150th Anniversary Exhibition of The Atkinson, Southport - visit the original ‘Salon Hang’ and go Behind the Scenes
The Atkinson, Lord Street, Southport. PR8 1DB

Thursday 29 January 2026 at 2.00pm
Tickets £16
30 places available
Organiser: Pam Meredith Jones (contact 07941542911 or pam@milesmj.com)

This special exhibition to celebrate their 150th anniversary showcases the Atkinson’s fine art collection in the popular 19th century ‘Salon Hang’ style when artworks were arranged from floor to ceiling. They are chosen from 3,000 works of art spanning the 17th to the 21st century. The exhibition brings together some of the collection’s most significant pieces alongside rarely seen works that have not been on display for years.

We will meet in the Foyer, then have a talk in the gallery before splitting into two groups - half will firstly visit the stores behind the scenes whilst the other half can explore the other exhibitions including a private view of Beyond the Glass, glass artworks celebrating the pleasures of the local sweet-making factories.  Also look out for 20 years of Another Place, Anthony Gormley’s Iron Men on Crosby beach, photographed by Ron Davies. There are also an Egyptology Museum and a Local History Museum.

We have chosen a start time of 2pm so that many of you may use your railcard after 9.30am to come by train, which takes about an hour from Liverpool. The Atkinson is a short walk from the railway station and there are many cafes on Lord Street for coffee or lunch. There is also a cafe on the ground floor of the Atkinson serving coffee and snacks as well as a gift shop with excellent greeting cards, etc.

Art Friends Merseyside Lunch
Formby Golf Club, Golf Road, Formby L37 1YH
Guest Speaker Alastair Machray, MBE former Editor of the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo 1995-2020

Wednesday 14 January 2026 at 12.30pm for 1pm
Tickets £45 includes a two-course lunch and tea or coffee
80 places available
Organiser Barbara Farmer (contact 07804 955961 or barbarafarmer4647@gmail.com

Our previous lunch at Formby Golf Club was a great success. This time we are fortunate to have Alastair Machray, former Editor of the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo 1995-2020 who will talk on his time there, ‘The Hot Seat, 25 years as an Editor’. He is a highly entertaining speaker, recognised in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours for his contributions to journalism. Alastair was Editor when the Hillsborough Inquest reached its verdict, which won the Echo - Newspaper of the Year.

Formby Golf Club has an extensive car park or alternatively Formby train station is a short walk away.

Please note that the dress code for gentlemen is a jacket and tie.

A Festive Concert with Early Music as Education
The Parish Church of Liverpool Our Lady and St Nicholas, Chapel Street, Liverpool L2 8TZ
 
Saturday 13 December 2025 at 6-8pm
Tickets £25
Organiser Sally Warnock and Gail Aubrey (contact Sally 07770 785514 or sally.warnock2@btinternet.com or Gail 07803 617648 or dgmaubrey@hotmail.com)
 
We have been fortunate indeed to be able to engage the Liverpool String Academy Orchestra to entertain, enlighten and exhilarate us.

Enjoy a little early festive spirit within the uplifting surrounds of Liverpool’s ancient and iconic Parish Church.
 
Early Music as Education goes from strength to strength in its quest to bring early music within the grasp of children and young people. Their amazingly talented orchestra will perform the music of Purcell, Corelli, Vivaldi - music that never fails to move, restore and invigorate.
 
A glass of wine and a canapé or two will add to festive cheer.
 
Please let us know if you have any dietary requirements.

Summertime Tea Party in Grassendale Park, South Liverpool

Sunday 6 July 2025, 2-4pm
Tickets £25
60 places available
Organiser Gail Aubrey (contact 07803 617648 or dgmaubrey@hotmail.com)

Grassendale is a leafy south Liverpool suburb and the Park houses a collection of mid-nineteenth century houses. Perhaps enjoy a stroll down to the River Mersey and around the Park before or after tea which will, weather permitting, be in the garden of Gail and David Aubrey.

Please come prepared for all weathers. We will attempt to seat everyone in the garden - benches, chairs and picnic rugs.

Tea, sandwiches, biscuits. Please let me know if you have any dietary requirements.

Directions and address will be sent on confirmation of a ticket.

Visit to Arley Hall & Gardens Cheshire CW9 6NA

Thursday 12 June 2025 at 11am
Tickets £25
30 places available
Organiser Indira Maddison (contact 07986 864008 or indiramaddison@hotmail.co.uk)

Arley Hall is the family home of Lord and Lady Ashbrook, set in 22 acres of Cheshire countryside. The gardens are 15 acres in total, comprising woodland and formal gardens. They have been created and developed over more than a quarter of a century by successive generations of the same family.                                       

We have the opportunity to have an hour-long guided tour with the Head Gardener around the formal gardens.

Refreshments are available in The Gardeners Kitchen Cafe.

Arley Hall is 10 miles from both M6 junctions 19 and 20 and M56 junctions 9 and 10. There is a large parking area and a plant nursery with a good selection of plants available for sale!

As we will be an organised group there is no charge for parking.

An opportunity to create your own artwork with sculptor Emma Rodgers at the Old Fire Station, Wood Street/Park Road, Port Sunlight
 
Wednesday 7 May 2025 at 2.30pm
Tickets £45
10 places available
Organiser Barbara Farmer (contact 07804 955961 or barbarafarmer4647@gmail.com)
 
For those not wishing to model there is a 30-minute tour of her studio and gallery - contact Barbara Farmer for details - Cost: £10
 
Sculptor, Emma Rodgers is one of the most sought-after and highly collectable artists working in Britain today. She won the prestigious Victoria and Albert Museum Prize while still at university and her work has been exhibited at Museums and Galleries all over the world. One of her Liverpool sculptures is of ‘Cilla Black’ in Matthew Street.
 
We are very fortunate to have an event with her where she is offering to do a modelling workshop. It will be possible to make a clay sculpture which will be fired and collected at a later time.  Allow 2 hours.

Museum Visit and Guided Walking Tour of Port Sunlight CH62 5DX

Wednesday 7 May 2025 at 11am
Tickets £18 
40 places available
Organiser Julia Leary (contact 07768 192882 or julia@hilbrehouse.com)

Please join us at The Museum, 23 King Georges Drive, Port Sunlight CH62 5DX by 11am where we will learn about the Award-winning village which was originally built by William Hesketh Lever. Today Port Sunlight is home to over 2,000 residents. At 12 noon we will then be shown around the village on a walking tour lasting about an hour and a half by an experienced guide to see the architecture and village life both past and present.

There is ample on road parking near to the museum. Unfortunately, there is not a Café at present in the museum but below I am listing various options for you to visit either before or after the visit, or both!
 
Tudor Rose Café, Hulme Hall, Bridge Inn, Lady Lever Gallery
Potentially a new café opening in the Old Bank
 
For those interested members, you may like to extend your day at Port Sunlight with the tour of sculptor Emma Rodgers’ studio and gallery.

Curator Presentation and Tour of The Plant that Stowed Away at Tate Liverpool + RIBA North, Mann Island, Liverpool. L3 41PB

Monday 28 April 2025 at 6.30pm
Tickets £19
40 places available
Organiser Helen Watters (contact 07801 441891 or HLWatters@talktalk.net)

Dr Christine Eyene Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Art at Liverpool John Moores University and Research Curator at Tate Liverpool. has curated the forthcoming exhibition The Plant that Stowed Away in the Gallery's temporary home at RIBA North.  The exhibition traces the connections between port cities like Liverpool and the global movements of plants and people.

Taking a lead from photographer Chris Shaw’s Weeds of Wallasey, the display includes collage by French modernist Henri Matisse, the Afro-futurist photography of Cristina de Middel, Turner Prize-nominated artist Delanie Le Bas’s textile work and Kader Attia’s caustic film exploring our relationship with oil and sugar.

A grant from Art Friends Merseyside is supporting the public programme of the exhibition.

Drinks and nibbles will be served during the event (please confirm any dietary considerations).

On-street pay and display parking is available around the Mann Island area; the nearest railway station is James Street.

Desert Island Artworks by Dr Melissa Gustin, Curator of British Art, National Museums Liverpool at The Racquet Club Hotel, 5 Chapel Street Liverpool L3 9AG 

Friday 4 April 2025 at 10.30am
Tickets £19
50 places available
Organiser Pam Meredith Jones (contact 07941 542911 or pam@milesmj.com)

Dr Melissa Gustin, Curator of British Art, National Museums Liverpool, working across the Walker, Lady Lever Art Gallery and Sudley Art Gallery, is well known to our members. We had the pleasure of her expertise recently when she showed us around exhibitions at both Sudley and the Lady Lever Gallery. So this is an opportunity to learn about her favourite works of art.  You may remember that Sandra Penketh, Executive Director of Art Galleries & Collections Care at National Museums Liverpool showed us her favourites at an earlier event, which was much enjoyed both by her and by our members.

We will meet at 10.30am at The Racquet Club Hotel for coffee and biscuits before Melissa’s illustrated talk on her favourite works of art. The Racquet Club is at Hargreaves Building 5 Chapel Street, Liverpool L3 9 AG which is close to James Street Station and local car parking.

Visit to Shakespeare North Playhouse, Prospero Place, Prescot L34 3AB

Private Heritage Tour, light lunch and Matinee performance of an adaptation of ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost (More or Less)’

Wednesday 19 March 2025 at 11.30am
Tickets £60
49 places available
Organiser Gail Aubrey (contact 07803 617648 or dgmaubrey@hotmail.com)

We are fortunate to have secured the opportunity of a private guided Heritage Tour of this fabulous, award-winning new theatre, followed by a light lunch of soup, sandwiches and, of course, cake all as a prelude to the matinee performance of an adaptation of Shakespeare’s riotous comedy Love’s Labour’s Lost. Be prepared for big differences - think less a park in Navarre and more a club in Ibiza, less courtiers and more stags and hens!

Tickets are expected to be in great demand so book early.

Some find the wooden seating in the Cockpit theatre a challenge - please feel free to bring cushions. Most of the seats we have secured are not benches and have backs so with plenty of padding you should be comfortable.

The performance is due to finish at approximately 4.30pm.

For transport options - train, bus, car, bike! - please see this link: https://shakespearenorthplayhouse.co.uk/visit-us/finding-us

A Talk by Andrew Ellis, Chief Executive Art UK- Bringing together the UK’s national collection of art on one digital platform for the world to see. 

To be held at the Williamson Art Gallery and Museum, Slatey Road, Birkenhead CH43 4UE

Wednesday 5 March 2025 at 2pm
Tickets £19
60 places available
Organiser Olwen McLaughlin (contact 07970 660081 or artfriendsmerseyside1@gmail.com)

The illustrated talk will explore the benefits and challenges of bringing together the UK’s national collection of art on one digital platform. Art UK shows art by over 55,000 artists, including approaching 10,000 living artists. Nearly 3,500 UK institutions are represented on the platform, making it one of the largest arts partnerships in the UK. 

Digitising artworks at scale; telling compelling stories about art and artists; supporting schools learning; providing income generating opportunities for museums; offering volunteering opportunities to the public; and running an art detective agency – are among the topics that will be covered. 

The talk will be illustrated with artworks from around the UK – many from less well-known art collections, alongside public sculptures and murals from the charity’s more recent digitisation programmes.

Tea and cakes will be served after the talk.

The Williamson has a free car park, the nearest rail station is Birkenhead Central.

Join our upcoming exhibition tour of Threads Through the Bible at the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral.

Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, St James’ Mount, Liverpool L1 7AZ

Saturday 1 March 2025 at 1pm - tour approx one hour

Tickets £15 to include introductory talk, tour and a donation to the Cathedral.
Ticket price also includes tea/coffee and biscuits in the Giles Gilbert Scott Room

25 places only

Organisers: Barbara Farmer (contact barbarafarmer4647@gmail.com / 07804 955 961) and Peter Woods (contact peterryanwood@me.com / 07711 423 672)

Art Friends Merseyside has been lucky enough to secure a guided tour of this stunning exhibition, the day before it closes!

Threads through the Bible is a breathtaking culmination of ten years’ dedication and passion, showcasing three extraordinary exhibitions: Threads through Creation, Threads through the Cross, and Threads through Revelation. Across a stunning display of 38 silk panels, stretching 80 metres and featuring over 25 million intricate stitches, this exhibition is a visual storytelling masterpiece by textile artist Jacqui Parkinson.

Previously, Threads through Revelation captivated audiences at cathedrals across the UK from 2016 to 2018, as did Threads through Creation from 2021 to 2024. Now, Liverpool Cathedral proudly brings these works together to tell the overarching story of the Bible from the “all is initially good” of Genesis, through the life and sacrifice of Jesus, to the “all is good again” of Revelation. 

This unique and celebratory exhibition offers a transformative encounter with one of the world’s greatest stories.

There is a pay and display car park next to the cathedral, but this can get full at busy times of the day.  Bus routes 82, 82A and 86 stop nearby.

REMINDER EVENTS BOOKING AND MEMBERSHIP FEES

We have been delighted by the interest shown with the booking of tickets for the number of events planned for the spring/summer 2025 programme. If you have not yet requested a ticket, then please contact the event organiser as some events have proved popular.

Income from the annual membership fees form the basis of the grant fund we can give to arts organisations each year. The membership year runs from 1 January so if you have not yet renewed, or are not sure if a payment has been made, then please contact the Secretary at hlwatters@talktalk.net. 

All income raised through event tickets and membership fees goes towards supporting the arts in the Merseyside area.

Visit to Western Approaches, 1-3 Rumford Street, Liverpool L2 8SZ and Afternoon Tea at the Racquet Club, Hargreaves Buildings, 5 Chapel Street, Liverpool L3 9AG

Tickets £26
30 places available
Organising Committee member - Indira Maddison (contact indiramaddison@hotmail.co.uk or artfriendsmerseyside1@gmail.com / 07986 864008)

The Western Approaches is the rectangular area of the Atlantic Ocean lying immediately to the west of the British Isles. As part of this area, Liverpool became a very important strategic position in the Second World War.

During World War ll this underground bunker housed 300 staff working to protect the tactics of the British Armed Forces deployed to bulwark the Germans. We will have a guided tour offering further insight into the history of the bunker and details of the personal stories of the people who worked there. The bunker is just as it was so there are a number of staircases and sensible shoes are advised.

The Western Approaches is a short walk from James Street station and Northern Line Moorfields station, Old Hall Street exit.

Afterwards we will have tea/coffee and cake at The Racquet Club. This historic building was once a private gentleman’s club and is a short walk from the Western Approaches.

Christmas Party by kind permission of Francis Ryan and Peter Woods at their home in Liverpool

Tickets £28, includes drinks and canapés 
80 places available
Organising Committee member - Sally Warnock (contact sally.warnock2@btinternet.com or artfriendsmerseyside1@gmail.com / 07770 785514)

A wonderful way to start the festive season is in Francis and Peter’s beautiful home. For those of you who have not been before you are in for a real treat and for those of you who have, need we say any more!

Drinks and canapés will be served on two floors giving everyone a chance to circulate. There will be a raffle with a very special prize. Please confirm any food allergies when booking.

Details of the address and parking information will be sent with the tickets.

The Wotherspoon Lecture by Gavin Hunter at the Lever Club, The Pavilion, Greendale Road, Port Sunlight CH62 4XB 

Tickets £25, includes lunch and a glass of wine
Organising Committee member - Barbara Farmer
(contact barbarafarmer4647@gmail.com or artfriendsmerseyside1@gmail.com / 0151 652 1002 or 07804 955961)

Gavin Hunter, historian of Port Sunlight and Honorary archivist to the Leverhulme family, will deliver a lavishly illustrated lecture unfolding the history of this fascinating iconic village, its founder, its development and its legacy.

Gavin is currently writing the final part of his trilogy on the Lords Leverhulme. Part I: The Life of Lady Lever and Part II: Leverhulme: The Life of William Hesketh Lever providing a detailed insight into this important family.

This event will take place at The Lever Club, The Pavilion, Greendale Road, Port Sunlight CH62 4XB. The Lever Club is next door to Port Sunlight train station and there is ample free, on-street parking close to the venue.

Joint hosted event with Liverpool John Moores University, The Student Life Building, Copperas Hill, Liverpool L3 5AH

Free event
Organising Committee member - Julia Leary and Olwen McLaughlin (contact julia@hilbrehouse.com / 07768 192882 or olwen@editionsltd.net / 07970 660081)

We are delighted to announce that, thanks to the estate of the late Fanchon Frohlich and Liverpool John Moores University, we will be hosting an evening on the Liverpool John Moores Campus to review our first five years, outline our future plans and view some of the University’s expanding art collection.

We will be joined by the University’s Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Professor Mark Power, and Colin Simpson, former Curator of the Williamson Art Gallery, who will talk about the collection.

The evening will commence at The Student Life Building, Copperas Hill, Liverpool L3 5AH to view Don McKinlay’s Goose Girl painting, recently taken on long-term loan from the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, and progress to the Redmond Building on Brownlow Hill where drinks and canapés will be served.

This is a FREE EVENT and members are invited to bring a friend who might be encouraged to join Art Friends Merseyside.

Please contact Julia Leary to advise her of the names of the members and guests who would like to join us at the event.

This event is kindly supported by Liverpool John Moores University.

Image: Donald McKinlay, Goose Girl © the artist's estate. Image credit: Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust

Curator-led tours of two exciting exhibitions at Victoria Gallery and Museum, Ashton Street, Liverpool L69 3DR - Creatures of the Nile and LEE MILLER: Friends and Farley

Tickets £16
30 places available

Organiser Committee member - Gail Aubrey (contact dgmaubrey@hotmail.com or artfriendsmerseyside1@gmail.com / 07803 617648 or 0151 427 3301)

We are fortunate to have secured the expertise of Dr Gina Criscenzo-Laycock, Curator of the Garstang Museum of Archaeology, who will give a tour of Creatures of the Nile. Over 250 objects, from domestic dog to mythical hippocampus, give a tantalising insight into life, belief and values of the time. Showcasing the Museum’s world leading collection some of the objects are being shown for the first time.

We will also get a tour of the exhibition LEE MILLER: Friends and Farley. Dr Amanda Draper, Curator of Art and Exhibitions, has beautifully curated the photographs of Lee Miller - fashion model, US war correspondent, part of the Surrealist movement and celebrated photographer. Generously loaned by Farley House, Chiddingly, as part of their 75th anniversary celebrations, the collection centres on the home that Miller shared with her artist husband Roland Penrose where Miller captured images of guests such as Picasso, Max Ernst and Dorothea Tanning.

We will meet at 11am in the Waterhouse Café for coffee/tea/cake (included in the ticket price). The tours will begin at 11.45; each will take approximately 45 mins.

The link below will take you to public transport and car parking information: https://vgm.liverpool.ac.uk/your-visit/getting-here

Tickets £10

35 places available

Organising Committee member - Gail Aubrey (contact dgmaubrey@hotmail.com or artfriendsmerseyside1@gmail.com / 07803 617648 or 0151 427 3301)

We are fortunate that Melissa Gustin, Curator of British Art at National Museums Liverpool, has agreed to deliver a tour of her new exhibition Another View: Landscapes by Women Artists at the Lady Lever Art Gallery.

The exhibition explores the growth of women landscape artists throughout the 19th and 20th centuries with particular reference to their representation of outdoor spaces. Some of the paintings and drawings are by well-known artists, others from lesser known women. Those who attended the Sudley House exhibition in February will know Melissa as an engaging, stimulating, knowledgeable speaker - not to be missed!

The café at Lady Lever opens at 10am - refreshments are not included in the ticket price but will be available to purchase either before or after the tour.

Image: Elizabeth Adela Forbes (neé Armstrong) Blackberry Gathering 1912 © National Museums Liverpool