Transforming Liverpool’s waterfront

On 4th September, first day back after the Summer Recess, I hosted a presentation by National Museums Liverpool on their ambitious and inspiring plans to transform part of Liverpool’s iconic waterfront.

Spanning the area between the Royal Albert Dock and Mann Island, the transformation project will take in key landmarks including the development of Canning Dock, with a new installation by renowned artist Theaster Gates. Canning Dock was a “graving” dock, built to repair ships engaged in the transatlantic slave trade, where Liverpool was the British key port in the triangular trade in enslaved human beings.

The plan is to create pedestrian links to Canning Dock while also bringing to life multiple buildings within the area as part of a 10-year masterplan of transformation of Liverpool’s waterfront.

The highlight of this transformation will be the redevelopment of the Dr Martin Luther King Jr Building - formerly the Dock Traffic Office - which stands as a major iconic focal point of the Royal Albert Dock and will provide a dramatic and prominent entrance to the city’s International Slavery Museum, the only museum in the world that is dedicated to the story of the transatlantic slave trade.

As the Director of NML, Laura Pye explains: “New spaces in the ISM will be created for education, exhibitions, discussion and research. Significantly, it will speak with the voices of those most deeply affected by historic and contemporary slavery. A community-led model of working with Liverpool’s Black communities and victims of modern slavery will co-create the content and engagement programme around themes of historic slavery, human rights, social justice, racism and discrimination.

“The expansion will create a much stronger, physical presence on the waterfront, symbolising the city’s commitment to addressing its ties to the transatlantic slave trade, and framing how visitors understand the history of the docks and the built environment surrounding them.”