Open Eye Gallery facts for kids
Replica of Stonehenge in the foyer of the gallery, used as the scene of performance art during the summer of 2018
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| Established | 1977 |
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| Location | 19 Mann Island, Liverpool Waterfront, Liverpool L3 1BP |
| Type | Registered charity |
| Collections | Bert Hardy, Edith Tudor-Hart, Chris Steele-Perkins, Tom Wood |
| Collection size | 1600 prints from 100 photographers |
| Architect | RCKa |
The Open Eye Gallery is a special place in Liverpool, UK. It's a gallery all about photography. It first opened its doors in 1977. Today, you can find it in a cool, custom-built building. This building is right by the waterfront at Mann Island.
The gallery has a big space for showing photos. It also has a separate area to keep old photos safe. You might even see large art on the outside of the building! It's the only gallery in North West England that focuses just on photography. The Open Eye Gallery is a non-profit group. This means it's a charity and doesn't aim to make money.
The Gallery's Journey: A History
The Open Eye Gallery has moved a few times since it started.
- It first opened in Whitechapel, Liverpool (1977–1988).
- Then it moved to Bold Street (1989–1995).
- After that, it was on Wood Street (1996–2011).
- Finally, it moved to its current home at Mann Island in 2011. This building was built just for the gallery.
Lorenzo Fusi became the artistic director in 2013. Sarah Fisher took over as the executive director in 2015.
Amazing Photo Exhibitions You Can See
The Open Eye Gallery shows work from many famous photographers. They also host special exhibitions. Here are some of the artists and shows they have featured:
- Toshio Iwai (1995)
- Jacob Aue Sobol (2006)
- Mitch Epstein (2011)
- Chris Steele-Perkins (2011)
- Martin Parr (2012)
- Tim Hetherington (2013)
- Alvin Baltrop (2013)
- Letizia Battaglia (2014)
- North: Identity, Photography, Fashion (2017). This show was put together by Lou Stoppard and Adam Murray. It also traveled to Somerset House in London.
- Tom Wood (2018)
- 'Kinship' (2019) featured several artists. These included Pixy Liao, Lydia Goldblatt, Johanna Heldebro, Jenny Lewis, Momo Okabe, and Margaret Mitchell.
- Craig Easton: Is Anybody Listening? (2023)
The Open Eye Photo Archive
The Open Eye Gallery has a very large collection of photos. This collection is called the "Open Eye Archive." It mostly contains portraits and documentary photos. A portrait is a picture of a person. Documentary photos show real life and events.
The archive started in 1980. It now holds work from over 100 photographers. There are about 1600 printed photos in total.
Some important photos in the archive include:
- Work by Bert Hardy, like Chinese Hostel (1942) and Is There a British Colour Bar? (1949).
- Photos by Edith Tudor-Hart.
- Pictures by Tom Wood.
- The Pleasure Principle by Chris Steele-Perkins.
- The Water's Edge by Michelle Sank.
- Work by John McDonald.
Many other photographers also have work in the archive. These include John Davies, Gabriele Basilico, Vanley Burke, Bruce Gilden, E. Chambré Hardman, Peter Kennard, Mari Mahr, Peter Marlow, Joel Meyerowitz, Simon Norfolk, Martin Parr, Ewen Spencer, Ed van der Elsken, and Wolfgang Suschitzky.
