In February 2022, Tate Liverpool will unveil two new displays of works from the Tate collection which consider the impact of the global movement of people on artists and art movements throughout the 20th century and beyond. The displays, The Port and Migrations and Global Encounters, will feature more than 80 works exploring themes of movement, migration and international exchange, and how they relate to the history of Liverpool.

The Port and Migrations considers how the movement of people and ideas is central to Liverpool’s history and identity, and the city’s relationship to the wider world. Through this, the display looks at the intertwined stories of the transatlantic slave trade, migration and displacement, and how these continue to impact society. Global Encounters explores and rethinks how international exchange has enabled the spread of ideas and knowledge.

A highlight will be Hew Locke’s Armada 2019, an immersive large-scale installation made up of a flotilla of boats and rafts. An array of cargo ships, fishing boats, caravels and galleons from different historical periods and places will be suspended from the ceiling at shoulder height, with each boat made from and embellished with a variety of materials. Some feature nets and decorations, while others incorporate jewels, charms, military badges and replica medals from the Caribbean, Syria and elsewhere. The Armada reflects on international trade and the movement of goods, as well as the movement of people and the current global refugee crisis.

Main image: Hew Locke, Armada 2019. Installation view from Here’s the Thing 2019 at Ikon Gallery, Birmingham UK. Courtesy the artist and Ikon. Photo by Tom Bird.

The Port and Migrations and Global Encounters opens at Tate Liverpool on February 14, 2022. For more information about the exhibitions, visit the website.