmans’ original possessions perfectly preserved to show what life was like for this talented couple.

Dates and times: Friday – Saturday, 11 am – 5 pm

Address: 59 Rodney Street, Liverpool L1 9ER

Website: nationaltrust.org.uk

The Hardmans’ House is currently closed and will reopen in Spring 2024.

Text: Aditi Shah