Early one morning in September 2007, Auguste Rodin's The Kiss 1901–4 arrived at Tate Liverpool, secured in a large crate. Weighing more than three metric tons, The Kiss had been rolled along the colonnades of the Albert Dock and then carefully lifted into the gallery.
The iconic sculpture was a centrepiece for DLA Piper Series: The Twentieth Century: How it looked & how it felt, and part of the largest ever rehang of the Collection in Liverpool. This rehang also included Edgar Degas's Little Dancer Aged Fourteen 1880–1, Pablo Picasso's Weeping Woman 1937 and Andy Warhol's Marilyn Diptych 1962.
The arrival of these major works was part of a build-up to a year in the spotlight.
A month later, in October 2007, the Turner Prize exhibition opened, having never previously been shown outside London. It featured the work of the four shortlisted artists: Zarina Bhimji, Nathan Coley, Mike Nelson and Mark Wallinger. The exhibition proved to be the most visited at Tate Liverpool, attracting more than 71,000 people.
Guests and the international media gathered to hear actor and collector Dennis Hopper announce the winner, Mark Wallinger, at a ceremony in December. The event proved a fitting curtain-raiser to Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture 2008, in which Tate Liverpool is playing a central role.
Liverpool is twinned with Shanghai and is home to the oldest Chinese community in the UK, so Tate Liverpool was a fitting venue for The Real Thing: Contemporary Art from China during the spring of 2007. This was the UK's first major exhibition of contemporary Chinese art, including specially commissioned works. On the eve of the exhibition's opening, an epic firework battle was staged over the river Mersey by artists Zheng Guogu, Chen Zaiyan and Sun Qinglin entitled If I knew the danger ahead, I'd have stayed well clear.
The Real Thing was a springboard for several events involving Liverpool's Chinese community. In April 2007, artist educator Pam Holmes led two workshops for people from the Pagoda Chinese Community Centre and their orchestra also developed performances in response to The Real Thing.
During the summer, Tate Liverpool held Peter Blake: A Retrospective. Blake's fascination with popular culture lies at the heart of his work, and this was the largest showing of his work since his 1983 Tate exhibition. It included On the Balcony 1955–7 and The Beatles 1963–8. Late at Tate launched in Liverpool at the end of July, and the first event was an evening of Blake-inspired events including a debate with Tracey Emin.
February 2008 saw the opening of a major exhibition of Niki de Saint Phalle. Best known for her Fontaine Stravinsky works displayed outside the Pompidou Centre, Niki de Saint Phalle was active from the 1950s with oils and collage, moving on to assemblages and sculptures. This exhibition included key works such as Shooting Paintings from the early 1960s and Skull Meditation Room 1990.
Signalling the increased international presence of our work and profile of our exhibitions, many shows, like Peter Blake and The Real Thing, now travel to other venues both in the UK and abroad.
The growing national and international interest in Tate Liverpool has generated a significant increase in our audiences. The total visitor figure in 2007–8 was 694,228, 120,000 people up on the previous year. A combination of strong programming at Tate Liverpool and increased interest in Liverpool during the Capital of Culture year leads us to anticipate large numbers again next year.
To accommodate this increase, the foyer has been redeveloped to help us welcome visitors more efficiently. Ticketing and information desks have been moved to one side of the foyer, and increased in number. This has also created a new space to place art – so that when Rodin's Kiss arrived, it could be placed in the centre of the foyer.
Tate Liverpool has also taken steps to ensure that its high profile in 2008 has a lasting legacy for the gallery and for its place in the community. Tate Liverpool is an active participant in a consortium of the city's cultural organisations, known collectively as Liverpool Arts & Regeneration Consortium, and lead partner in a project to provide new apprenticeships across Liverpool's museums, galleries and tourist attractions. The Creative Apprenticeships programme launches in May 2008 and is part of a scheme devised by the government to create 5,000 new apprenticeships in the cultural sector.
We are also a partner in Visual Arts in Liverpool (VAiL), a collaboration between the leading visual arts organisations in Liverpool including Liverpool Biennial, A Foundation, National Museums Liverpool and FACT. VAiL was established with Arts Council funding last summer, with the objective of raising awareness of visual arts in the city and promoting Liverpool as an arts destination outside London.
