Tate Liverpool closes its doors for £30m revamp

Tate Liverpool will move into the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) North on Mann Island

Tate Liverpool has closed its doors ahead of a two-year transformation.

Once refurbished, the 35-year-old gallery - set to reopen in 2025 - will feature a new public art hall, double-height galleries and more social space.

Some exhibits will be temporarily housed in the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) North building on Mann Island.

Helen Legg, director of Tate Liverpool, said the work would help ensure the gallery was fit for the next 35 years.

"We're all feeling excited but also quite sad that we will be saying goodbye to people for a while," she told BBC North West Tonight.

She added that the £29.7m makeover at the gallery, which opened at the Royal Albert Dock in 1988, would make the site feel "more open and welcoming".

More than 70,000 exhibits will be held in storage while the work is carried out.

Plans for the Tate Liverpool building include a new public art hall

A spokesperson for the gallery said: "Tate Liverpool is 35 years old.

"That might not seem very old, but since we opened our doors in 1988, the experiences our visitors want to have and the kind of work artists want to make, have both changed significantly.

"We want to make a future-facing Tate Liverpool that better serves the people of the Liverpool City Region and our members; a gallery that continues to encourage visits to our superb city from far and wide."