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300 Facts

Bluecoat's fascinating history revealed

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A memorable performance at Bluecoat in 1996 by aerial dance duo, Momentary Fusion, featured them emerging from the building's clock and descending down the building's façade.

1996

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In 1997, Bluecoat marked 50 years since India's independence and the partition of Pakistan with Independent Thoughts, a series of artists' commissions in collaboration with artist Juginder Lamba and galleries in the North and Midlands, which were later

1997

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The Augustan Age was a popular Bluecoat arts programme in 1958 themed around the 18th century, when the building was founded.

1958

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Bluecoat Society of Arts was established in 1927, its constitution setting out a vision for the UK's first arts centre.

1927

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In 1802, pin making - a lucrative business for the Blue Coat School - was ended, having been considered detrimental to the health of the children who had to carry out the work.

1802

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Bluecoat’s record fairs - organised by Trevor Hughes - have been a regular feature since the 1970s, offering a range of vinyl and pop ephemera for the discerning collector.

1970s

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Two members of Sandon Studios Society produced a scurrilous satire, A Bushel of Chaff, in 1912, poking fun at Liverpool’s cultural and other institutions. Its caricatures were by theatre designer, George Harris, who had a studio at Bluecoat.

1912

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Merseyside Film Institute, Britain’s oldest film society founded in 1934, was based at Bluecoat for over 60 years and at the height of its popularity had 2,000 members.

1934

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Tom Wood's epic photographic odyssey, All Zones Off Peak, created over years travelling on Merseyside buses, was shown at both Bluecoat and Open Eye Gallery in 1998.

1998

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'Fifth Beatle' Stuart Sutcliffe's paintings and works on paper were exhibited at Bluecoat in 1990, before travelling to Liverpool's German twin city of Cologne.

1990

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In 1990, Bluecoat commissioned a new series of Rock Family Trees from Pete Frame, tracing the lineage of Merseyside groups, from the Cavern to Eric's.

1990

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Bluecoat's 1983 touring exhibition, Power Plays, which addressed patriarchy, featured Sue Coe, Jacqueline Morreau and Marisa Rueda. All three had been at Bluecoat in the exhibition Women's Images of Men.

1983

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A print of the Blue Coat School, dated 1718, by H. Hulsbergh was sold to raise money for the building’s completion. It shows several features since disappeared, or never realised, such as a chequerboard paved courtyard.

1718

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In 1992, Delta Streete's installation, Rough, transformed Bluecoat's gallery space and included a live performance by the artist.

1992

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North Face, an exhibition organised by Moviola (who later became FACT) at Bluecoat in 1990, focused on the North's changing urban environment and processes of deindustrialisation and regeneration, and featured video installations by Isabella Emslie, Dick

1990

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Wirral-born artist Graham Ashton showed drawings and a large wooden sculpture in his 1980 solo exhibition at Bluecoat, Family Sculpture. He was later commissioned by Liverpool's 1984 International Garden Festival to create an outdoor piece comprising an

1980

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In August 1999, the first Arabic Weekender at Bluecoat featured musician Adel Salameh. This event led to formation of the Liverpool Arab Arts Festivals, a partnership between Bluecoat and Liverpool Yemeni Arab Club.

1999

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Sandon Terrace in Duke Street was home to a group of students who broke away from the 'Art Sheds' at Liverpool University to form an independent art school. In 1907, they moved into the vacant Bluecoat building, becoming the Sandon Studios Society and

1907

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A 1796 guide to Liverpool, by W. Moss, describes girl pupils at the Blue-Coat Hospital - the charity school - being taught reading, writing, spinning, sewing, knitting and housewifery.'

1796

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In 2017, a conference on acclaimed Wirral-born writer Malcolm Lowry continued Bluecoat's annual Lowry Lounge celebrations of the author of modernist classic Under the Volcano.

2017

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In the early 18th century, Dr Bell's ‘Madras system’ of education was introduced to Blue Coat School, based on the principal of older pupils teaching younger ones.

1700s

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In June 1996, for the Euro96 group stage matches, Bluecoat hosted Tackle, a football fashion show in the front courtyard, which included striking Liverpool dockers and was devised by Roger Hill and Jayne Casey, Bluecoat's live programmer.

1996

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A 1796 guide to Liverpool, by W. Moss, describes the Blue-Coat Hospital - the charity school - as a place where 'the boys are taught reading, writing and accounts; and those intended for the sea are instructed in navigation.'

1796

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In June 1996, the future Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone MP, led a tour of Peter Kennard’s Bluecoat exhibition Unwords that explored human rights abuse around the world.

1996

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