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 cool place in Liverpool, UK, where you can see amazing photographs. It's like a special museum just for pictures! It first opened way back in 1977.
Today, it's in a modern building right by the water at Mann Island. This is its fourth home, and it was built just for the gallery. The gallery has a big space for showing photos and another area for keeping old pictures safe. You can even see huge art on the outside walls!
It's the only gallery in North West England that focuses only on photography. The Open Eye Gallery is also a non-profit group and a registered charity. This means it's not trying to make money, but instead helps people learn about and enjoy photography.
Contents
A Look at Open Eye Gallery's History
The Open Eye Gallery has moved a few times since it started.
- It first opened in Whitechapel, Liverpool, from 1977 to 1988.
- Then it moved to Bold Street from 1989 to 1995.
- After that, it was on Wood Street from 1996 to 2011.
- Finally, in 2011, it moved to its current, specially built home on Mann Island.
In 2013, Lorenzo Fusi became the artistic director. Then, in 2015, Sarah Fisher took over as the executive director. She helps lead the gallery today.
Amazing Photographers and Exhibitions
The Open Eye Gallery has shown many fantastic photographers and their work over the years. Here are some of the artists and shows that have been 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 was so popular that it also traveled to Somerset House in London!
- Tom Wood (2018)
- Kinship (2019) – This exhibition featured many talented photographers like Pixy Liao, Lydia Goldblatt, Johanna Heldebro, Jenny Lewis, Momo Okabe, and Margaret Mitchell.
- Craig Easton: Is Anybody Listening? (2023)
The Open Eye Archive: A Treasure Chest of Photos
The Open Eye Gallery has a really big collection of old photographs, called an "archive." Most of these pictures are portraits of people or photos that show real life, like documentaries.
The archive started in 1980. It now holds about 1600 printed photos from more than 100 different photographers!
Some very important collections in the archive include:
- Bert Hardy's photos, like Chinese Hostel (1942) and Is There a British Colour Bar? (1949). These pictures show important moments in history.
- Work by Edith Tudor-Hart.
- Photos by Tom Wood.
- Chris Steele-Perkins's series The Pleasure Principle.
- Michelle Sank's The Water's Edge.
- Pictures by John McDonald.
Many other photographers also have their work kept safe 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 many more.
Publications by Open Eye Gallery
The gallery sometimes publishes books about photography. One example is:
- The Water's Edge. This book was made by Michelle Sank and Joanne Lacey. It was published in 2007 by Open Eye and Liverpool University. The book has photos by Sank of women who worked near the Liverpool waterfront. It was released when an exhibition of these photos was happening.
