Tate Liverpool: All You Need to Know

We all know that the stereotypes of Liverpool and Scousers in general are nonsense, but perhaps the most idiotic one of all is that Liverpudlians have no culture.

The fact that the city was given the title of European Capital of Culture in 2008 should’ve put that one to bed, but if you need further evidence then you could look at the amount of museums and art galleries in the city, boasting as many as virtually anywhere else outside of London.

Tate Liverpool is one of only two Tate galleries not in the capital, offering the people of Merseyside access to modern art like nowhere else.

The History of Tate Liverpool

The history of Tate Liverpool dates back to 1988, which was when the gallery was opened by the then Prince Charles on the 24th of May. The event itself was covered by BBC Two, showing the opening of the gallery in a section of the Albert Dock that had been converted by British architect James Stirling.

A decade later, the building underwent a major refurbishment in order to add additional gallery space. As with art itself, the Tate is constantly looking to alter and change, keeping itself as relevant as possible. That is why the foyer area underwent a redesign in 2007, with architects Arca changing both the proportions and the appearance.

@theguideliverpool Come inside Tate Liverpool with us! 🖼 It’s open 7 days a week and is a must visit if you’re in the city 👍🏙 #liverpool #liverpoolcity #liverpoollife #tate #tateliverpool #albertdock #liverpooldocks #thedocks #thingstodoinliverpool #whatson #liverpoolwhatson #liverpoolguide #city #city #art #liverpoolart #liverpoolfood #liverpoolshopping #shopping #liverpoolweekend #liverpoolattraction #fyp #foryoupage #viral #foryou #liverpooltiktok #scouse #scousetiktok #liverpoolliving #visualart #arttiktok ♬ Aesthetic – Tollan Kim

That was done in order to improve the ‘visitor handling’ experience. The café of the gallery was also redesigned, with the work being done by Peter Blake and the Liverpool-based architecture firm Architectural Emporium. Blake, of course, is no stranger to Liverpool, having been the artist who designed the famous Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover for The Beatles in the 1960s.

A timber desk with an orange fascia that undulates was the centrepiece of the new design, linking it to the original colour scheme introduced by Stirling when the building first opened. Work was also carried out to behind-the-scenes areas.

Major Changes

The Tate was closed in 2023, with the aim being to carry out a major transformation to the building that would reopen in 2025. Sadly, problems with the refurbishment meant that the opening of the gallery had to be delayed until 2027, largely because of a lack of funding for the work that the company behind it wanted to do.

By the February of 2025, Tate had raised £17.85 million of the £29.7 million that was required, thanks in part to a £10 million grant from the government’s Levelling Up fund and also courtesy of £6.6 million that came from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, whilst the Wolfson Foundation donated £1.25 million.

Liverpool and the surrounding area has almost an embarrassment of riches when it comes to galleries and museums, but this wait for the reopening of Tate feels interminable. Today’s one of those days I’d spend some time with the collection, have a browse in the shop.

— Mike Pinnington ✍️ (@doublenegativem.bsky.social) Sep 18, 2025 at 8:56

The original plan behind the refurbishment was to allow the gallery to welcome as many as a million visitors each year, which is five times the amount of people that were originally expected to be catered for when it first opened.

The design is also supposed to show more of the connection between the building itself and the city that it is located in, whilst giving the gallery the ability to house much bigger pieces than it has been able to host in the past. That includes being able to host works that are part of the National Collection, alongside being able to see out of the windows that had been bricked up in the 1990s, showing off Liverpool itself.

What Visitors Need to Know

If you would like to visit the Tate Liverpool, then you still can, thanks to the fact that some of the art on offer is being housed at RIBA North, Mann Island. Obviously, you won’t get the full experience, given that the space is much smaller than the Albert Dock building, but there are two small galleries and a family area on offer.

As well as talks, creative workshops and tours, there are also family activities carried out on a regular basis. If you would like to take advantage of them, then you can check out the website, which will let you know what events and activities, that have been inspired by the collections of Tate and RIBA, are available when.

In terms of the Tate itself, you can enter for free, with a suggested donation requested from those that can afford it. One thing to think about is the fact that parking isn’t always the easiest in Liverpool, especially around the waterfront. Although you will almost certainly be able to find a space, it is not cheap to park in the Albert Dock’s car park.

The nearby car park for the Liverpool ONE might be better value. It is also important to point out that the Tate can get busy, especially when it is used to hold an event such as it has in the past for the Liverpool Biennial, when the city hosted the Eurovision Song Contest and Light Night.