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300 Facts

Bluecoat's fascinating history revealed

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Bluecoat's oldest arts tenant, the contemporary craft gallery Bluecoat Display Centre, was established in 1959 in premises overlooking the garden.

1959

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In February 1997, as part of her Bluecoat exhibition, Hidden Agenda, Nina Saunders clad the building’s windows in white padded leather, creating a ghostly façade.

1997

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On 23 February 1934, Sir Edward Elgar died. Dining at Bluecoat that day, Russian composer Igor Stravinsky asked fellow diners to stand and pay tribute to “England’s greatest composer.”

1934

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Before World War One, trade union leader Tom Mann visited the Sandon Studios Society dining room at Bluecoat and reputedly stood on a chair to sing socialist anthem, The Red Flag.

Early 1900s

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The Walker Art Gallery was requisitioned by the Ministry of Food during World War Two and relocated its exhibitions programme to Bluecoat, the venue effectively becoming the city's main art gallery, hosting over 170 exhibitions. Many were originated by

1939

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On 18 February 1998, Lebanese artist Walid Sadek opened his exhibition, Karaoke, at Bluecoat at the end of his residency in the art department of Liverpool John Moores University. His work was shown again at Bluecoat in 2017 anniversary show, Public View.

1998

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Printmaking at Bluecoat started with acquisition of an Albion etching press, reputedly used by Augustus John, a frequenter of the building who had taught some of the Sandon Studios Society artist who established an arts presence there in the early 1900s.

Early 1900s

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The name Bluecoat derives from the blue coats worn by pupils at the charity school, which was founded in 1708 and opened the following year in a modest building close to the present site. The colour Blue denotes charity and the first such school was

1708

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The Sandon Studios Society's Annual Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture & Etchings in 1929 included life drawings and a Reclining Woman sculpture in concrete by Henry Moore, and works by other artists at the forefront of modern British art.

1929

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When Bluecoat was built three centuries ago, statues representing faith, hope and charity were positioned high up above its entrance. These are depicted in a print from 1718.

1718

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Two artworks by Reinhard Henning - a life-sized crucifix festooned with coat hooks and clear perspex hearts filled with live maggots - were included in Bluecoat’s first exchange exhibition with BBK gallery in Liverpool's German twin city of Cologne in

1987

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In 1993, an exhibition by Widnes-born artist Mal Dean brought together many of his 1970s Melody Maker jazz illustrations.

1993

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Bluecoat tenants, Merseyside Moviola's Video Positive festival in 1991 featured leading US video artist Tony Oursler in the gallery, his first UK exhibition.

1991

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Simon Rattle frequented Bluecoat in his teens, playing with, and even conducting, Liverpool Mozart Orchestra, whose regular conductor was John Carewe.

1960s

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Bluecoat's cobbled courtyard is probably original. An early print of the building, however, shows a paved chessboard design that, apparently, was never realised.

1717

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Bluecoat launched Blue Room on this day in 2008, a weekly arts programme for adults with learning disabilities with 33 members

2008

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Wallasey surrealist, George Jardine, had a studio at Bluecoat, exhibiting several times in the gallery, including 1977 solo show, From Landscape to Fantasy.

1977

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Tricia Porter's vivid photographs of life in Liverpool 8 were shown at Bluecoat in April 2015, some 40 years after they were taken in this multicultural area of the city.

2015

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Black Skin Bluecoat opened on 5 April 1985, the exhibition featuring emerging Black British artists Sonia Boyce, Eddie Chambers, Tom Joseph and Keith Piper.

1985

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Cult US rock musician Captain Beefheart’s first ever painting exhibition opened at Bluecoat on 4 April 1972. He described his art technique as “an ass swishing its tail.”

1972

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John Harrocks presented a Father Willis pipe organ to the Blue Coat in 1821. It accompanied the school to its new home in Wavertree in the early 1900s, where it remains today, in need of restoration.

1821

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Bluecoat has appeared fleetingly in the film Violent Playground (1958) and on television in Brookside. Do you know of other appearances?

1958

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Bluecoat founder, Bryan Blundell, notes in his journal in 1744 that children were taken into the school aged eight, and apprenticed at 14: "I give 40 shillings apprentice fee with each."

1744

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In March 1994, Ann Whitehurst's exhibition, On the Map: Placing Disability, responded to access issues at Bluecoat and in urban environments generally.

1994

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