Back to the Drawing Board: 200 Years of Art Education
16 Oct – 19 Dec 2025
LG and G Floors
Mount Pleasant Campus Library
29 Maryland Street
L1 9DE
Curated by Christopher Olive, LJMU Special Collections & Archives
Designed by Jess May, LJMU Graphic Design & Illustration alumna
Commemorate 200 years of the Liverpool School of Art with Back to the Drawing Board: an exhibition to showcase some known and lesser-known histories of art education in Liverpool from 1825-2025.
Download the exhibition guidebook:
To view more items from the Liverpool School of Art, browse the online catalogue for LJMUH/SA. Email archives@ljmu.ac.uk for all enquiries and appointments.
At the launch event, we were very grateful to have two excellent speakers: Jane E Hughes, who created panoramic drawings and thousands of other comprehensive sketches of the interiors of Hope St and Myrtle St School of Art buildings 2007-2008 to extensively document what these looked like before LJMU moved into the John Lennon Art & Design building; and Alan G Swerdlow, one of the only two Typography students in the small Graphic Design Deptartment between 1956-1960. He designed items for use by the Students Union, and was later Chairman of the Sandon Studios Society.
We also screened a documentary film by Michael Swerdlow, Liverpool College of Art: Timelines which is available to view at LJMU Special Collections & Archives via LJMUH/SA/10/2, or for purchase via Michael Swerdlow’s website.
With many thanks to
Liverpool Record Office
LJMU Liverpool School of Art & Creative Industries
LJMU Special Collections & Archives
Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
With special thanks to: Bryan Biggs; John Campbell; Vicki Caren; Ruth Clifford; Rebecca Davies; Maria Follett; Anne Foulkes; Andrew Hooper; Jas Kaur; Moira Kenny-Campbell; Dorna Mahmid; Sally Marquiss; Colin Morris; Emily Parsons; Isabel Robinson; Leanne Tonkin; Susannah Waters; Lee Wright; and the many staff members, students, and alumni who have generously donated to this collection.
– Christopher Olive, Assistant Archivist
LJMU Special Collections & Archives 