Tate Gallery In Liverpool

Liverpool was cold, so after a while we took a swift detour into a building. Turns out that building was the famous Tate Gallery…

It was free to get in to my surprise. As with most museums and galleries in Liverpool it was a ‘donation’ rather than a flat out fee to get in.

The museum had three floors for free, and a further floor upstairs that you had to pay for. We didn’t pay so we didn’t see it, but there were more than enough exhibitions to look at in the free sections.

I’m not an artist, but I think that art should be something that makes people think. It doesn’t have to be how great it is, but it makes you think in some way, shape or form. If a piece of art makes your mind wander in any direction, then it does the job. There were a few pieces that I didn’t get at all, but there were others than really made me think.

My favourite exhibit was a map. We walked past it without so much as a second thought, then I realised it was a map of Scotland so I looked to see a few places as my Scottish geography isn’t the best. However I soon realised that the artist had placed English towns and cities where the Scottish towns and cities were. He/she had also done a similar thing with the English map. I thought it was really clever and spent a fair few minutes studying it. Of course, I looked to see where Watford was. I can’t remember exactly the artist placed it but I think it was near Edinburgh. I know it was near a big city.

At the end of the tour we got stopped by a guy doing a questionnaire about the gallery. Turns out it was a guy who frequently visits Thailand, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be seeing him again this year showing him the non touristy treasures around Chiang Mai…

So the verdict is that free is always good, and if you are inspired by art in any way then this is a must see if you are in that part of the world. Also it supports local and/or aspiring artists, so that is always a good thing. You never know, you may unwittingly view a piece of art that is considered a masterpiece in the near future…

• recently posted on my Sirlewisofclarke Wordpress blog: https://sirlewisofclarke.wordpress.com/2019/01/03/tate-gallery-in-liverpool/