Announcing the Theme and Participating Artists for Liverpool Biennial 2025

‘BEDROCK’ draws on Liverpool’s distinctive geography and the beliefs which underpin the city’s social foundations. It is inspired by the sandstone which spans the city region and is found in its distinctive architecture. ‘BEDROCK’ also acts as a metaphor for the social foundations of Liverpool and the people, places and values that ground all of us. 

The participating artists for Liverpool Biennial 2025 are:  

Alice Rekab (Ireland/Sierra Leone); Amber Akaunu (UK/Nigeria); Amy Claire Mills (Australia); Ana Navas (Venezuela/Ecuador/Netherlands); Anna Gonzalez Noguchi (Spain/Japan/UK); Antonio Jose Guzman & Iva Jankovic (Netherlands/Panama/Serbia); Cevdet Erek (Turkey); ChihChung Chang 張致中 (Taiwan/Netherlands); Christine Sun Kim (USA); DARCH (India/Somaliland/Wales); Dawit L. Petros (Eritrea/Canada/USA); Elizabeth Price (UK); Fred Wilson (USA); Hadassa Ngamba (Democratic Republic of the Congo/Belgium); Imayna Caceres (Peru/Austria); Isabel Nolan (Ireland); Jennifer Tee (Netherlands); Kara Chin (UK/Singapore); Katarzyna Perlak (Poland/UK); Karen Tam 譚嘉文 (Canada); Leasho Johnson (USA/Jamaica); Linda Lamignan (Nigeria/Norway);  Maria Loizidou (Cyprus); Mounira Al Solh (Lebanon); Nandan Ghiya (India); Nour Bishouty (Lebanon/Jordan/Palestine/Canada); Odur Ronald (Uganda); Petros Moris (Greece); Sheila Hicks (France/USA); Widline Cadet (Haiti/USA).

Marie-Anne McQuay, Curator, Liverpool Biennial 2025, said:  

“The city’s geological foundations and its psyche have provided the starting point for the conversations of Liverpool Biennial 2025, with the invited artists bringing us their own definition of ‘BEDROCK’. Definitions which include family and chosen family, cultural heritage carried across the generations, and the environments that nurture and restore them. Central to this understanding of BEDROCK is the sense of loss that comes from the ongoing legacies of colonialism and empire so formative to Liverpool’s foundations. 

In responding to the city, artists have taken inspiration from Liverpool’s archives and histories, from its communities and civic spirit, and from taking time to dwell in its green spaces which support plant, insect, and bird life in unexpected ways through planned and unplanned urban developments.” 

Dr Samantha Lackey, Director, Liverpool Biennial, said:  

“This festival deliberately explores and visibly exposes the foundations of Liverpool, connecting international artists with our histories, people and the very ground we walk on. Working with Marie-Anne McQuay, with her long-standing knowledge of the city and its communities has allowed us to dig deeper into the things that make us a Biennial that could only be created in Liverpool.  

We’re excited to have forged new relationships with local organisations including First Take and At the Library, alongside our work with longstanding partners at Tate Liverpool, National Museums Liverpool, FACT, Bluecoat and Open Eye Gallery, consolidating the city’s cultural connections between the local and the global and looking to its foundations to support growth and possibility for the future.  

We look forward to sharing BEDROCK with visitors from our city and wider region, as well as those visiting from across the UK and internationally” 

Liverpool Biennial is the UK’s largest free festival of contemporary visual art. Taking place in historic buildings, unexpected spaces and art galleries, the Biennial has been transforming the city through art for over two decades. A dynamic programme of free exhibitions, performances, screenings, community and learning activities and fringe events unfolds over 14 weeks, shining a light on the city’s vibrant cultural scene. 

The Biennial programme is presented in locations across Liverpool, working in public, historic and community spaces, and with the city’s leading art venues including Bluecoat, FACT Liverpool, National Museums Liverpool, Open Eye Gallery and Tate Liverpool + RIBA North.  Venues added for the 2025 festival include Liverpool Cathedral, Walker Art Gallery and Liverpool Central Library, with further venues and sites to be announced in Spring 2025.  

Click here to register for the Liverpool Biennial 2025 previews and opening programme on 5 and 6 June.