This exhibition celebrates global party scenes and shared escapism

A new exhibition, titled The Time We Call Our Own, believes that “the heart of any city can often be found in its nightlife”. Centring this idea, Liverpool's Open Eye Gallery is showcasing several photographers whose work captures the coming together and experiences of clubbing.

“As right-leaning populism increasingly dominates the majority, this exhibition seeks to investigate notions of visibility, champion these tightly-knit scenes and allow us to witness the ever-enduring regions of society that counteract the norm,” reads the show’s press release. “Using nightlife as an access point, we can learn new ways of being together, and perhaps find a shared language of escapism that we can use to combat the toe-tapping waking hours of everyday life.”

Curated by Adam Murray, The Time We Call Our Own was originally scheduled to open in April, however, due to COVID-19, it was split into two chapters – the first was a set of weekly events livestreamed on Twitch, as well as a chatroom and broadcasting playlists.

Tomorrow (3 September), its IRL component finally launches, featuring images from Dustin Thierry’s celebration of the Black Carribean diaspora, specifically its LGBTQ+ members, in the Netherlands, Tobias Zielony’s photographs of the underground queer and techno scenes in Kiev, and Oliver Sieber’s subcultural oeuvre, which was shot across Japan, Europe, and Europe, amongst others.

The Time We Call Our Own – supported by SEVENSTORE – runs at Liverpool’s Open Eye Gallery from 3 September – 23 October 2020