Liverpool Biennial - History

History

The Liverpool Biennial was established by James Moores in 1998 and has presented festivals in 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 (as part of Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture) and 2010.

Liverpool Biennial includes:

• The Biennial exhibition is delivered in collaboration with partner organisations including FACT (the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology), Tate Liverpool, the Bluecoat and Open Eye gallery, with many of the new commissions appearing in public spaces around the city.
• The John Moores Contemporary Painting Prize at the Walker Art Gallery which celebrates its 50th year in 2008 as a national open painting competition.
• The annual Bloomberg New Contemporaries Exhibition showcases new work by graduates from Fine Art schools in the UK. There is also The Independents Biennial, through which a programme of exhibitions is realised by independent and artist-led organisations.
• The City States starts from the premise that artists are inspired by the ‘freedom of the city’. Since 2006, Liverpool Biennial has included ‘collateral' events organised and supported by embassies, international agencies or galleries, and promoted by Liverpool Biennial as a part of the programme. In 2010, for the first time, Liverpool Biennial offered a platform for exhibitions organised overseas and promoted under the title City States.

Liverpool Biennial also has an ongoing year-round role commissioning art for the public realm, such as Richard Wilson’s Turning the Place Over and Antony Gormley’s Another Place at Crosby Beach; it also has an ongoing educational programme.