Event type: Talk

AI for Life

Join senior academic experts who will discuss the innovative research being driven by AI technologies and their applications. 

Hear about the impact and innovations that have emerged from AI-led research at Liverpool, the future of AI in research, and solutions it may (or may not) bring in a panel discussion.

By the end of this session, participants will have an understanding of the AI for Life Research Frontier, Civic Health Innovation Labs and other innovative research that is being delivered at the university driven by AI technologies. You will also learn how the university is partnering with non-academic partners to deliver innovative research in AI. 

Toyah: Songs and Stories

A singer and actor, a TV host and author, a multiple BRIT Award nominee and a film star – Toyah has worn many hats during a remarkable career spanning more than 50 years. The High Priestess of Punk burst onto the scene in 1976 as she forged dual careers as a musician and actress who featured at The National Theatre and London’s Royal Court.

Her role in Quadrophenia made her a household name and soon after she gatecrased the charts with It’s A Mystery, I Want To Be Free, and Thunder In The Mountains, as the album, Anthem, earned a gold disc and BRIT nominations for Best Female and British Breakthrough Act. She married King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp in 1986 and she starred opposite Sir Laurence Olivier and The Who’s Roger Daltrey, among others. Acting, presenting, performing, headlining tours, and releasing 16 studio albums continued her unique story and now it’s time to reflect. With a new book in the offing, Toyah is hitting the road for an extensive UK tour in which she’ll sing favourite hits and tell stories from her remarkable career.

Liverpool Architecture Festival 2026 x MCS: Knowsley’s Growth Journey, Talk and Tour

 

In collaboration with Merseyside Civic Society, join Knowsley’s Regeneration Team for a fascinating insight into Knowsley’s growth journey, which in recent years has stemmed population decline and increased housebuilding.

Hosted at the splendid Shakespeare North Playhouse, the visit will also include a chance to see the Cockpit theatre at the Playhouse, a walkabout in Prescot Town Centre with its shopfronts initiative, heritage projects and new pedestrian routes.

Event Partner:

Merseyside Civic Society

 

 

 

 

 

Liverpool Architecture Festival 2026 x MCS: St Helens Guided Walking Tour

 

In collaboration with Merseyside Civic Society, experience the evolution of a town built on industry.

Begin at the Victorian St Helens Town Hall, which is celebrating 150 years old this year, then onto the historic Gamble Building which is currently being transformed and will house the library & archives, youth hub and office space before transitioning into the future at the sleek St Helens Transport Interchange.

Witness the town’s ambitious regeneration at the town centre development site, home to a new120-bed Hampton by Hilton Hotel, modern residences, vibrant retail spaces and new market hall.

Explore St Helens Minister (formerly St Helens Parish Church), the heritage of innovation at The World of Glass and the historic Cannington Shaw bottle shop. Finally, visit Glass Futures, a global hub for sustainable technology, where St Helens continues to lead the world in glass production.

Many of the features on the tour will be staying open late especially to welcome the tour group.

Guided Tour Route:

St Helens Town Hall

Gamble Building

St Helens Transport Interchange

Town Centre development site

St Helens Minster (formerly St Helens Parish Church)

The World of Glass and Cannington Shaw bottle shop

Glass Futures

Event Partner:

Merseyside Civic Society

 

 

Liverpool Architecture Festival 2026 x MCS: Destination Bootle – SAFE Regeneration Talk and Tour

 

SAFE Regeneration supports communities to Build Neighbourhoods, provides Business Start-Up advice, undertakes Place Based Social Action and has developed its innovative Neighbourhood Transformation Planning Tool in partnership with Liverpool University.

Based around their Lock and Quay community pub, the event will include presentations by Brian Dawe, SAFE CEO and Dr Kerry Traynor, Chair of SAFE Trustees and Senior Lecturer in Professional and Media Writing, University of Liverpool, followed by a tour of the site and facilities. There will be an opportunity to enjoy the hospitality of the Lock and Quay PH.

Event Partners:

Merseyside Civic Society and SAFE Regeneration

Liverpool Architecture Festival 2026 x MCS: ReMAKEing Birkenhead, Meet the new movers and shakers Symposium

Birkenhead Town Centre and Woodside are undergoing significant regeneration initiatives, some led by Wirral Council, others by community-based organisations.

The event will focus on the latter with a visit to the facilities provided for artists, makers and others in MAKE’s new Argyle Street building together with presentations from the heads of two of the community-based initiatives actively involved in regeneration projects: Dean Paton from The Big Heritage CIC talking about the WW2 Museum project focused on the German submarine next to the Woodside Ferry Terminal, and Craig Pennington the founder of ‘Future Yard’ an expanding innovative music and arts venue next to the MAKE building. There will be an opportunity to visit Future Yard following the event for an informal visit and social gathering.

Event Partners:

Merseyside Civic Society and Make CIC 

 

 

Liverpool Architecture Festival 2026, Future Listings Symposium

 

Future Listing Symposium

Liverpool is home to world renowned architectural heritage and over 2,500 listed buildings. The city’s unique heritage is a strong attribute and a draw for inspiration and learning.

What are the listed buildings of the future?

Following the success of previous Future Listings events during LAF21, LAF22 and LAF24 the symposium will see a format of 6 new presenters each making the case for a currently unlisted building and why it will be listed in the future. The audience will then vote for the one that they think should be listed. Future Listings will encourage interaction between the local authorities, practicing architects and the public regarding one of the regions’ most sensitive challenges.We are delighted to welcome such a diverse range of panellists.

Access Information:

The venue is fully accessible. Please contact hello@laf-uk.com if you have limited mobility or if you have any accessibility concerns or queries.

Event Details:

17:30 – Attendees arrive

18:00 – Presentations start

19:00 – Presentations finish & prize giving

19:15 – Drinks reception

Location:

One Fine Day,Old Hall Street,Liverpool,L3 9BS

 

 

Liverpool Architecture Festival 2026 x MCS: Liverpool North Symposium

 

In collaboration with Merseyside Civic Society (MCS), the Liverpool North symposium aims to advocate for better-quality housing in settings that include green space and community facilities, set out MCS’s case for the restoration of terraced and Victorian housing alongside innovative new build, and explore opportunities to save the best of North Liverpool’s heritage.

The event will comprise a series of short, themed presentations followed by panel discussions with an opportunity for questions and comments from the audience.

Programme and speakers to be announced.

Event Details:

13:00 – Event Starts17:30 – Event Ends

Location:

City of Liverpool CollegeVauxhall RoadLiverpoolL3 6BN

Event Partners:

Merseyside Civic Society, Royal Town Planning Institute and Merseyside Buildings Preservation Trust

Disabled-Led Creative Health OPEN SPACE EVENT

 

It’s the lack of access to authentic stories about disability coming from lived experience of the barriers that we face that marks disability in the sand as an aspect of the human condition that is persistently negated.

– Cripping Culture, Disability Arts Online

Creative Health is firmly on the agenda – for arts organisations, public health bodies, funders, researchers, and local and national government. Alongside this there is a growing emphasis on shared decision-making and co-production with people with lived experience of health inequality, in and outside the arts.

However research from Unlimited shows disabled artists are barely surviving, never mind thriving. This event will explore and celebrate disabled-led approaches to creative health which centre lived experiences of disability, D/deaf identity, and neurodivergence.

Speakers

To be announced soon.

Event Format

Open Spaces are participant-led events where the agenda and discussion are driven by those in the room.

At the beginning of the event guest speakers will introduce some key ideas, principles and practices behind the theme and offer provocations for discussion.

Together we set the agenda and you will be able to move freely between conversations.

Ticket Cost £5.00

We also have a small number of bursary places available for those with limited funds, please email admin@collective-encounters.org.uk

Access

There will be BSL interpretation at this event. If you have any other access requirements please email admin@collective-encounters.org.uk

Liverpool John Moores University, Student Life Building has step free access, accessible and gender neutral toilets, and 6 designated Blue Badge parking bay(s) within the car park.

Full accessibility info: https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/edi/accessibility-around-ljmu/student-life-building  

 

Curator’s Tour – Self-Defined. New Stories From Archives

Sunday 31 May / 1pm / Open Eye Gallery / free, drop in
Curator-led guided tour offering in-depth insight into the conceptual framework of the exhibition. The tour explores themes of archival absence, memory construction, displacement and cultural identity, while explaining how artists reinterpret private and public archives to challenge dominant narratives. Participants gain access to curatorial thinking, research methodologies and the political contexts behind the works. A rare opportunity for deeper engagement with one of the festival’s most conceptually rich exhibitions.