Open Eye Gallery

02/10/2026

On Sunday, 4 October, Open Eye Gallery will be open from 10 am – 2 pm. After that, we'll be closed for the European Poetry Festival (sold out).

We'll be open as usual, 10 am – 5 pm, from Tuesday, 6 October. Apologies for any inconvenience!

01/10/2026

Seeking Sanctuary, Seeking Humanity: Atrium exhibition at Open Eye Gallery. On until 11 October, free, all welcome!

Seeking Sanctuary, Seeking Humanity looks at the stories of nine people seeking sanctuary in Europe. They left behind many different homes for many different reasons, but all carried a piece of that home with them: a ring, a photograph, a hat. Items they held onto through long, perilous journeys – including the dangerous sea crossings they made in the Central Mediterranean before being rescued by a Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) search-and-rescue ship.

While stories about migration in the news often focus on division and fear, these images show a different side of the story: one of resilience, hope, and humanity.

MSF is an international humanitarian organisation providing medical care in more than 70 countries. Since 1971, they have been treating people caught in complex crises and chronic healthcare emergencies around the world. These emergencies include the physical and mental health consequences faced by people seeking sanctuary – both as a result of dangerous journeys, but also the impacts of restrictive and inhumane migration policies.

18/09/2026

15/09/2026

In our Gallery 3 (upstairs), we will be launching Next Up-2026, an annual graduate exhibition of work from the MA in Socially Engaged Photography course, a joint programme Open Eye Gallery runs with the University of Salford.

Launch: 17 September / 6–8pm / Open Eye Gallery / free, all welcome!

RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1998093867545

This year, Next Up features:

📸 The Gathering: Stop the Clause by Helen Constantinou, in partnership with Homotopia Arts.

This work brings together twelve separate photographs taken at the beginning of the anti-Section 28 protest march on 30 April 1988.

📸 Without A Map: A Journey of Displacement, Identity, and Belonging by Yaqeen Amir

Photography, personal memory, and participant contributions explore how identity is preserved and reshaped through displacement.

📸 Print’s Not Dead by Ella Horniman

Collaborative zines made across different workshops in North Manchester, exploring class, identity, neurodivergence and creativity.

📸 Anti-Charity by Jack Smith

A dystopian but hopefully fun look at the environmental issues around the North West.

10/09/2026

Work with us!

Open Eye Gallery’s curator will embrace co-authorship as an approach to their practice. We are looking for someone who can work effectively with our arts, academic, community and other partners to create, share and champion photography.

Full job description and how to apply: https://openeye.org.uk/work-with-us-curator/

This varied, hands-on role provides opportunities to explore and experiment with curation and co-curation models. It also provides the chance to shape the next generation of practitioners, and the role of photography within people’s lives for the years to come.

2027 is our 50th anniversary, providing our new curator with the opportunity to work with multiple photography sector leaders and key partners in an exciting year for the organisation.

We strongly encourage applications from all backgrounds, and we fully recognise the value of a team that is made up of diverse skills, experiences and abilities. We are particularly keen to hear from people of colour, and those living with disabilities. We welcome applications from those with knowledge or experience of Eastern and Central European cultures.

09/09/2026

Not one, but four exhibitions are coming up in the Liverpool City Region!

This time, you'll see not only photography, but also objects from the museum collections of County Armagh and Aberdeenshire. A stone head and an ancient key from Northern Ireland. A creel basket and North Sea oil from Scotland. Photos from the archive and photos created just now. All together – an exploration of heritage, life journeys and belonging.

Launch: 17 September, 6–8 pm, Open Eye Gallery, with drinks and music! RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1998093867545

08/09/2026

While the gallery is closed for the installation our new show, we went to see an amazing photography exhibition by NT The Hardmans' House at Liverpool Central Library. The exhibition presents Liverpool and its people, from carefully staged portraits to scenes of everyday life. There is even an Open Eye Magazine!

Open until 28 September.

03/09/2026

Take part in a portrait photography project exploring identity, visibility, and self-expression, by photographer AJ!

This call out is for trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse people. Through relaxed portrait sessions and optional conversations, the project aims to celebrate trans joy and create space for honest, authentic representation. No modelling experience is needed, just a willingness to take part. Participants will receive copies of their portraits and be featured in a public exhibition celebrating the diverse experiences and stories within our community.

If you’re interested, please contact AJ at [email protected] before 19 October 2026.

AJ is a photographer and creative storyteller whose work explores identity, emotion, and human connection through honest visual storytelling. Their approach to photography is people-first, creating work that feels authentic, thoughtful, and emotionally honest, with a particular interest in the stories people carry through lived experience.

This call out is part of Transformations – a project led by Felix Mufti in partnership with 20 Stories High, celebrating and supporting Merseyside-based transgender artists.

20 Stories High are working with 6 partner organisations to offer bursaries for transgender artists to create a new piece of work, and Open Eye Gallery are proud to be one of the partners. As part of Transformations, Open Eye Gallery is also supporting photographer Christine Beckett.

02/09/2026

Fiona Robinson is a socially engaged photographer based in Salford. She works with people to build community, confidence and photographic skills. As an ecologist who has worked in public health, she is particularly interested in wellbeing and green spaces – experience that has informed her practice as an OFFSHOOT photographer in residence. We've asked Fiona about her path to socially engaged photography.

“My background isn’t in the arts as my first degree is in Ecology, and MSc in Protected Landscape Management. I’ve worked in environmental education, sustainable tourism development, environmental improvement projects and as community development manager in a local authority public health team. So much of people’s health is dictated by things other than healthcare so things like their local environment and their social connections are key.

"My whole practice has developed from the MA (*MA in Socially Engaged Photography course is a joint programme that Open Eye Gallery has run with the University of Salford since 2018), so it was absolutely pivotal to this.

"Since graduating, I’ve been Open Eye Gallery’s photographer in residence at Merseycare’s Liferooms Walton, delivering several series of workshops that are about photography, but as much about confidence, connections and creativity.
Photography is a key way that people express themselves. It’s an incredibly accessible way of creating art, and for sharing experiences with others. I think socially engaged practice is really important at providing opportunities to share ideas and experiences through creativity.

"The OFFSHOOT project was a great way to pull together many different strands of my experience. Working regularly in the gardens for a year has meant that I’ve experienced it in all its seasonal guises, and a beautiful location is always going to help inspire beautiful creative work.

"There’s loads of research that both time in green space, and time being creative are really good for our health and wellbeing. I know this from my own life, that taking a quiet walk in the woods with my camera is the best way to reduce stress."

Images: Let’s Grow Preston, Fiona Robinson's MA project and RHS Bridgewater, OFFSHOOT project.

Full interview at openeye.org.uk