Loved: As an event manager, I love a spectacle and I try to get to as many events (for R&D purposes!) as I can. A highlight in May was Bring the Fire Project’sFire Gala at the Bombed Out Church, which was utterly mesmerising.
Looking forward to: I’m gutted that one of my favourite festivals in Liverpool’s events calendar Africa Oyé, is not taking place in 2025. For consolation, my friends and I have got tickets to see Black Uhuru at Future Yard later this month.
Trivia: I’m born and bred Swiss and have been living up my continental roots since January, working with the European diaspora communities at Liverpool European Festival. You can dip into European culture and heritage all through June, please visit liverpooleuropeanfestival.co.uk for the festival events.
Future Yard is more than just a venue — it’s a movement. Based in the heart of Birkenhead, this trailblazing space combines live music, artist development, and environmental action to reshape what a grassroots venue can be.
Open seven days a week, it’s home to a bar, coffee shop, and a vibrant outdoor space. At its core is a 280-capacity live room that plays host to an exciting mix of local talent and acclaimed national and international acts.
Future Yard is also a creative hub — supporting emerging artists through development programmes and offering young people from the local area free access to training in the live music industry. Their long-term goal? To help shape the future of music in Birkenhead while becoming the UK’s first operational carbon net-zero grassroots venue.
Opening their doors fully to the music-loving public in the spring of 2021, Future Yard is a community venue bringing some of today’s most exciting artists to the Wirral, with a full programme of events throughout the year.
Past performers include legendary names like Kraftwerk’s Wolfgang Flür, The Coral, Doves, Gruff Rhys, and Beans on Toast.
Each year the venue also hosts Future Now — a genre-spanning festival dedicated to musical discovery. The fifth instalment of Future Now returns for the August Bank Holiday. The 2025 edition will feature trailblazers like Los Bitchos and Pussy Riot: Riot Days, cementing the festival’s reputation as a must-attend event.
Beyond gigs, Future Yard also offers vinyl markets, regular club nights, and the newly launched Birkenhead Craft Beer Festival, debuting July 2025.
Supporting the Next Generation
PROPELLER sits at the heart of Future Yard’s artist empowerment revolution. Every PROPELLER artist is partnered with an experienced professional mentor to provide support and a dedicated development plan. They also gain access to a rolling programme of workshops and masterclasses from leading music minds, building your knowledge. All this is based within a vibrant artist community, housed at Future Yard.
If you want to make music happen, you can also sign up to their mailing list, and you’ll hear the latest about Sound Check, their free-to-access live music industry training programme for young people.
Mosh Tots – Gigs For Kids
Mosh Tots is the hippest, hottest party in town! Sunday mornings at Future Yard are the place to be. Their gigs for kids (and well-behaved grown-ups!) series has been hugely popular since they launched.
Aimed at children aged 1-8, Mosh Tots is there to introduce young people to the rockin’ world of live music in a safe and fun environment. They believe that live music should be for everyone, no matter your age.
Future Yard Kitchen
The venue’s kitchen serves fresh vegan and veggie, Neapolitan-style pizzas made from locally sourced ingredients.Open on all live show days and every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the kitchen complements the bar and coffee shop, which are open daily from 10 am.
Space To Relax
Whether you’re dropping by for a show or just fancy a quiet coffee, Future Yard’s garden offers a welcoming place to unwind. The outdoor space is open daily, providing a laid-back spot to enjoy pizza, drinks, or sunshine with friends. And if the weather doesn’t play ball, their bar and café inside offer the same chilled-out atmosphere.
Environmental Pledge
Alongside realising their creative vision, Future Yard have made major steps in Sustainability and reducing their carbon footprint. They are committed to a long-term goal of becoming operational net-zero by 2030 and fully net-zero by 2035. This will make the venue one of the first arts organisations to achieve this in the UK.
Working in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University’s Low Carbon Eco-Innovatory, they have been shaping the long-term design of the building, its energy consumption and developing a range of policies in how the venue operates to achieve this goal.
Discover What’s On At Future Yard
For all the latest events listings and happenings visit the Future Yard website.
Liverpool Biennial returns this summer once again showcasing cutting-edge contemporary visual art across the city region. Running alongside it is the Independents Biennial, with 22 newly commissioned works by 64 artists. Independents Biennial sets out to highlight the incredible work of the city’s grassroots artists, an integral part of the backbone of Liverpool’s creative scene.
Independent galleries and Liverpool’s creative networks are placed into the spotlight, as artists are given a chance to make a name for themselves in the UK’s largest and longest-running free festival of art, as well as celebrating Liverpool’s creativity and cultural significance.
What makes the Independents Biennial truly special is its commitment to non-traditional spaces. Art isn’t just confined to galleries – the festival utilises all spaces to showcase its artists work, including Hilbre Island off the coast of the Wirral, Belle Vale shopping centre and empty units in St Helens town centre. It celebrates the versatility of art, and how artists can use any space and turn anything into phenomenal, thought-provoking pieces of art.
Independents Biennial will span each of Liverpool’s six boroughs, with each location offering something unique and inspirational. Sefton, Knowsley, Wirral, St Helens, Halton and Liverpool city centre will host these 64 independent artists and provide them and their work with a home for the summer.
Independents Biennial: Our Highlights
While the entire programme promises to be unforgettable, we’ve picked out a few exhibitions that are especially worth checking out…
The Right Map by Ghost Art School
You won’t want to miss The Right Map by Ghost Art School, a collective that exists between margins and creates art that challenges the conventions of traditional institutions. The Right Map is described as “a constellation of art exhibitions across Liverpool, unfolding under the banner of the Independents Biennial.” It brings together a series of exhibitions across the city region, including UNSTABLE in Port Sunlight, In Search of Swallows and Amazons in Kensington, Account in Birkenhead, and Slipstream on Blundell Street in the city centre.
Tom Stockley and Ruaíri Valentine
Building on this theme of place and disruption, Tom Stockley and Ruaíri Valentine bring their deep dive into Wirral psychogeography to the festival with Weird Wirral. Inspired by a gothic poem, the duo turns to folklore and legend, guiding us through the shorelines and landscapes of the Wirral to uncover traces of magic and forgotten stories hidden in the land.
Claire Beerjeraz
Meanwhile, at the Victoria Gallery, Claire Beerjeraz offers a powerful reflection on the legacies of colonialism and slavery. Their multidisciplinary exhibition explores how these histories are displayed, contained, and remembered within institutional spaces. With a tapestry of spoken word and clay, Claire weaves together personal and collective memory, urging us to look beneath the surface of memorials and museum walls—and to reimagine how art institutions can hold space for difficult truths.
Amy Flynn Technofossils
Amy Flynn Technofossils
In another standout piece, artist Amy Flynn invites us to consider the legacy of our modern waste through Technofossils—human-made objects and materials that will persist in the geological record for millions of years. Her pewter cast sculptures are deliberately alluring at first glance: sparkling gemstones and shiny metals entice the viewer in. But look closer, and you’ll find the contours of outdated mobile phones and discarded plastic food containers—rubbish masquerading as treasure. This journey through desire and disgust mimics the cycle of consumerism, exploring themes of duality: artificial/organic, worthless/precious, temporary/permanent, growth/decay.
Venus in Transit: A Cosmic Journey Through Liverpool
Explore Liverpool’s history through a cosmic lens in this bold, multi-part project that blends astrology, storytelling, and live art. Back in 1639, Toxteth-born astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks became the first person to observe the transit of Venus across the Sun—a pivotal moment in the history of astronomy. In astrology, Venus is associated with beauty and creativity, and this project asks how these Venusian themes have helped shape Liverpool’s identity across the centuries. This is part one of a collaboration between Independents Biennial and the Museum of Liverpool’s Global City series—and promises to be an unforgettable deep dive into the city’s star-studded past and artistic present.
Discover the full Independents Biennial programme
Independents Biennial will take place across Liverpool from 7 June to 14 September 2025. This year’s festival is already shaping up to be one of the most exciting yet. With so much to explore, experience, and be inspired by, Independents Biennial is a must for anyone looking to make the most of the city’s creative summer—it’s definitely at the top of our plans!
Liverpool Biennial returns this summer, transforming the city with bold and thought-provoking contemporary art across public spaces, galleries, and unexpected venues.
What is Liverpool Biennial?
Founded in 1998, Liverpool Biennial is the UK’s largest free festival of contemporary art. Since then, it’s presented over 560 artists and created nearly 400 artworks — many of which remain permanently in the city, like Liverpool Mountain at the Albert Dock or The Hummingbird Clock in Derby Square and even The Dazzle Ferry that takes visitors too and from the Wirral every day. The Biennial has presented work by over 560 leading artists, delivered 34 collaborative neighbourhood projects, and received over 50 million visits.
2025 Theme: BEDROCK
This year’s theme is BEDROCK, inspired by Liverpool’s sandstone geology and its deeper social foundations — from family and heritage to community and colonial legacies.
Liverpool Biennial curator, Marie-Anne McQuay 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’.”
Three Programme Weekends
The festival unfolds across three key weekends, each focusing on a different layer of BEDROCK:
7–8 June: Civic and colonial history
25–27 July: Family and the things that ground us
12–14 September: Geology and the passage of time
Liverpool Biennial 2025 events and exhibitions:
Here is an insight in what kind of artwork and artists to expect at this year’s Liverpool Biennial 2025.
Outdoor Works:
Anna Gonzalez Noguchi, Real Feel 90, 2021. Courtesy of the artist and Canary Wharf, London. Photography by Sean Pollock
Alice Rekab — A multi-city (Liverpool and Edinburgh) billboard project with students, exploring identity and belonging. In partnership with Edinburgh Art Festival. (Liverpool ONE).
Anna Gonzalez-Noguchi — Botanical-themed sculpture inspired by the historical import of ‘foreign’ plants into Liverpool, engraved with records of the city’s botanical collections. (Mann Island).
Petros Moris — Mosaic works inspired by abandoned playgrounds and personal history (The Oratory, Liverpool Cathedral).
Isabel Nolan — A steel and concrete sculpture inspired by a drawing of a stained-glass window held in the St Nicholas Pro-Cathedral archive and the leadwork in the windows of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral’s Lutyens Crypt. (St Johns Gardens)
Further works will be exhibited in some unexpected places around the streets of Liverpool:
Anna Gonzalez-Noguchi – Eurochemist, Berry Street.
Amber Akaunu – New film Dear Other Mother exploring matriarchal community in Toxteth.
Odur Ronald – Large installation of aluminium passports reflecting African migration.
ChihChung Chang 張致中 – Ship model-based work reflecting family and naval history, also at Pine Court.
FACT
Kara Chin, The Park is Gone, 2022. Image courtesy of the artist.
Kara Chin – Interactive installation combining urban motifs with manga and gaming aesthetics.
DARCH – Sound and ceramic work with Sefton residents about land, roots and belonging.
Linda Lamignan – Film exploring animism, palm oil extraction and Nigeria–Liverpool histories.
Liverpool Cathedral
Maria Loizidou, Moi Balbuzard Migrant, 2023, Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature, Paris 2023-24. Photography by Maria Lund.
Ana Navas – Glass collages inspired by historic female portraiture and local embroidery archives.
Maria Loizidou – Crocheted tapestry of migratory birds highlighting themes of migration and survival
Liverpool Central Library
Dawit L. Petros, The Open Boat, 2024. 3D Print. Courtesy of the Artist and Tiwani Contemporary, London. Photography by Dawit L. Petros
Dawit L. Petros – Dawit presents a research project at Liverpool Central Library that aims to re-read a historic military expedition to the River Nile from 1884-1885 – a British-led expedition which included 379 Voyageurs from across Canada and Quebec including French Canadians, Western Canadians and First Nations. The installation, which has been developed through a residency at Liverpool John Moore’s University, includes sound, video, books and archive material gathered and created in response to Liverpool’s own archives related to shipping and empire.
Open Eye Gallery
Widline Cadet, Santiman fantom (Ghost Feelings), 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Nazarian / Curcio.
Nandan Ghiya – Sculptural photographs inspired by Hindu mythology and colonial resource extraction.
Widline Cadet – Photographic exploration of Haitian-American diasporic memory.
Katarzyna Perlak – Horror-inspired queer film set in Liverpool’s Adelphi Hotel. Co-created with local award-winning filmmaking organisation First Take and participants from their REEL: Queer programme, the film adopts a non-linear, poetic narrative and references the genre of horror to explore longing and Queer identity.
Karen Tam 譚嘉文, Scent of Thunderbolts, 2024. Courtesy of the artist and Toronto Biennial of Art. Photography by Toni Hafkenscheid
Karen Tam 譚嘉文 – Multimedia piece on Cantonese opera and sonic memory in diaspora.
ChihChung Chang 張致中 – Charcoal rubbing artwork depicting Liverpool’s Chinese Arch. The resulting film documenting the process will be exhibited at Pine Court.
Tate Liverpool + RIBA North
Sheila Hicks, Grand Boules, 2009. Courtesy Alison Jacques, London and Sheila Hicks. Photography by Michael Brzezinski.
Hadassa Ngamba – Congo cartography-inspired paintings using colonially extracted materials.
Mounira Al Solh – Drawings based on dialogues with displaced communities.
Fred Wilson – African flag paintings stripped of colour to question identity and representation.
Sheila Hicks – Textile ‘memory balls’ made from garments of friends and family.
Christine Sun Kim – Infographic drawings on sound, communication and Deaf culture.
Where the Work Begins – A display curated by RIBA that explores the connection between art and architecture.
Further highlights include sculptural works by Cevdet Erek which measure the passing of time and relationships, photography and sculpture by Dawit L Petros and a new textile work by Antonio Jose Guzman & Iva Jankovic.
The Black-E
Elizabeth Price, THE WOOLWORTHS CHOIR OF 1979, Installation view. Photography by Michael Pollard
Elizabeth Price – Film on post-war Catholic Modernist churches and architectural trauma.
Walker Art Gallery
Antonio Jose Guzman & Iva Jankovic, Orbital Mechanics, 2024. 60th Venice Biennial. Photography by Giorgio Silvestri
Antonio Jose Guzman & Iva Jankovic – Concrete Roots, textile and dub-based installation on resilience.
Leasho Johnson – Vivid paintings challenging narratives around the Black queer body.
Nour Bishouty – Multimedia work on tourism, memory and fictional landscapes.
Jennifer Tee – Tulip-petal collages inspired by Tampan textile patterns.
Further highlights include cast resin works of Dream Stones by Karen Tam 譚嘉文; a new, large-scale textile and embroidery work by Katarzyna Perlak; wall-based works by Cevdet Erek inspired by football stadia layouts; paintings and tapestries of fictional landscapes by Isabel Nolan; and a mosaic work by Petros Moris presented in the Sculpture Gallery.
20 Jordan Street
Cevdet Erek, Bergama Stereo, 2019. Hambuger Bahnhof Museum fur Gegenwart, Berlin, Germany. Courtesy of the artist. Photography by Matthias Volzke.
Cevdet Erek – Immersive sound installation replicating the energy of a football stadium.
Imayna Caceres – Clay-based installation imagining Liverpool’s lifeforce through mud and nature.
Learning Activities
For families, a storybook designed with input from attendees at Liverpool Biennial’s regular family workshops at Liverpool Central Library, will help children and young people explore ‘BEDROCK’. Elsewhere, artist-led workshops, inspired by Biennial projects will happen throughout the summer holidays.
For schools and the wider community, the Liverpool Biennial Learning Programme also includes a selection of online and physical resources developed with teachers across the city to bring Liverpool Biennial 2025 to life in the classroom.
To find out more about the full Liverpool Biennial programme and plan your visit, head to the Liverpool Biennial website.
To discover more events happening across the Liverpool city region visit our What’s On listings.
Loved: I recently attended the Class Assembly at the Everyman, which was a wonderful experience and an important conversation about working-class representation in the arts. I have generally been out and about, meeting people and getting to know the region; from beautiful parks like Calderstones and Birkenhead to guided tours of venues such as the Tung Auditorium and some fantastic press nights, it’s been a brilliant introduction to LCR’s culture and community.
Looking forward to: As someone who’s still new to the area, I’m just eager to soak it all up! There’s so much happening across the arts and cultural landscape in the Liverpool City Region, and I’m really looking forward to being part of the creative energy that makes it so special.
Trivia: My connection to Liverpool runs deep: my dad worked for many years on the docks in the iconic Liver Building for a shipping firm. That personal connection adds a special meaning to being here and makes this new chapter even more meaningful.
Looking forward to: Aside from Liverpool Biennial (of course!), I’m really looking forward to Independents Biennial which runs concurrently to Liverpool Biennial (7 June -14 September) and will spotlight new work from artists based across Liverpool, Sefton, Knowsley, Wirral and St Helens.
Trivia: With financial support from Paul Hamlyn Foundation and local expertise from DaDa, a Liverpool-based disabled and d/Deaf arts organisation, we have been working to radically expand the accessibility of Liverpool Biennial in recent years, supporting artists, visitors and team members. We continue this work through a Critical Friends group who continue to challenge the Biennial, both through our Festival and interim year programme of commissions, talks and events.
Looking for ways to keep the kids entertained this May half term in Liverpool? Whether you’re staying local or heading into the city for a day out, there’s a packed programme of free and low-cost family events happening across Liverpool and the wider region. From musical mornings and interactive theatre to hands-on science shows and crafty workshops, there’s something to spark every imagination. Here’s our top pick of activities that promise fun, creativity and adventure for children of all ages – without breaking the bank.
1. Mini Maestros, Everyman Theatre Cafe (17 May – 28 June)
Mini Maestros is an excellent music session for 0-5s on Saturday mornings. The session is an interactive, multi-sensory music workshop for children and their grown-ups.
With percussion, signing and dance, the sessions present an engaging platform for children to explore sound and song whilst learning and having fun! Head along on Saturday mornings and join them making music at the Everyman Theatre Cafe.
Mini Maestros is run by RISE Music Education CIC, a local collective of professional musicians working to deliver engaging creative arts projects in the community.
2. Fowl Play – May Half Term Workshops, Tate Liverpool + RIBA North (24 May – 4 June)
Swoop into Tate Liverpool’s Learning Space this half term holiday for free Fowl Play avian art activities!
Flock together for crafty family fun, constructing multi-coloured replicas of your favourite birds. Play with print stamping blocks and collage to recreate intricate feathered patterns and textures. Using their easy-to-follow templates, make a 3-D model of your bird and dive into their pick ‘n’ mix recycled craft box to add finishing touches to personalise your bird.
There will be a free facilitated workshop on Thursday 29 May from 14.00-16.00 led by artist Colette Whittington.
3. Animal adventures – Little Liverpool special, Museum of Liverpool (27 May)
Are you ready to explore the wild world of animals? Welcome to Animal adventures! Join Museum of Liverpool’s animal-themed Little Liverpool special combining a visit to the popular Little Liverpool gallery, with extra animal-themed activities for their younger visitors to enjoy.
Animal adventures takes place on Tuesday mornings at 11.15am and on Sunday afternoons at 2.15pm.
4. Beanstalk! Shakespeare North Playhouse (27 May)
Beanstalk! is a fantastic tale for kids, big kids and everyone in between! Stuffed with outlandish mischief, magic, music and maybe a bean sprout or two…
Jack is stuck working in his Mum’s greengrocers and all he wants is to go on adventures! When a huge beanstalk starts sprouting between the shelves – maybe the biggest adventure isn’t so far away after all!
A classic slice of family theatre and ideal for a half term visit.
5. Aquarium Behind The Scenes Tour, World Museum (27 / 28 May)
Ever wanted to know what it takes to look after all the amazing animals in the World Museum’s aquarium? Wonder no more! Why not book onto this 20 minute Aquarium Behind The Scenes Guided Tour with one of the museum’s knowledgeable aquarium team members.
You’ll be taken into their back of house facilities to see how they look after the animals in their care. Each tour will have a maximum of 10 visitors and is for years 6+. They also ask for a minimum ratio of 3 children to 1 adult.
6. Big Art special: Art Sparks, Walker Art Gallery (27, 28 and 31 May)
Spark your creativity and have fun with Walker Art Gallery’s fabulous friendly facilitators in Big Art special: Art Sparks! Big Art is a very special place for young children and their grown ups to discover arty things together.
Explore your creativity as a family with their special facilitated activities and make a marvellous masterpiece to take home. Plus you’ll have some time to explore Big Art and all the wonderful resources for yourself.
There is a small charge of £2 per child with up to two accompanying adults who can attend free of charge.
7. Garden Cyanotypes: Family Print Session, Bluecoat (28 May)
Join Bluecoat as they explore this photographic printing process in a Family Friendly Print Session. Collect leaves and flowers from their 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+, just drop-in on the day.
8. Pirates Love Underpants, Liverpool Playhouse Theatre (28 – 31 May)
Pirates Love Underpants is based on the beloved book by Claire Freedman and Ben Cort. Join their swashbuckling party of pirates on their quest to find the fabled Pants of Gold for the Captain’s Treasure chest!
Dodge hungry crocs beneath Long-John Bridge, bob upon the waves of Big Knickers Bay, spot sharks in fancy underpants and trek across Three Pants Ridge.
Filled with music, puppetry and glittering pants of gold, arrr you ready to set sail for a family adventure?
9. Exciting Science, The Atkinson (30 May)
This brand new, Exciting Science educational show will amaze and astound all ages from 4 years and upwards, as they put the ‘Exciting’ back into ‘Science’.
With fun and fact filled experiments, watch in amazement as they recreate a volcanic eruption; turn a vacuum cleaner into a missile launcher or take aim at you with their smoke blaster!
So, stand clear and prepare to be amazed!
For even more things to do in Easter half term in Liverpool and the city region check out our What’s On Listings.
This week our Culture Radar guests are Eleanor Liverakou & Akil Morgan of Capoeira for All C.I.C.
Loved:LEAP Dance Festival was such a success, two years in a row! Showcasing the talent that Liverpool has to offer by a really great initiative and very passionate team.
Looking forward to: We’re really looking forward to attending the Liverpool Against Racism event and although it’s quite far still we cannot wait for Africa Oyé to return next year!
Founded in 1985 with a vision to unite communities in the North West through a shared love of Indian arts, Milap celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2025 as the UK’s leading Indian arts and culture organisation. Over four decades, Milap has raised the national profile of South Asian music, dance, and culture, building a legacy that spans performance, education, and community engagement.
Over the last four decades, Milap have brought some of India’s most revered musicians and performers to stages across the UK through a rich and varied programme of music and dance, as well as pioneering the teaching and preservation of Indian classical artforms in the West and nurturing some of the UK’s most exciting emerging talent.
Their story began in 1985, when Dr Prashant Nayak and a group of like-minded friends hosted ‘Indian Cultural Evenings’ in Liverpool – to enhance friendship, understanding and cooperation between the local community and people of South Asian origin who made a home for themselves in Britain in the 1980s.
40 years on, their dedicated mission to promote Indian culture in North West England has spread nationally, culminating in the creation and delivery of groundbreaking artistic projects, with a strong track record of producing world class performances, educational development programmes and workshops that spotlight classical Hindustani and Carnatic artforms and recognition at their National Indian Arts Awards.
Music and Performance
Talvin Singh
Milap have worked with countless musicians that are globally renowned for their craft. Notably, British Mercury-Prize winner and pioneer of Indian Classical and Drum & Bass fusion Talvin Singh has been championed by Milap since the 1980’s – first bringing him to perform at the Bluecoat in 1993, and most recently collaborating with him at INDIKA 2023.
Fast-forward to their 40th year, Milap presented GRAMMY-winning bansuri virtuoso Rakesh Chaurasia at The Tung Auditorium in March 2025. The distinguished Chaurasia family’s musical legacy has also been a part of Milap’s story for decades – Rakesh’s legendary uncle Hariprasad Chaurasia graced the stage at the Bluecoat back in 1993.
This summer 2025, Milap are welcoming bass virtuoso Shez Raja back to the Wirral for an electrifying evening of his unique ‘Indo-funk-jazz’ sound, alongside electric guitar sensation, Guthrie Govan.
Dance India
Apoorva Jayaraman Credit: Niranjani Prasad
Milap’s flagship Dance India programme remains a globally unique space for dancers of all styles to immerse themselves in an intensive week of learning, exchange, and artistic inspiration.
Today, celebrated artists like Arushi Mudgal and Sonia Sabri are shining examples of the impact of Milap’s enduring commitment to preserving and celebrating Indian dance forms. Arushi Mudgal was part of Milap’s first dance production Swadesh, then went on to become a key member of the Dance India team and has since been hailed by the New York Times’ Chief Dance Critic as ‘one of India’s most remarkable dancers’.
Sonia Sabri has also supported Milap in her role as tutor for Dance India and is now a multi-award winning dance artist, choreographer and movement director. She assisted in choreographing The Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in 2022. Milap have platformed both Sonia’s solo and company works throughout her career, including the 2010 grand opening of the Capstone Theatre in Liverpool .
SAMYO – National Youth Orchestra for Indian Music
Founded in 2002, SAMYO – Milap’s National Youth Orchestra for Indian music – has redefined the presentation of Indian Classical Music, by using classical instruments in a new context. Through SAMYO, Milap invite musicians and vocalists to break away from tradition to explore and push the boundaries of their instruments, whilst remaining true to their Indian classical training.
Former contestant on The Voice UK, Abi Sampa progressed through SAMYO and is now an Associate Artist of the Royal Albert Hall. SAMYO alumni Pirashanna Thevarajah has also taken his career to great heights, becoming a member of Pandit Ravi Shankar’s world tours and appearing on a GRAMMY nominated live album at the Royal Albert Hall alongside artists such as Anoushka Shankar and Jeff Lynne.
Jasdeep Singh Degun is the first ever sitarist and British Asian musician to be recognised and awarded a Royal Philharmonic Society Best Instrumentalist Award. He progressed through both SAMYO and TARANG as a young emerging sitarist and his career has seen him reshape the Indian Classical musical landscape. Jasdeep is now collaborating with BBC Concert Orchestra in Leeds and BBC Symphony Orchestra in London.
Arts School And Educational Programmes
Milap’s educational reach over the last 40 years extends even further than their ensembles, targeting aspiring young musicians in the North West of all ages and abilities. A foundation of these inclusive opportunities includes Milap’s Arts School; a term time education programme based in Liverpool featuring weekly classes of Indian Performing Arts. Milap’s Arts School has allowed students to work closely with experienced teachers in a vast range of Indian art forms.
The local Merseyside communities have also experienced the lasting impact of Milap’s work via a range of workshops and masterclasses, offering people the unique opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge from the world’s leading Indian music and dance stars. This supported learning has ensured that audiences, aspiring artists and inquisitive students have all had access to memorable and inspirational experiences of Indian Arts for decades.
Festivals and Partnerships
Adopting a vision of ‘Uniting Hearts Through Arts’, Milap’s mission has been to strengthen both Liverpool and Britain’s multicultural society, ensuring that Indian Arts and Culture is accessible to their local communities.
Milap have made significant contributions to projects by Liverpool City Council over the years, including River of Light and most notably, the 50th Anniversary of The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in 2017. This milestone celebration saw Milap present ‘The Beatles Ragafest’ at St George’s Hall, where world-renowned Hindustani and Carnatic artists explored the works of George Harrison.
Since 1985, Milap have also partnered with numerous venues including the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, The Capstone Theatre, The Tung Auditorium, The Bluecoat and Bundobust in Liverpool.
Coming off the back of a fantastic spring season of concerts, Milap are continuing the 40th celebrations with many more exciting performances and projects planned for the rest of the year. 2025 will also see the return of INDIKA – their bi-annual 15-day festival of Indian Arts & Culture in Liverpool.
As the organisation reflects on this milestone year, Artistic Director Alok Nayak shares what it means to the team and community:
“Milap began in 1985 as a niche festival, introducing Liverpool to some of the world’s greatest Indian artists at venues like The Bluecoat and Philharmonic Hall. Since then, we’ve grown nationally and internationally — but Liverpool remains at our heart. This 40th anniversary is a moment to share stories that changed lives, surprised us, and brought people together. It’s a celebration not of ourselves, but of everyone who’s shaped Milap’s journey. We hope it inspires new generations to dream, create, and believe in what’s possible — especially in a city like Liverpool, where culture and community are always deeply connected.”
Explore Milap’s spring / summer 2025 programme of events here.
Lights Up On Liverpool: Theatre History exhibition
In this latest instalment of Buried Treasure, John Maguire of ArtsGroupie CIC uncovers the wealth of history housed within Liverpool Central Library and Archives. Nestled between the World Museum and the Walker Art Gallery, this cultural jewel reveals fascinating stories, rare artefacts, and a vital opportunity for the public to learn how to preserve their own heritage through free home archiving workshops.
Perhaps one of the best examples of Buried Treasure in our City is a jewel that can be found in between the two other precious stones on William Brown Street, the World Museum and the Walker Art Gallery in the St George’s Quarter of Liverpool, Liverpool Central Library and Archives.
Established in 1860, Liverpool Central Library is the flagship building and hub of Liverpool Libraries and Information Services. The building was subject to a further £50 million rebuild and refurbishment and reopened in 2013 with a state-of-the-art repository archive which houses and protects the items within the Liverpool Record Office, the second busiest public archive in the UK. Internationally renowned, the Grade 2 listed heritage areas of the Picton Reading Room, the Oak Room and Hornby Library regularly attract visitors from all over the world, delighted by the opulent splendour of the Victorian and Edwardian architecture. The new building has also won several architectural awards.
This public resource offers a bounty of riches, there is the majestic Audubon, BIRDS OF AMERICA on display in the Oak room, which looks like it has been lifted straight from the bookcase of Roald Dahl’s BIG FRIENDLY GIANT. Watched over by the cyclops in the wood (if you know, you know).
But it is the behind the scenes resources that are thrilling. When researching my play articulating the life of local public health pioneer Kitty Wilkinson (Kitty: Queen of the Washhouse), I discovered in depth facts / figures from public records and other valuable assets. This helped build a picture of what exactly Liverpool was like during the Victorian period.
Newspapers reveal details of the day to day lives, through advertisements and stories that bring the past to life. As I began to interrogate the life of William Roscoe for another play (A Portrait of William Roscoe) I found myself able to climb into the man’s head through his daily journals and manuscripts. Shakespeare revealed his belief in the power of love, when he had his character Cleopatra warn her lover, “You must woo me to the grave.” A view adopted by Roscoe, for I laid my hands on primary sources (direct artifacts) articulating his passion for his wife, writing her daily poems, even when they were married and living together.
This month sees the last week of ArtsGroupie’s Lights Up On Liverpool: Theatre History exhibition, on display in the Hornby Library, Central Library. This project evolved from a heritage walking tour to celebrate World Theatre Day in 2022 at The Epstein Theatre. Initial research found us wanting to know more.
Each week, we dived into the ocean of boxed up content archived around the theatres of the past. Unsure what would be encountered. Play bills from the 1700’s, like Hamlet and Macbeth, countless photographs detailing the ups and downs of the locations, lots of fire damage to venues. The theatres often had a pattern of suffering from financial problems and flames at some point.
But the piece de resistance discovered that blew my mind, finding the official ROYAL SEAL that declared Liverpool to have its own theatre by Royal approval in 1772 (the theatre stood where the Liverpool Football shop stands now in Williamson Square). It may have been administered by King George III but never materialised into a document and physical object until the reign of Victoria. Administration back then, like now, takes time. Bureaucracy can be a slow boat.
One thing that came out of this research period, how important it is to ensure artefacts are looked after in the right way. A need to educate people in how to preserve things, archive programmes, tickets, documents in the proper fashion. For we encountered many archival injuries that had been done unknowingly by the general public. Like programmes scarred by Sellotape strips, tickets and newspaper clippings glued into books. The peril of rusted staples in paper booklets, discolouration and spotting of paper, creating brown or yellow spots, causing what is known as ‘foxing.’
This lack of knowledge gave an opportunity to develop a workshop to instruct people in how to create their own home mini- archive to then pass down through the generations. You can learn how to safeguard your precious memories and family treasures at our free Home Archiving Workshops in May and June.
These interactive sessions provide expert guidance on safely preserving your personal heirlooms, photographs, documents, and artifacts, in partnership with Liverpool Central Library and Liverpool Libraries and Information Services. You will leave equipped with skills and knowledge to keep your heritage safe for generations to come and even take-home materials to get you started on your first safe archive. Participants will learn practical, hands-on techniques using materials such as acid-free folders and specialist preservation methods. Sessions are limited capacity at Central library – Sat 17th May: 2- 4pm and Mon 19th May: 5:30- 7:30pm.
For dates and locations of all the other FREE workshops in the regional libraries – see the calendar on the home page artsgroupie.org or email artgroupie@outlook.com to reserve a place.
Disclaimer: We are unable to give direct advice of genealogy or accept donations to the Liverpool Records Archive.
Kindly supported, by The National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to money raised by National Lottery players to offer free heritage activity in connection with the ‘Lights Up on Liverpool’ exhibition currently on display at Liverpool Central Library which launched in November 2024.
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