Walker Art Gallery: Sir John Akomfrah and Gender Stories Exhibitions Open This May
Two major exhibitions exploring identity, memory and belonging are set to open at Walker Art Gallery this summer, bringing internationally acclaimed contemporary art and deeply personal stories to the heart of Liverpool.
Opening on 16 May 2026, Listening All Night To The Rain by Sir John Akomfrah and Gender Stories will run side-by-side until 31 August, transforming the gallery into a space for reflection, conversation and cultural dialogue.
Originally commissioned by the British Council for the British Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024, Akomfrah’s Listening All Night To The Rain arrives in Liverpool as part of a UK tour supported by Art Fund.
The large-scale multi-channel film and sound installation will see the Walker’s neoclassical exterior transformed through imagery and voices from the Global Majority projected across the gallery’s portico. Inside, visitors will experience layered soundscapes, archival footage and newly filmed material exploring migration, racial injustice, climate change and collective memory.
Drawing its title from the poetry of Chinese writer Su Dongpo, the exhibition unfolds through a series of “Cantos”, with Liverpool showcasing three of the eight sections originally presented in Venice. Water acts as a recurring thread throughout the work, connecting stories spanning continents and generations, while sculptural installations inspired by religious altarpieces create contemplative spaces within the gallery.
Akomfrah’s relationship with Liverpool stretches back decades. His works A Touch of the Tar Brush (1991), which explored the city’s multicultural families, and Riot (2000), reflecting on the 1981 Toxteth uprising, both focused on Liverpool communities and histories. His acclaimed film installation The Unfinished Conversation, centred on cultural theorist Stuart Hall, also premiered at Liverpool Biennial in 2012.
Sir John Akomfrah said: “Many of the themes, stories, people and ideas within my practice draw inspiration from, or find deep resonances with, cities like Liverpool. It is a place shaped by movement, by departures and arrivals, and by stories carried across water.”
Alongside Akomfrah’s installation, Gender Stories will bring together centuries of art, photography, film and personal objects examining identity and self-expression.
The exhibition features works by Grayson Perry, David Hockney, Catherine Opie and Zanele Muholi, alongside contemporary film works by Liverpool-based artist Ree Bradley and London artist Ebun Sodipo.
Historical works include paintings by celebrated miniaturist Sarah Biffin, who spent her final years in Liverpool, while personal objects range from a 1909 Suffragette teapot designed by Sylvia Pankhurst to a linen smock worn by artist Gluck, who rejected gendered titles and conventions in the early 20th century.
The exhibition also includes work connected to Liverpool’s LGBTQ+ communities, including a scarf from a local LGBTQ+ football club and content from National Museums Liverpool’s What Artists Wear video series featuring Sister Sister discussing drag, fashion and identity.
Charlotte Keenan, Head of Walker Art Gallery, said the exhibitions reflect themes that resonate strongly with Liverpool’s history and communities.
“Everyone has a lived experience of gender, and this exhibition creates space for visitors to reflect on their own while hearing from others,” she said of Gender Stories. “Working with communities across Liverpool has been central to bringing the exhibition to the Walker.”
Gender Stories was developed collaboratively by Bristol Museums, Brighton & Hove Museums and National Museums Liverpool, incorporating community voices and collections from all three cities.
Both exhibitions open at Walker Art Gallery on 16 May and run until 31 August 2026. Admission is free.
