Liverpool museums and galleries celebrate ‘artistic expression’

A “landmark” exhibition looking at the impact of singer Holly Johnson and a collection of work by black British women and non-binary artists will be just two highlights of a museum group’s end of year programme, it has been revealed.

National Museums Liverpool (NML) said its line-up for autumn-winter 2024/25 will also include an artistic exploration of the city’s colonial legacies and a look at the “cultural significance of evening wear over the past 100 years”.

Sixteen previously unseen photographs from the “bustling 1960s Merseybeat era” will also go on show.

NML director Laura Pye said the “diverse” programme would be an “impressive celebration of artistic expression, from the historical to the contemporary”.

An NML representative said the season would open at the Museum of Liverpool on 14 September with The Holly Johnson Story, an exhibition charting the singer’s journey from Liverpool’s punk scene to international stardom with Frankie Goes To Hollywood and beyond.

They said the show, which was first announced in November 2023, would also mark the 40th anniversary of the release of Frankie’s Welcome to the Pleasuredome album, which featured the hugely successful singles Relax, Two Tribes and The Power of Love.

They said other highlights of the programme included an “immersive” show bringing together “art and science to explore one of nature’s most incredible creatures” – the bee – at the World Museum and Conversations, as well as an exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery which would show work by “nearly 50 leading black women and non-binary artists who are transforming contemporary British art today”.

In Wirral, Port Sunlight’s Lady Lever Art Gallery will host Bedazzled, a showcase of “a century of glamour” which will “explore the evolution of style [and] craftsmanship”.

Back at the Walker, British-Trinidadian artist Karen McLean’s installation Stitching Souls: Threads of Silence will explore “Liverpool’s colonial legacies and the city’s role as a major British port during the 19th Century”.

The group’s representative also said the Walker would host an exhibition of photographs by Magnus Hastings, which would include an “array of drag superstars and iconic celebrities such as Todrick Hall, Boy George, Luke Evans and Cheyenne Jackson” and “innovative” glass artist Chris Day’s “stunning blown glass and mixed media commission Now You See Me”.

They added that the Museum of Liverpool’s Skylight Gallery would also host Beyond the Beat, a display of 16 previously unseen photographs taken from Peter Kaye Photography’s archive, which capture the “essence of the Merseybeat scene, the energy of the clubs, the enthusiasm of the crowds and the power of the musicians to captivate their audiences”.

Ms Pye said the group was “delighted to announce our rich and varied programme”.

“Our diverse programme is an impressive celebration of artistic expression, from the historical to the contemporary,” she added.