The Royal Liver Building has some exciting things coming up this year and they are inviting you to get involved. Ian Edwards, CBRE’s General Manager at The Royal Liver Building, says he’s, “always looking for new and exciting ways to animate the public areas of the building“.
Earlier this year Ian hosted the first ever exhibition by renown street artist Paul Curtis. The free event which featured workshops, Q&A’s sessions, a charity draw and live painting and attracted more than 7,500 visitors in just three weeks.
Paul Curtis, who is perhaps best known his Liver bird wings on Jamaica Street, has multiple murals across the region and now has a permanent piece in The Royal Liver Building. The artwork depicts the construction of the building and was inspired by photos that Ian showed Paul ahead of the exhibition.
Ian has now placed those original images alongside the mural and says the public will always be able to view Paul’s work, going on to say, “We’re going to develop the ground floor and we’ve made sure there will be a dedicated space for art. The building is an iconic landmark but we want to keep it relevant, so it continues to engage with the local community and visitors to the city”.
Ian has long been committed to supporting creativity and in 2020 he commissioned a local artist to produce illustrations for the refurbished café area in the building. Ian also oversees the annual Liverpool Art Fair, which has taken place in the Royal Liver Building for a number of years and is set to launch again this month.
In addition to working with established artists, Ian’s also keen to support emerging talent and recently hosted Wirral Met College’s final degree show for photography, illustration and animation. Ian told us, “I believe it’s important to help and support local artists at all levels, especially at a time when it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to get a foothold in the industry”.
Liverpool based Photographer and Arts Producer Laura McCann who curated the Paul Curtis exhibition says she’s a fan of Ian’s approach. As she explained, “There’s no shortage of creative people in the city but not many venues offer the same enthusiasm and support that Ian and his team do. It’s always a pleasure to work with them and I’m really excited about collaborating on future events.”
In 2023 Laura curated a multi-artist exhibition for Pride and came up with the concept of the Dip Into Pride Bath, a rainbow tiled rolltop bath, the idea being to encourage people to immerse themselves in the spirit of Pride and equality. The design was brought to life by mosaic artist Natasha Eliis (aka @titsupartistliverpool). As Natasha told us, “I couldn’t be happier about the way the city has embraced the bath and to see it on show in such amazing places means everything”.
The bath has displayed at several locations including, The Museum of Liverpool. It is now residing at The Royal Liver Building, which has presented an opportunity for more people to get involved. Members of the public are not usually allowed to sit in the installation but if you’d like to have a professional photo taken in the bath by Laura, who has recently had a portrait shortlisted by the national portrait gallery, then simply head to Riverside entrance of The Royal Liver building between 11am and 4pm on the Thursday the 20 June.
The Dip Into Pride Bath will eventually be sold with all proceeds going to the charity Sahir, an organisation that supports the LGBTQ+ community. If you come along on the 20 June you will also be able to donate to Sahir whilst you’re there. Ian commented, “We love projects that involve the community and we couldn’t be happier to support the Dip Into Pride Bath”.
You can see more of Laura’s work and the bath’s journey so far at lauramccannphotos.com or on her Instagram @lauramccannphotos and you can follow mosaic artist bath, Natasha Ellis @titsupartistliverpool. If you’d like to find out more about Sahir head to sahir.org.uk
