Open Eye Gallery is a photography gallery and archive in
Liverpool, UK[4] that was established in 1977.[5] It is housed in a purpose-built building on the waterfront at
Mann Island,[5] its fourth location.
Open Eye Gallery comprises an exhibition space on one floor and an archive space on another,[2] and has large-scale graphic art installations on its external facade.[2] It is the only gallery dedicated to photography and related media in
North West England.[5] It is a non-profit organisation[4] and a registered charity.[6]
History
Open Eye Gallery first opened in Whitechapel, Liverpool (1977–1988); then
Bold Street (1989–1995); then Wood Street (1996[6]–2011); and finally
Mann Island (2011–present).[2][7][8][9] Its current building was purpose-built.[5][9][10]
Lorenzo Fusi was appointed its artistic director in 2013.[5] Sarah Fisher replaced him as executive director in 2015.[11]
Open Eye Gallery has a "considerable archive"[5] of predominantly portraiture and documentary photography.[2] "Formed in 1980, the Open Eye Archive is made up of the work of more than 100 photographers and comprises around 1600 prints."[2]
The Water's Edge. By Michelle Sank and Joanne Lacey. Liverpool: Open Eye;
Liverpool University, 2007.
ISBN978-1-84631-084-3. With a foreword by Patrick Henry, essays by Joanne Lacey, and a text by Roy Exley. Portraits by Sank of women who work, or worked, on the Liverpool waterfront. Published on the occasion of an exhibition.[1]