2017: A cultural milestone for Liverpool – attractions guide

We’ve come to expect a hearty helping of top exhibitions and attractions as well as show-stopping events each year in Liverpool, but 2017 is truly shaping up to be a milestone. As a number of our culturally renowned city’s most popular and prominent venues prepare to mark big birthdays during the months ahead, we explore their key moments so far and take a look at the festivities in store.

Words by Natasha Young

300 years of Bluecoat

Bluecoat is not only the oldest building in Liverpool city centre but the oldest arts centre in the UK, so it’s no wonder a bumper bash is being lined up to recognise its 300 years in the city.

In a fitting 300-day long celebratory programme, the contemporary arts hub will nod to its history and look to the future with innovative works, rising artists and events for children.

A special ‘Public View’ display, opening on 4 February, will showcase work by 100 artists who have previously exhibited at the venue including Yoko Ono and previous Turner Prize winners Jeremy Deller and Mark Leckey.

> Related | Interview: Mark Leckey on his new show at the Walker Art Gallery

Such art world icons announced so far only scratch the surface of the long list of big names who have showcased at the gallery over the years though.

A 1911 Post-Impressionist exhibition is highlighted as one of Bluecoat’s key moments by artistic director Bryan Biggs, as it saw none other than Picasso and Matisse exhibit alongside Liverpool artists.

In a city now famed for its arts and cultural offering, Bluecoat has long been supporting the creative talent in the area and beyond.

“It has been an important resource for local artists, including visual artists, craft makers, musicians, dancers and writers,” says Bryan.

“Many of them had early support and encouragement, either presenting their work here or being based in one of our studios, which have been running since 1907.

“Artists from outside the city are regularly supported to create new work, with many going on to achieve a national profile such as future Turner Prize winner Jeremy Deller, whose seminal ‘Acid Brass’ was commissioned by Bluecoat in 1997.”

The anniversary year will also see more of the building’s history being brought to light with the help of the community, as the ambitious Heritage Lottery Funded ‘My Bluecoat’ project continues.

Fascinating discoveries have already been made since research for the initiative got underway, including details of the building’s designers finally being unearthed.

Engineer Thomas Steers and mason Thomas Litherland were revealed as the ‘architects’ behind the historic structure last September, solving a long-running mystery.

“This, and further research into who funded the old school building, has shown just how closely connected Bluecoat was to the mercantile maritime culture of the expanding port, further supporting our claim that the building represents the birth of modern Liverpool,” says Bryan.

Through the project, which will also host heritage events during 2017, archives relating to the building will be digitised and made public.

Other 300th anniversary highlights will include the showcase of an unfinished composition by the late French composer Pierre Henry, which will be performed at Liverpool’s Metropolitan Cathedral by his sound designer Thierry Balasse, 50 years after it was originally commissioned.

Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour will bring her major solo display, ‘In the Future, They Ate from the Finest Porcelain’ to Bluecoat and group exhibition ‘Abacus’ will open for children.

The University of Liverpool’s Dr Paul Jones will also be the arts centre’s sociologist in residence throughout the year with a programme focusing on architecture, culture and society.

“The year’s programme is designed to bring together heritage and the contemporary, and we hope that audiences will share our excitement at the possibilities this will open up for thinking differently about art and ideas across time – including Bluecoat’s future engagement with civic life and being relevant to our times,” adds Bryan.

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The Cavern’s swinging 60th

Synonymous with legendary Liverpool band The Beatles and the 1960s’ Merseybeat movement, The Cavern Club is at the heart of the city’s musical heritage and known across the globe.

One only needs to glance at the bricks of Mathew Street’s Wall of Fame to grasp the importance of the self-professed ‘Most Famous Club in the World’ throughout the decades and the calibre of stars it has hosted on its stage. The city’s own Cilla Black and icons including Queen and Stevie Wonder are just a few of the stand-out acts to have graced the venue.

Now 60 years since it opened as a cellar jazz club on 16 January 1957, The Cavern is kicking off its milestone birthday festivities with charity concerts on 15-16 January.

Sixties’ tribute band The Overtures will lead the line-up at ‘The History of the Cavern’ shows, being held at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, which will raise funds for BBC Children in Need and Radio City’s Cash for Kids.

> Related | News: Charity concerts to mark the Cavern Club’s 60th anniversary

The events are just the beginning of a string of celebrations lined-up to mark the special occasion and reflect on the club’s vibrant history.

“We will also be releasing a 60th anniversary documentary and book, and on the big day itself we will have live music and an unveiling of a Cilla Black statue outside the original Cavern entrance,” says The Cavern Club director Bill Heckle.

These days the club exists as an authentic reconstruction of the original rock ‘n’ roll performance space on the opposite side of the street, which was closed in the early 1970s to make way for British Rail’s underground railway loop development. The replica opened in 1984, incorporating some bricks from the previous structure.

Its musical importance from the early days still stands though, and The Cavern Club continues to attract prominent names.

While 2016 saw the club welcome the likes of blues-rock star Joe Bonamassa and Big Country to perform, 2017’s schedule is so far set to include soul singer Geno Washington, long time Simple Minds drummer Mel Gaynor and guitarist Albert Lee.

Snapshot of Open Eye Gallery’s 40 years

Liverpool’s photography focused Open Eye Gallery has moved from the city centre’s Whitechapel, to Bold Street and to Wood Street since its 1977 opening, but its present Mann Island location is where it will celebrate its landmark 40th birthday.

Throughout the four decades the attraction prides itself on having “championed the agency of photography as art, as social and historical document, and as integral to the cultural impact of music, fashion, architecture and many other disciplines”.

A new ‘Wall Work’ has been unveiled on the facade at the waterfront this month, providing a snapshot of Open Eye’s successful history through the memories of exhibitors, volunteers, partners, visitors and staff. The likes of photographer Martin Parr to the Mann Island gallery’s architect, Tim Riley are among those who have harked back to their personal key moments in Open Eye’s past for the project.

“We explore the visual identity of the North, the history and future of counter culture and the people and communities of our city region.”

Meanwhile a run of exhibitions during the year ahead will aim to celebrate Open Eye Gallery’s “deep connection to place”.

“Working in partnership, we explore the visual identity of the North, the city as a site for global exchange, the history and future of counter culture and the people and communities of our city region,” says a spokesperson for the gallery, which has been at its current site since 2011.

The newly launched ‘North: Identity, Photography and Fashion’ is kicking off the 2017 approach, as it explores the influence the North of England has had on national and international visual culture and fashion.

Open Eye Gallery’s forthcoming ‘Cultural Shifts’ and ‘Liverpool Agents of Change’ will also see photographers work with communities and businesses around the city region to find stories reflecting peoples’ identities and look at how change is being driven in the area.