Open Eye Gallery: Rave On @ External Walls & Atrium

Open Eye Gallery: Rave On @ External Walls & Atrium

When

7.2.25 - 19.3.25    
All Day

Where

Open Eye Gallery
Mann Island, Liverpool Waterfront, Liverpool, L3 1BP, Liverpool

Event Type

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Exhibition Launch: 6 February, 5 – 7 PM / RSVP

Open Eye Gallery atrium space and external walls 

Exhibition continues: 7 February  – 19 March

Rave On is an exhibition celebrating the legacy and lasting impact of rave culture in Liverpool throughout the 1980s and 90s, curated by Ezra McConachie and supported by the Museum of Youth Culture.

From the soul and Motown scene of the 1970s, where people flocked to Fleet street to hear new records played at Timepiece, to the punk and new wave movements that found a home in Eric’s, the cultural landscape of the city has changed since The Beatles at the Cavern. This paved the way for Acid house to land in Liverpool towards the end of the 1980s.

Through photography by Mark McNulty and memories submitted by the public, Rave On pictures the faces and spaces which saw rave culture bloom in Liverpool in the late 80s and early 90s. The exhibition looks back at a pivotal moment in time, an era defining decade, and is dedicated to the people, places and community that made those dance floors so special.

The Museum of Youth Culture has supported Rave On by hosting an ongoing open call, in the style of a socially engaged photography project. The open call is for submissions of scanned photographs, flyers and memorabilia from the Liverpool club scene from 1987–1999, from the people who experienced it. The Museum will house these digital submissions permanently in their archives, preserving the legacy of this period of youth culture in Liverpool.

On Digital Window Gallery, a film made by Ezra McConachie in collaboration with Sam Batley and One Day At A Time Boys sees residents from Damien John Kelly House, an addiction recovery facility for men using the power of art and connection, speak about their memories and experiences of raving in Liverpool. Included in the film is celebrated restored footage of one of the many legendary nights in Quadrant Park, a space central to the raving community during this time period.

Ezra McConachie, exhibition curator, said: From early house records played at The State, Bold Street back rooms, Sefton Park raves and the very first Earthbeat to the opening of Quadrant Park, Cream in Wolstenholme Square and the decade of superclubs and superstars that followed, Rave On uplifts the stories, emotions and memories of a whole generation of people who lived through this period. 

Bronwyn Andrews, exhibition assistant curator and creative producer at Open Eye Gallery, said: Club culture is something in many ways which lives beyond the boundary of what can be preserved or documented, and yet is so formative and to many, an essential outlet for the body and mind. We’re thrilled to celebrate Liverpool’s rich rave history, with images and memories supplied by the community itself. 

Highlighting the importance of this period of time in youth culture and in the cultural history of Liverpool as a city, photos and stories collected through this exhibition and our ongoing documentation will become part of the Museum of Youth Culture’s permanent collections.

The exhibition includes photography from Grant Fleming, Tristan O’Neill, Queue Up and Dance, with special thanks to Mark McNulty, The Museum of Youth Culture, Damien John Kelly House and everyone who submitted to the open call to be part of this exhibition.

 

Museum of Youth Culture champions the impact of youth culture on modern society and works to change pervasive narratives around young people. The museum works with young people to explore their experiences as teenagers today and envision what a future museum should look like.

Acknowledging that we were all young once, the Museum believes everyone has an important story to tell about their youth and invites the public to be part of the museum through the Grown up in Britain campaign. From the bomb-site bicycle racers in post-war 1940s London to the Acid House ravers of 1980s Northern England, the Museum of Youth Culture empowers the extraordinary everyday stories of growing up in Britain.

Mark McNulty is a photographer who has documented the music, club culture and arts scene in Liverpool for over 35 years as well as working internationally on similar scenes for magazines and record companies, as well as on personal projects around the same themes.