A sound bath is an immersive sound healing session and meditation. It's called a 'bath' because it uses sound waves to 'wash' over you to relax, reset and rejuvenate your body and mind. The experienced practitioner will guide you through this transformational journey under the calming light of hundreds of candles. Join us to release that which no longer serves you, cultivate new energies and vibrations, and become infused with positivity and serenity. Get your tickets to Mindful Glow: A Candlelit Sound Bath Meditation now!

Dive into the heart of Liverpool with a guided walking tour that brings the city's vibrant heritage and culture to life! Perfect for both newcomers and locals eager to explore, our passionate guides will enchant you with personal tales and hidden gems of Liverpool. Snap the perfect pic at iconic landmarks, uncover fascinating historical stories, and even trace the steps of The Fab Four near the legendary Cavern Club. It's an unforgettable journey through Liverpool's past and present.

Step back in time to AD43 and allow Liverpool's Romans to take you on an unforgettable journey! Brace yourself for an exhilarating adventure as a valiant Gladiator in The Emperors Games. Prepare for a blend of uproarious games, chilling props, and captivating trials while striving for victory and freedom. But that's not all - savour delectable Bavarian sausages and divine vegan options paired with the zest of Roman peasant drinks. You can even hire a toga for a complete immersion into the Romanambiance. This captivating experience featuring live actors and countless photo ops is nothing short of legendary! So don't miss out and get your tickets for The Romans Immersive Experience in Liverpool!

Tue 3 Jun, 5.30-7pm Join us to create block print postcards using pre-made designs, meet fellow artists, and learn more about Bluecoat’s growing print community. Whether you’re a seasoned printmaker or simply looking to get involved, this session is for everyone. No experience necessary—come solo or with friends, have a go, and take home your own printed postcard. It’s also a great chance to chat with our Print Studio Manager and find out more about our open-access studio, courses, and workshops. Free, booking required

Masding’s playful exhibition investigates how images, objects and words link together. Through a combination of sculpture, fictional writing and typography, Masding transforms the gallery into a space where language can mingle, collide and flow. Following on from her 2024 book, Body of Pieces, the exhibition at the Bluecoat presents new writing by Masding and follows her strategy of using fiction to explore the nature of objects, their physical properties and how they relate to us. Masding describes writing as a ‘sculpting tool’ allowing her to defy the laws of physics and go inside objects. In the gallery, visitors will explore sculptures made from metal, ceramic, plaster and shimmering textiles which are suspended from a series of elongated copper sculptures. Pages of Masding’s new works of fiction will hang from these copper frames, for visitors to tear off and read. The Moveable Scene of the Page also features Masding’s new alphabet sculptures, inspired by, and in the shape of Monster Munch crisps. This novel new typeface is formed by extrusion; a means of forcing soft material through a hole in a flat disc. Monster Munch is made using the same technique, but as this tube of material comes through the extruder it is sliced into individual, flat claw shapes. Masding’s ceramic letters become poetic sculptures, with phrases like “tongue tripping over a glazed ceramic marble” suggesting a collision of words and objects in our own bodies. When working between the disciplines of writing, sculpture and performance, Masding is often thinking about translation, and how the essence of an object can change. When a drawing is made of a bunch of grapes, it is translated into a flat image and some information is lost (the weight) but something is also gained (small details are highlighted). When that image or artwork is written about, it is translated again into letters and spoken language. Through her work, Masding gives us the opportunity to look closer at this translation process. She suggests that art is often a task of slowing the world down, and holding it in place so we can take a closer look. When we produce a drawing or take a photograph of something, we fix that object in place and study it. Masding’s work seeks to fix the act of translation in place, giving us the chance to slow down and examine the process.

Rowena Harris’s Long-Covid and the Culture of Disbelief is a single-channel film that explores the socio-cultural context of Long-Covid and ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis). The film, made over several years, draws on the artist’s personal experience of these related health conditions. It emerged as a film about ME before the pandemic, and then responsively evolved as Long-Covid emerged and took hold in the world and the artist’s body. The film uses captions without an audible voice, to guide us through an examination of the history of ME. Taking us back to the 1950s when the disease was first studied and named, and then into the 1970s when it was reclassified as a psychological condition and linked to a misogynist idea of ‘hysteria’. The film asks us to consider this culture of disbelief in relation to Long-Covid. Harris uses a combination of found footage, CGI, and a soundtrack of rhythmic beeps and clicks, reminiscent of MRI machines and medical equipment to engage in an idea of sickness that slips between the personal, societal and of the film media itself. The film narrates back to us, “a film can look like this and still be sick.”

Veronica Watson has been chronicling the people who populate the Bluecoat for almost 20 years. As a founding member of Blue Room, the Bluecoat’s inclusive arts project, she has cast a steady eye over the ever evolving community of people who spend time working, volunteering and creating at the arts centre. Her portraiture practice has captured the likeness and spirit of many individuals through drawing and painting. For the first time, the artists’ collection of portraits will be shared in a limited edition book, All Together Now with a foreword by writer Mike Pinnington from the Double Negative. More information on how to purchase the book will be available soon. This accompanying exhibition features a selection of portraits of people connected with Blue Room and the Bluecoat, along with archive images of Watson’s long engagement with the arts centre.

This reading and discussion group will focus on Bhanu Kapil’s Ban-en-Banlieue. Led by poet Jennifer Lee Tsai, currently an Artist in Residence at Bluecoat through the Wittenham Bursary, we will read and share our thoughts, ideas, and reflections on this powerful and innovative work in an inclusive, friendly, and encouraging space. All are welcome.

Join us as we explore this photographic printing process in a family friendly workshop. Collect leaves and flowers from our beautiful spring garden to create your prints, or you can bring your own. A cyanotype is a blue print made by placing an object on paper coated with iron salts. The silhouette of the object is transferred onto the paper as it is exposed to light, and appears after washing the paper in water. Suitable for ages 3+ Drop in. Suggested donation, £3 per child.

Astles ‘Balloon Moon Pop’ Colors misty melancholy in pastel seaside shades. This should come as no surprise given that Daniel Astles grew up between the sleepy seaside town of Southport and the independent state of Liverpool. His songwriting is a homage to the heartfelt, a tender celebration of flesh and blood, whispered into your ear by a voice as warm as milky tea.

Join us for this enjoyable and informative workshop session where you'll discover the art of TetraPak printing. TetraPak printing is a more environmentally friendly version of intaglio printing that utilizes discarded TetraPak cartons as printing plates. By pressing, carving, and tearing the inner surface of a TetraPak carton, you can produce a range of textures and gradients on a single layer. Ink is applied to the recessed areas of the plate, which is then passed through a press to transfer the design onto paper. This method is ideal for beginners, offering a straightforward, enjoyable, and chemical-free way to explore the intaglio process. You'll explore the techniques and theory behind this unique and accessible printing method and create your own small edition of TetraPak prints using our century-old etching press. You will be guided through every step of the process from start to finish, leaving with confidence in tetrapak printing and having created a small finished edition of prints to take home with you. All materials you will use are included in the cost of the course, but you are welcome to bring along your own if you choose. Our studios are environmentally friendly where possible and use greener methods of screen printing, such as water-based acrylic inks. Completing this course will act as an Induction to book into our Intaglio Studio should you wish to. We have two sessions available: Sat 31 May, 11am-1.30pm Sat 31 May, 2-4.30pm

Discover the history of music events at the Bluecoat! Browse a selection of posters, programmes and more from our archive with the Bluecoat's Director of Cultural Legacies, Bryan Biggs. We’re interested to hear your own Bluecoat stories and how you’d like to make use of the archive, including online through our Library.

As part of the Bluecoat's Big Music Weekend, we're hosting an exciting open mic session in our iconic secret garden to showcase incredible new musicians and performers in Liverpool. Whether your new to open mic's, a seasoned performer looking to test out new songs, or simply looking to relax and listen to great new music, all are invited to come along and share their talents in a warm and inclusive environment. Sign up is required to perform.

What's your dream festival line up? Make your own posters featuring all your favourite musicians in this family friendly printmaking session! With the help of our expert facilitators, you'll learn all about screen printing, and even be able to pull your own screens to create your own festival posters to take away with you. We have two sessions available: Session 1: 1pm - 1.45pm Session 2: 2pm - 2.45pm Suitable for all ages

The legendary Liverpool Book Market returns to the Garden Room in the Bluecoat. Browse a fantastic selection of books from a range of local booksellers, including ‘still Out-of-Print’ of Smithdown Road and the Bolshie Bargain Bookstall. Bargains, rarities and a cornucopia of subjects for the literary mind!

Join us for a live performance in our galleries by Joanne Masding, who will read extracts from her first book, Body of Pieces, in a performance activated with props and lo-fi staging. Body of Pieces follows two female characters, The Surgeon and The Dancer, as they attempt to interact with a series of hard to grasp and vaguely defined objects, and one another, within the bowels of a fictional archive. From up close with fingers and at a remove stuck behind a laptop screen, The Surgeon and The Dancer test out ways of interacting with the physical world in front of them, and of dealing with their own shifting and malleable bodies. In the lawless space of a museum built out of written fiction, precious artefacts are eaten and melded with, body parts are carved up and ballooned outwards, and objects, artworks and children, are birthed, created and made real. In this choreographed arrangement of extracts from the book Masding will test out ways of animating the voices and registers of the characters, objects and materials that speak through the text. Body of Pieces is published by Bobo Books and is available to purchase at Bluecoat.

Learn the basics of etching, one of the oldest & most unique printmaking processes, at the historical Bluecoat Print Studios. During this one day course you will learn the basics of copper sulphate etching, including learning about the history, tools & materials of etching and the chemical processes involved in creating a copper sulphate etched plate, as well as inking and printing your design on our fabulous century old Hughes & Kimber Etching Press. On this course for beginners you will be guided through every step of the etching process from start to finish, leaving with having created a finished edition of prints. All materials are provided on the day as well as a booklet to take away detailing the processes learnt. The course is available to book on the following dates: Sat 21 Jun, 11am-5pm Sat 9 Aug, 11am-5pm Tickets: £80 (all materials included)