Open Eye Gallery

Susie Stubbs

Visit now

Open Eye Gallery

19 Mann Island, Liverpool Waterfront, Liverpool, L3 1BP
0151 236 6768
  • Tuesday10:00am - 5:00pm
  • Wednesday10:00am - 5:00pm
  • Thursday10:00am - 5:00pm
  • Friday10:00am - 5:00pm
  • Saturday10:00am - 5:00pm
  • Sunday10:00am - 5:00pm

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Open Eye Gallery. Image by Mark McNulty.
Book now

Open Eye is an independent photography gallery and archive in Liverpool with a 35 year-plus history.

As well as a regular programme of changing exhibitions, featuring both national and international photographers, Open Eye runs courses, workshops and talks for serious photographers. Its archive, meanwhile, contains images that date back 80 years.

The gallery specialises in socially engaged photography and indeed, transcending what a gallery can be. Focused on working with people to push for social change, the exhibitions are often not the end goal but a part of larger projects that include engagement, events, publications and a lot of collaboration. Sustainability is also key to Open Eye Gallery’s operations, which is woven into all of their projects as well as staff training and day-to-day activities.  This is not a gallery to headline famous photographers’ names to bring in the numbers – Open Eye takes its mission very seriously and puts it into practice.

The Open Eye shop is a treat to anyone who gets giddy at the idea of a ‘gallery gift shop’. It may be small but it’s packed with some absolute gems – from the classic theory and contemporary photography books, to local artists’ zines and more experimental publications from independent publishers. There are also analogue cameras, film and cute bits and bobs that would make great gifts for photography lovers.

Open Eye moved to its current location in 2011; it is housed in a dedicated space within the controversial ‘fourth Grace’ development at Mann Island, part of Liverpool’s waterfront and a few minutes’ walk from Tate Liverpool. It’s a fitting location for a gallery with a thoroughly contemporary approach to exhibitions and working with both the artists and the communities they serve. It also means you can stroll along the waterfront on a sunny day to see the Three Graces and stop to stare into the choppy waters of the Mersey – chances are you may even be inspired to take some photographs yourself.

What's on at Open Eye Gallery

What's on near Open Eye Gallery

Until
ActivityLiverpool
Old Dock Tours, Liverpool

The Old Dock tour is a treat for younger and older visitors alike, fans of Liverpool’s maritime past, and anybody curious about local history.

8.50 with concessions
Modern Nature
MusicSheffield
Modern Nature at Rough Trade Liverpool

Modern Nature bring their shape-shifting blend of folk, free jazz and psych-tinged post-rock to Rough Trade in support of their new album, The Heat Warps.

From £15.00

Where to go near Open Eye Gallery

Liverpool
Gallery
RIBA North

RIBA North is the national architecture centre on the Liverpool Waterfront and a temporary home to Tate Liverpool.

Waterfront
Hotel
30 James Street

Steeped in history, 30 James Street is a Titanic-themed hotel with a an atmosphere of opulence and classic glamour.

City Centre
Restaurant
Etsu

What Etsu sushi restaurant in Liverpool lacks in marketing skills, it more than makes up for in Japanese cuisine.

Liverpool
Restaurant
Silk Rd

Silk Rd Tapas serves up delicious Mediterranean small plates, named after the Silk Route, an ancient network of trade routes, bringing spices and silks.

Waterfront
Café or Coffee Shop
Royal Liver Building

An iconic landmark, the Royal Liver Building was one of the first multi-storey buildings made using a steel-reinforced concrete structure.

Afternoon tea at Oh Me Oh My
City Centre
Café or Coffee Shop
Oh Me Oh My

A secret space and tea room, Oh Me Oh My lives in the stunning surrounds of Liverpool’s West Africa House. We take a look.

Photo of a stained glass window showing the word 'Surgery'
City Centre
Bar or Pub
Jenny’s Bar

Jenny’s Bar is hidden away on Fenwick Street in Liverpool. Descend a staircase from what looks like a fish restaurant, and you’ll find a bar in two parts.

Waterfront
Museum
The British Music Experience

It’s a discotheque for the senses, an incredible collection of artefacts and memorabilia, audio guides, music and stories. There are iconic costumes worn by David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Dusty Springfield, the Spice Girls and Adam Ant, and musical instruments played by some of the world’s most renowned artists from Noel Gallagher to the Sex Pistols.

Culture Guides

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

This season’s theatre is gloriously eclectic: from radical cabaret and reinvented classics to new musicals and boundary-pushing performance.

Detail of an abstract sculpture, with burned materials and rusty chicken wire at the centre, with rusted metal bars bent around it.
Exhibitions in the North

Chocolate fountains, beautiful batiks and medieval marginalia - this month's supersized Exhibitions Guide has it all.

Literature Events in the North

The autumn leaves might be falling already, but the harvest is plentiful as the live literature scene gets back into the swing of things after a summer break...

Cinema in the North

This month we recommend a season of Film noir, cult Australian movies and a huge celebration of DIY community cinema.