Past Exhibitions
Take a look at some of our past exhibitions below.
A World A Particle
Tate Hall Museum
8 February 2014 – May 2018
'A World A Particle’ charted the contribution of the University of Liverpool to the field of Particle Physics – Past, Present and Future, from the 1890s through to the University’s current involvement in the world’s largest particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.
Before Egypt
Galleries 1 & 2
11 May - 26 October 2019
A major exhibition that featured the internationally important collections of Predynastic Egyptian and Nubian artefacts from the University of Liverpool’s Garstang Museum of Archaeology, supplemented by loans of key objects from UK museums.
Eleanor Rathbone – An Independent Woman
Gallery 5
6 October 2018 - 11 May 2019
This exhibition celebrated Eleanor Rathbone and her remarkable achievements. The exhibition formed part of the VGM@10 celebrations and also marked the centenary of the first women’s suffrage.
She's Eclectic
Galleries 6 & 7
15 December 2018 - 11 May 2019
This exhibition showcased the diversity of women artists represented in the VG&M’s permanent collection.
Benefactresses – Women of the Holt Family
Gallery 4
24 November 2018 – April 2019
This exhibition turned a spotlight on Eva Melly, Emma Holt and Jane Brandreth Holt, who were patrons of the University in its early years
Jasmir Creed - Dystopolis
Gallery 2
17 November 2018 – 20 April 2019
Through expressive mark-making and collaged imagery, Jasmir's exhibition evoked a sense of the alienation and disorientation experienced in the modern city.
John Garstang and the Discovery of the Hittite World
An exhibition that showcased the archaeological discoveries of the Hittite Empire more than 100 years ago by the Liverpool archaeologist, Professor John Garstang.
Triangulation
Gallery 7
18 July - 24 August 2019
A selection of panoramic photographs from McCoy Wynne’s ongoing project to record the British landscape from Ordnance Survey’s 310 primary triangulation points.
Triangulation Exhibition Details
The Allotments
Gallery 7
29 August to 28 September
Photographer David Lockwood and writer Pauline Rowe reflect on insights and stories from the community of Dingle Vale allotments in Aigburth.
Shanghai Sacred - Liz Hingley with Chen Hangfeng
Gallery 6
7 June - 28 September 2019
Photographer and anthropologist Liz Hingley uncovers the spiritual landscape of China’s largest city. Her photographs are displayed on a bamboo structure designed by Chen Hangfeng.
Shanghai Sacred Exhibition Details
Something Borrowed, Something New. Ian Irvine vs the VG&M
Gallery 5
25 May – November 2019
Contemporary prints and collage inspired by the VG&M Collections.
Secret Art of Survival- Creativity and Ingenuity of British Far East prisoners of War 1942-1945
Galleries 6 & 7
25 October 2019 - 20 June 2020
The culmination of seven years’ research, this exhibition features over 100 artworks, many never before seen in public. Created secretly and kept hidden at great risk, Far East prisoners of war from their captors.
From Near and Far
Tate Hall Museum
20 January 2019 – February 2020
A display of pottery and porcelain from the VG&M collection
From Near and Far Exhibiton Information
The Errant Muse
Galleries 1 & 2
16 November 2019 – 28 March 2020
An innovative exhibition mixing historic objects with new work by long-time collaborators artist Charlotte Hodes and poet Deryn Rees-Jones. In a set of three interlinked spaces, the exhibition interprets the lives and works of women writers and their ‘errant’ voices across three centuries.
The Errant Muse Exhibition Information
Nature v Humans
Gallery 6
This exhibition features artworks illustrating the ever-present tensions between the natural world and the human race.
Nature v Humans Exhibition Information
Here or Roundabout: Local scenes by Allan P. Tankard
Gallery 4
This exhibition of watercolour paintings by Allan Tankard show locations around the University of Liverpool campus in the post-war years. Many feature our Victoria Building or are views from it.
Here or Roundabout Exhibition Information
Granby Workshop Installation
Gallery 7
open - until Sat 25 September 2021
This display features products from the Granby Workshop which is an innovative ceramics studio based in the L8 area of Liverpool.
Granby Workshop Installation Information
Watercolours from the VG&M Collection
Gallery 5
Until 8 January 2022
A display of watercolour paintings from the Victoria Gallery and Museum’s own collection ranging from the 1780s to the 1980s.
Watercolours from the VG&M Collection Exhibition Information
Doodles - Drawing and thinking architecture at Stirling Wilford and Associates, 1984 – 2000
Galleries 4, 6 & 7
Until 29 January 2022
Liverpool-raised architect James Stirling (1924 – 1992) was one of the most inspiring designers of the twentieth century. This exhibition provides visitors with a glimpse into his studio life and offers the opportunity to find out more about some of his celebrated - and sometimes controversial - projects.
Jamaica Making: The Theresa Roberts Art Collection
Galleries 6 & 7
19 February - 9 July 2022
An exhibition showcasing the vibrancy and variety of contemporary Jamaican art since the country’s Independence in 1962.
A New Beauty
Gallery 2
Open until Saturday 30 July 2022
Romanticism in Art 1880 -1920. A display exploring the evolving ways that physical attractiveness was depicted from the late 1800s.
A New Beauty Exhibition Information
Creature Feature – A Small Display about Large Animals
Gallery 4
A look at different ways that animals have been depicted in art from the VG&M collection.
The World Reimagined - with the VG&M Collections
Gallery 2
13 August – 31 October 2022
The World Reimagined is a nationwide programme of art education around Black history and achievements. This display of artefacts from the VG&M’s collections is to support the work of the programme.
Arrivals/Departures -An Exhibition by Fion Gunn
Galleries 6 & 7
30 July - 23 December 2022
Artist Fion Gunn explores themes of global migration and displacement through paintings, sculpture and audio-visual installation.
Unstructured Icons By Yinka Shonibare CBE RA
Gallery 4
12 October 2022 - 25 February 2023
A display of our latest acquisition, Unstructured Icons, a set of woodblock prints with a decorated portfolio box by the celebrated British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare CBE.
Secrets of the Stores - Unseen Objects of the Garstang Museum
Gallery 5
This selection of ancient artefacts have never been displayed to the public. Some are beautiful, some are intriguing, and all have thier own story to tell.
Quiet Observation: Artists & their Abodes 1950s – 1990s
Gallery 2
12 November 2022 - April 2023
To celebrate the centenary of Lucian Freud’s birth in December 1922, this display shows how he and a number of his contemporaries were inspired by the personal environments they lived and worked in.
The Descendants – Portraits by Ean Flanders
Galleries 6 & 7
28 January – 13 May 2023
These contemporary photographic portraits, and the conversations that took place during the sittings, offers a new perspective on those seen as part of the Windrush Generation and their descendants.
Untold Stories: Liverpool by Jennifer Vanderpool
Gallery 4
25 February 2023 - 17 June 2023
Artist Jennifer Vanderpool explores post-industrial centres around the world and reflects on shared issues of labour history, gender and race.
Liverpool Biennial 2023
Galleries 6 & 7
10 June - 17 September
Artists Antonio Obá, Charmaine Watkiss and Gala Porras-Kim explore ancestral memory and contemporary experience. Their works offer spaces to rest, reflect and listen.
LINDA STEIN: Gender Scrambling
Gallery 2
22 April - 9 December 2023
Linda Stein is an American feminist LGBTQ+ artist whose work investigates themes of gender identity stemming from her own struggles with her sexuality and sense of womanhood while growing up. Linda makes visual a world where men wear dresses and women wear armour so the lines of gender become blurred into androgyny.
Travel in Style – Iconic Cunard Advertising in the 1920s and 1930s’
Gallery 5
24 March 2023- extended until 16 March 2024
The `Travel in Style – Iconic Cunard Advertising in the 1920s and 1930s’ exhibition features 14 vintage posters that were used by the historic shipping line to advertise its services alongside associated materials including brochures, menu cards and collectable souvenirs from the era.
Abstract Thinking: Fanchon Fröhlich & Her Contemporaries
Galleries 6 & 7
7 October 2023 - 30 March 2024
Prints and paintings by this fascinating Liverpool artist are shown alongside those of internationally-known abstract artists of the 20th century such as Gillian Ayres, Sandra Blow, Peter Lanyon and William Hayter, plus other leading artists based in the city.
The Art of Ruin
Balcony Wall
A display that depicts Italian landscape paintings which celebrate the ruinous and crumbling. It was a taste that emerged in Rome in the mid-1600s when visiting archaeological sites and collecting ancient artefacts became popular.
Creatures of the Nile
Galleries 6 & 7
4 May 2024 - 5 October 2024
This exhibition from the Garstang Museum of Archaeology explores the fascinating position animals held in ancient Egyptian and Sudanese society and culture.