THE 1st of 6 photographic exhibitions has opened its doors to give a glimpse into life according to some of the Liverpool City Region’s most diverse communities.

Delivered by Open Eye Gallery as part of this year’s Combined Authority Cultural Events Programme, ‘Photo Here’ involves groups, including refugees and asylum seekers, members of the LGBTQI+ community and D/deaf and BSL users, telling their stories and the stories of the areas they live in, with the help of professional ‘socially engaged photographers in residence’.

Workshops have been taking place across Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral over the last few months, photo collections have been curated and dates for the first three exhibitions have been revealed.

‘Not All Who Wander Are Lost’ by Stephanie Wynne and Crosby Camera Club was the 1st to open at Crosby Library today exploring the unique ‘feel’ of an area and how people respond to a location; the streets, fields, green spaces, coast and places frequented every day.

It will be followed by ‘Waiting Rooms’ by Abdullrhman Hassona and Cafe Laziz which opens at World of Glass in St Helens this weekend. The exhibition features portraits of people with different immigration and residence statuses with each image introducing a St Helens resident and the stories that make the town feel rich with history and experience.

‘Communities of Welcome’ by Anoosh Ariamehr and his Knowsley group of merged refugees and asylum seekers launches on 19 June 2025 bringing stories of connection, identity and place.

Councillor Mike Wharton, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Business, Investment and Trade said:- “This year’s Cultural Events Programme is a conduit for helping create more cohesive communities across the Liverpool City Region. Giving the groups involved the opportunity to share their stories and experiences through photography – a medium that supersedes barriers like language – is unifying and can help to substantiate we have more similarities than differences, all of which should be celebrated. I hope everyone gets to visit at least one of the exhibitions as they take place across the City region this summer.”

Stephanie Wynne, the Socially Engaged Photographer in Residence who worked with Crosby Camera Club in Sefton said:- “It’s been a real journey of discovery for a lot of the community involved in the workshop and we have discovered so many aspects about the area we live in, as well as our feelings and connections with the area, that we didn’t realise before. Hopefully this is what will be conveyed to people through the exhibition. I’d like to encourage everyone to come along, whether they’re from Sefton or not, have a look and see what they think too.”

Another 3 exhibitions in Wirral, Halton and Liverpool are still to come between July and November, along with the launch of the 2025 Liverpool City Region Photography Awards with both ‘Photo Here’ participants and the wider public invited to enter.

Sarah Fisher, Executive Director of the Open Eye Gallery said:- “We are anticipating some fabulous work to be featured in the exhibitions from our socially engaged photography groups and are delighted to have the opportunity to showcase them across the Liverpool City Region. We are also hoping that many of our community photographers will enter this year’s LCR Photography Awards which we are working hard to launch in the next couple of weeks. It would be a great achievement, having witnessed the progress of the projects, to see their pictures included.”