Liverpool Biennial launches in Tobacco Warehouse

The artwork 'Ngialibalibade to the Lost Myth' by Taiwanese artist Eleng Luluan on display at Princess Dock

The 12th Liverpool Biennial has launched with more than 30 artists exploring history and wisdom.

The Liverpool Biennial is the largest contemporary arts festival in Britain, taking place every two years across museums, galleries and public spaces.

The 2023 edition - running from 10 June to 17 September - is mainly held inside the world's largest brick warehouse, the Tobacco Warehouse.

Outdoor installations can also be seen across the city centre.

A woman walks past a sculpture by French artist Julien Creuzet

The biennial is titled "uMoya: The Sacred Return of Lost Things"with uMoya meaning spirit, breath, air, climate and wind in the isiZulu language.

It is curated by South African artist Khanyisile Mbongwa across public spaces, historic sites and art venues including Stanley Dock, Princes Dock, the Cotton exchange and St John's Gardens.

Ms Mbongwa said the title had been chosen because while wind "often represents the fleeting and transient... I remember my first moment standing at the docks in Liverpool and feeling the wind in my bones".

"Chorus of Soil', by Italian artist Binta Diaw, is a large-scale reproduction of the shape of the slave ship 'Brooks'

She said it was the "same wind that made Liverpool the epicentre for the trade of enslaved people and a city that built itself through each 'merchant' ship".

Dr Samantha Lackey, director at Liverpool Biennial, said it would be "a beautiful and deeply-felt festival across the city - that will both connect to Liverpool's colonial past but also uncover possibilities for repair, healing and joy in its future".

She added: "Khanyisile Mbongwa has brought together perspectives, thinking - and importantly - feeling, from across the globe which will help us see the world we are living in today from different viewpoints."

A gallery worker walks through an installation by Rwandan artist Francis Offman

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