Bluecoat Exhibitions Explore our Collections
This collection reflects the breadth of exhibitions at Bluecoat over the past century. The information on these, stretching back to 1908, is summarised on an exhibitions history document, listing hundreds of exhibitions involving artists, from local to international.
This long, diverse and rich history reflects the curatorial interests of, first, the Sandon Studios Society, who brought the work of major 20th century artists like Picasso, Matisse, Moore and Epstein to Liverpool, and then Bluecoat Society of Arts, establishing the venue’s significance to developments in contemporary art in the UK.
The collection comprises predominantly exhibition images, from the 1970s onwards. They show how the spaces have changed, and include some key exhibitions in our history, such as Women’s Images of Men, Black Skin Bluecoat, Trophies of Empire, video collaborations with Moviola/FACT, and larger shows made possible in the new gallery space from 2008 onwards.
The majority of images are scanned from 35mm slides. The quality here, compared to later digital images, is of poor resolution, but we hope they give a sense of the gallery and its changing exhibitions, a reflection of developments in artists’ practice over this period.
There are many more images, posters, catalogues and other material relating to Bluecoat's visual arts programme in our archive, which will become available on this website as we develop our collections. You can also search our season brochures, all of which, from the 1980s to the present, are included here. These list Bluecoat’s many exhibitions, off-site projects and other visual arts activities.

1908
Bluecoat Exhibitions History, 1908 to the present

1911
Catalogue from the Sandon Studios Society's Exhibition of Modern Art, including work by the Post-Impressionists

1972
Dave Pearson, Van Gogh exhibition

1974
Ovidu Maitec exhibition

1974
David Saunders, Paintings & Serial Works 1968-73 exhibition

1978
The Liverpool Nude

1981
Elizabeth Frink sculptures in the exhibition, Women's Images of Men, at Bluecoat

1982
Robert Longo's work at Bluecoat in the exhibition, Urban Kisses: 7 New York Artists

1983
Marc Camille Chaimowicz, Past Imperfect exhibition

1984
Rose Garrard, Between Ourselves exhibition

1985
Eddie Chambers installation in the exhibition, Black Skin Bluecoat

1986
John Hyatt's paintings in the exhibition, Connections

1987
Home Base exhibition

1988
Sokari Douglas Camp, Alali exhibition

1989
17:89 – New Art Merseyside exhibition

1989
Four Legs to Fly exhibition

1990
Let the canvas come to life with dark faces exhibition

1990
Sophie Horton installation, New Sculpture exhibition

1990
Jo Stockham installation, New Sculpture exhibition

1990
Bashir Makhoul's paintings in Interim Report exhibition

1990
Ivan Unwin installation, North Face exhibition

1992
Shaheen Merali installation, Trophies of Empire exhibition

1992
A Pool of Signs Part 2 exhibition

1992
A Pool of Signs Part 3 exhibition

1991
Tony Oursler, video installation in Video Positive

1993
Installation by Ingo Günther, Video Positive

1994
Work by Lubaina Himid and Yinka Shonibare in the exhibition, Seen/Unseen

1994
Susan Fitch installation in the exhibition, Somewhere in Particular

1994
Ann Whitehurst exhibition, On the Map: Placing Disability

1995
Daphne Wright installation, On Stream Part Two exhibition

1995
Freddie Soethout installation in the exhibition, Science Friction: Art from Cologne

1995
Cross-Currents: New Art from Senegal exhibition

1996
Permindar Kaur, Cold Comfort exhibition

1996
Peter Kennard, Unwords: Scraps from a Reading Room exhibition

1996
Roxy Walsh, in Pulse Part One

1997
Nina Saunders, Hidden Agenda exhibition

1997
Mohini Chandra, Travels in a New World 2 in the exhibition, Independent Thoughts

1998
Walid Sadek, Karaoke exhibition

1999
Janet Hodgson, History Lesson

1999
Simryn Gill exhibition

1999
Liverpool Biennial: Trace exhibition at Bluecoat

2000
Martin Creed exhibition, Martincreedworks

2000
Iskender Yediler installation, Cologne artists exhibition

2000
Leon Golub installation in Look Out! Art-Society-Politics exhibition

2000
Superflex installation in Video Positive 2000 - The Other Side of Zero

2002
Wong Hoy Cheong exhibition

2002
Leo Fitzmaurice installation in the exhibition, From a Distance

2003
Hammertown exhibition

2003
Veil exhibition: work by Ghada Amer (foreground) and AES

2004
Put Your Hands Where We Can See Them exhibition

2008
Hew Locke wall drawing in the exhibition, Now Then

2013
Ayman Balbaaki installation in the exhibition, Arabicity

2013
Danny Treacy photographs in the exhibition, 3am: wonder, paranoia and the restless night

2013
The Universal Addressability of Dumb Things exhibition

2013
The Universal Addressability of Dumb Things exhibition

2013
Archiving the Arts Centre exhibition

2014
Brian Catling performance in the exhibition, The Art of the Lived Experiment

2016
Adham Faramawy, Janus Collapse (the juice-box edition)

1968