Outside of the capital London, Liverpool has more museums and galleries than any other city in the UK. STOCKY Art and Photography students spent two days last week as part of the Enrichment programme, exploring this cultural capital. Students’ began their visit exploring three kilometres of Crosby Beach walking among some of the 100 cast Iron, life size figures on the foreshore.

After supper, students and staff braced the rain and walked into the Baltic Triangle, once known as the factory and workshop area of the city back in the slave trade of the 1800s. Today it is a thriving and cutting edge destination, home too many creative ventures. As part of our walk, we ventured into China Town, We observing the lantern lit roads and made our way to view the monumental Imperial Arch; learning Liverpool is the oldest Chinese community in Europe and homes the largest arch outside of China.

The following day students immersed themselves in the history of the World Heritage waterfront at the Royal Albert Docks. The Wheel of Liverpool offered stunning panoramic views, creating excellent opportunities for our photographers. The cities galleries and museums provided research for the recently set exam questions. Favourite exhibitions included ‘Double Fantasy’ a display at the Liverpool Museum hosting a ground-breaking exhibition telling John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s story in their own words.  The Tate Liverpool, a British and international modern and contemporary art gallery showcased Op Art in Focus – a dazzling display from pioneering artists of the 1960s to today. A relaxing lunch in the Baltic Triangle gave students the energy to spend the afternoon exploring the World Museum discovering millions of years of the earth’s history through thousands of exhibits. A personal favourite being the ‘world cultures’ gallery which took us on a journey around the globe looking at Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania. We viewed a huge collection of ethnographic objects, which introduced people of the world through their traditions, beliefs, and religions, depicted through objects and artefacts they had created. Our final stop for the day was at the Walker Art Gallery where we experienced beautiful paintings, sculptures and decorative art from the 13^th century to the present day. We were lucky enough to see the collection of Leonardo da Vinci drawings marking the 500th anniversary of the Renaissance master’s death.

Our 6^th form students were fantastic Ambassadors to St Simon Stock and experienced a diverse and rich selection of world art and culture from Ancient Egyptian artefacts in the World Museum to the spectacular sculptures at the beach by Antony Gormley all in Liverpool. Our students have come home fuelled with inspiration for the recently set A level art & photography exams.

Watch this space for an upcoming exhibition of students work.

Ms King

Subject Leader of Art and Photography

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“Liverpool opened my eyes to the existential differentiation between artists and cultures depicted by what city they are explored in. Liverpool performed exceptionally well in living to its profound title of ‘Cultural Capital’, influenced my project of ‘Changed Identities’ and my own opinions within the art industry; positively.” – I Felix

“I found the Liverpool trip a great opportunity to find new artists and inspiration for my new project I am working on. I thought it had a great amount of variety, which allowed everyone to find resources that would benefit their work. I thought it was an amazing experience.” – H Sutton

“I personally found the whole trip to Liverpool incredibly enlightening. I can truly say that I have never felt so moved by the art in the war exhibitions. This experience has heavily influenced my project on the representation of LGBT throughout time, allowing me to research a variety of artists that will inspire my own artwork.” – C Jones

“The museums and galleries in Liverpool offered a diverse range of different artists and artworks that gave me inspiration my new project on war. From the National Museum Liverpool offering extensive and stimulating context, to the Walker Gallery exhibiting many paintings and drawings from prestigious artists, inspiring me to work in new styles.” – Z Cotton

“Liverpool offered a diverse insight into the arts, from the Walker gallery exhibiting Renaissance art to the contemporary Double Fantasy display on at that Museum of Liverpool (an immersive, quite moving experience conveying John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s love) – I had variety of primary sources to feast on.” – I Thompson

“On our journey though the city of Liverpool we experienced and visited many educational locations. Vising four different museums and galleries it was an overwhelming experience of culture and facts furthermore everyone really enjoyed. I gathered lots of information for my project which will help guide me though the next though months.” – J Abela

“On our trip to Liverpool we visited many parts of the city including the Albert docks, China town and Liverpool One. We visited different art galleries along the way exploring the Liverpool museum, Tate Liverpool, he Liverpool world museum and the Walker Art Gallery, which gave us a diverse collection of artwork, which appealed to everyone who attended the tip. As well as this we were given the opportunity explore the city going on the Liverpool wheel which gave ups amazing views all over the city.” – R Pengelly

“Our school trip to Liverpool was truly amazing and fun. It was very beneficial in terms of our exam preparation as we were able to visit many galleries and museums that included a range of diverse and beautiful works. The Liverpool culture and environment was inspiring and helped bring new ideas for our projects.” – K Chelvakumar

“The Liverpool trip was an enriching experience as it gave me the chance to discover new artists in some of its famous galleries. I loved the Walker Gallery and The Tate as it opened my eyes to diverse artwork I can included in my new topic ‘changing identity’. Overall, I was surrounded by lovely people which made my experience.” – E Lake

“During the Liverpool trip, we went to the Ferris wheel, National Museum, Tate Liverpool, World Museum and the Walker Art Gallery. I exceptionally enjoyed the World Museum at Liverpool because it showed the different parts of the world in detail. It showed history of the world, how our surroundings have changed and diversity.” – Z Iniba