Update from the Williamson

Exhibitions at the Williamson Art Gallery

Open Wednesday to Sunday 10am until 5pm (closed for Christmas and essential maintenance 24th December to 10th of January) 

Free but donations welcomed.
Run by Wirral Museums Service for Wirral Council, supported by Williamson and Priory Friends (charity)

Download the latest newsletter for the Williamson and Priory

After Durer

Animal Encounters 

The Animal Encounters exhibition brings together paintings, drawings, prints and objects from across the museum collection depicting animals in a wide range of settings. The selection may change from time to time, especially to include work by living local artists contributing to the theme.The conservation agenda of animals and their habitats will be woven into the exhibition with the support of the community team at Chester Zoo in Spring 2018. The exhibition will be used as a catalyst for our learning programme at the Williamson with schools, pre-schoolers and families.
Until 11th of November 2018

Not lost but gone before

“By Request”
“By Request” is an exhibition of oil paintings from our collection, chosen by our audience, during a consultation period in the Transformation Station. In Gallery Thirteen but will be relocated to Gallery One and will expand to reflect more choices. 
1st of December to 23rd of December 2017

Art Bloomers
On display will be work from 30 artists who attend the community art group who meet at the St James Centre of The North Birkenhead Development Trust. The exhibition opens on the 8th of December at the Williamson Art Gallery staying open until the 23rd of December and reopening after the festive season on the 10th of January, ending on the 28th of January. 

Tuscany 2017

An exhibition arranged through the work of  Edsential, who aim to encourage young people to explore their artistic and creative potential. Students from the Wirral, Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire East, Warrington and Manchester, Cheshire East visited Italy in late Autumn to produce the work for the exhibition. While in Tuscany,  practical work ran alongside organised visits to see the works of the Italian Renaissance.  

13 - 23 December 2017 and 10 - 28 January 2018

“Un-settled” Steve des Landes solo exhibition 

Steve des Landes

The visual language that painter, Steve des Landes uses may be conventional and figures appear realistic and natural but the space is manipulated and contorted as are the figures, to tell the story. His paintings don’t merely show us a representation ofexternal visual life, his compositions, his figures portray tensions, emotional histories and past lives. Despite showing his work elsewhere in Liverpool and London, Steve des Landes has not had a solo show in Wirral and is pleased to be working with the Wirral Museums Service and Wirral Council as part of a year focusing on culture and creativity in the area, with his solo exhibition Un-settled. The Williamson is proud to be part of Liverpool 2018, the beginning of a celebration of ten years of culture and creativity that will bring new visitors to the Liverpool City Region.

13 January - 4 March 2018

Will Penn on exhibition (title to be confirmed)

Celebrating the life and works of William Charles Penn 1877–1968, fifty years after his death in the first of two exhibitions

13 January - 4 February 2018

People of the Williamson - photographic portraits by James Deegan

ABS by James Deegan

Photographic portraits showing the people of the Williamson and reflecting the the rich variety of people who are connected to the gallery, the museum and cafe. The first of two exhibitions from James - the second will look closely at the people of Oxton.

13 January - 4 February 2018

Dragons in the Pool

Rosa Fong from Edgehill University explores the little-known history of Chinese seamen who were secretly deported from the UK after the Second World War is revealed in an exhibition over Chinese New Year. The local community are invited to share their stories of the Liverpool Eurasian community. Chinese seamen began to settle in Liverpool from the end of the 1880s and by the start of the 20th century Liverpool had the largest settlement of Chinese in the UK.

9 February - 18 March 2018

Events at the Williamson

Family drop in workshops creating snow-globes and other festive fun forChristmas, free but donations welcomed. Supported by the Williamson and Priory Friends and P H Holt Foundation

2nd and 9th of December 11 -4pm

Wirral Holistic Care Services Christmas Concert

Please ring the Wirral Holistic Care Services centre for tickets @ £6 : 0151 652 9313 (Please note tickets are not available for sale in the gallery). Proceed go to WHCS

Sunday 3rd of December 2017 at 3pm

Books Banter and Booze

The theme for our fourth “book club’ that is not a “Book Club”,  is BOOKS I HAVE HATED. Our event is more like a cross between “A Good Read” and “Open Book” from Radio Four than a conventional book club where everyone reads the same book, offering an opportunity to sit down with other avid readers and talk about literature on a topic, not one book in particular. The discussion is facilitated but not restricted and tangents are welcome. We are experimenting with developing the two Thursday evenings in the month when we already have a group using the gallery as a meeting venue.

Vintage Christmas

The Williamson Cafe is celebrating Christmas in Vintage style. Join us for homemade mince pies, Christmas cake and festive savouries from 10 am until 4pm. The Jingle Belles will be performing vintage classes from 12pm and the cafe staff will be getting into the spirit of Christmas in vintage style

Sunday 10th of December 10 am until 4pm

The Mayor’s Christmas Concert

The gallery is playing host to several Christmas Carol concerts this year, including on the 14th of December at 7pm,  a seasonal sing-along for The Mayor’s Charity Fund. Join our current Mayor, Councillor Ann McLachlan with her musical guests, Off Pitch Choir from Calday Rugby Club and enjoy mulled wine and mince pies with all proceeds from tickets (£7), going to INCUBABIES for a new special care baby unit at Arrowe Park Hospital and for Merseyside Autistic Society.

ckets £7 available  from Wallasey Town Hall or by calling 0151 691 8527.

Taffelmusik/Wirral School of Music Christmas concert

Join with Wirral School of Music in their second Christmas concert at the Williamson.  Tickets available £10 for adults, 18 and under free from Wirral School of Music

16th of December at 3pm

Adult Classes at the Williamson

Our leader for our adult daytime art classes, Pamela 

Sullivan has released her dates for 2018 for sessions at the Williamson Art Gallery during the day on Thursdays mornings and afternoons, and Friday mornings. She plans to tie her themes into the exhibition programme for 2018.Start date 11th and 12th of January and run into March. The adult art classes as usual are £55 for the ten weeks which works out to be a bargain at £2.75 per hour. Payable in full in advance.
For more information on future classes, contact the gallery on 0151 666 3537 or pamelasullivan@wirral.gov.uk

Monthly Life Drawing Class

Life drawing session at the Williamson Art Gallery within the exhibitions with model and tutor(s). 

£10 for class 6.30 - 8.30pm and there will be a special offer of £5 for mince pie and mulled wine from the cafe. Other food available from the cafe from 6pm. Please bring your own art materials, drawing board, sketching pencils etc or purchase them from ArtFix, our art supply shop. Next session will be the 11th of January