Tate Liverpool is an
art gallery in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
,
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...
, England, and part of
Tate, along with
Tate St Ives, Cornwall,
Tate Britain, London, and
Tate Modern
Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...
, London. The gallery was an initiative of the
Merseyside Development Corporation. Tate Liverpool was created to display work from the
Tate Collection which comprises the national collection of British art from the year 1500 to the present day, and international modern art. The gallery also has a programme of temporary exhibitions. Until 2003, Tate Liverpool was the largest gallery of modern and
contemporary art
Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...
in the UK outside London.
History
Housed in a converted warehouse within the
Albert Dock on Liverpool's waterfront, the gallery was opened on 24 May 1988 by Prince Charles, an event covered by BBC Two television. The original conversion was done by
James Stirling but the building was given a major refurbishment in 1998 to create additional gallery space.
In 2007, the foyer area was redesigned by architects Arca to create an updated appearance and better proportions, as well as to improve visitor handling. The gallery café was also redesigned by
Peter Blake and Liverpool-based architects, Architectural Emporium. The centrepiece of the space is a new timber desk with an undulating orange fascia, which links to the retained colour scheme of the original conversion work by Stirling. A colour-changing wall acts as a backdrop to the simplified brick volume, visible from across Albert Dock. Behind the scenes, Arca also made alterations to the hospitality, cloakroom, events and education areas.
Renovation
The gallery closed in October 2023 for renovation work. Originally planned to take two years, it was announced in February 2025 that it was instead expected to reopen in spring 2027. Costing around £29.7 million, the works will see the galleries refurbished and the creation of new social spaces. During this period, the gallery has a temporary presence at
RIBA
''Riba'' (, or , ) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as " usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business. ''Riba'' is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an3:130 North in
Mann Island.
Events
The gallery has played host to various events, including celebrations during the
2023 Eurovision Song Contest, performances as part of the
Liverpool Biennial and
Light Night and has hosted the
Turner Prize
The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...
awards ceremony twice, in 2007 and 2022.
See also
*''
Liverpool and the Black Atlantic''
References
External links
*
Arca ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', 10 June 2011
{{authority control
Tate Liverpool
1988 establishments in England
Art museums and galleries established in 1988
Art museums and galleries in Merseyside
Museums in Liverpool
Modern art museums in the United Kingdom
Museums sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Tourist attractions in Liverpool