2024 was a defining year for the Wirral — a year when creativity, community and culture took centre stage as the region proudly celebrated its status as Borough of Culture for the second time, following its inaugural turn in 2019. For us, it was more than a title — it was a call to action. A chance to amplify the role of public art in everyday life, deepen community connections, and help shape a legacy that will resonate far beyond the calendar year.
We were thrilled to play an active role in this vibrant celebration, partnering with Wirral Council to bring accessible and engaging art experiences to communities across the peninsula. Our contribution focused on creating moments of joy, discovery, and connection through public art and collaborative projects, leaving a legacy that continues to blossom into 2025.
By partnering with Wirral Council, we curated a series of playful and poignant moments — vibrant public art interventions, co-created projects, and immersive installations — that brought art directly into the heart of communities across the peninsula.
Our journey began in April 2024, when our original butterfly installation was brought to New Ferry Butterfly Park. Nestled among native planting, it became a serene, site-specific moment, offering a quiet fusion of art, ecology and place.
During the festive season, we reimagined pieces from the Liverpool Loves Taylor trail to create something new for the Wirral. With sustainability and creative reuse at the forefront, we transformed these past works into festive installations at three landmark sites.
At Cherry Tree Shopping Centre in Liscard, a moss-covered baby grand piano became a whimsical seasonal centrepiece, joined by candy cane lips that sparked curiosity and photo ops. These works later journeyed to Birkenhead Market, part of their festive decorations.
Meanwhile, over at the Floral Pavilion, a repurposed Liverpool Loves Taylor trail piece became a striking Peter Pan-inspired throne, inviting pantomime audiences to literally step into the story.
Each installation was thoughtfully redesigned by local artists, breathing new life into past creations and demonstrating the power of art to evolve, adapt and surprise, even in the most everyday spaces.
We were also proud to contribute to a landmark commission at the Williamson Art Gallery, working on Di Mainstone’s mesmerising Subterranean Elevator exhibition. Collaborating with our brilliant residents Xyleia, we designed and built a brand-new installation that complemented Di’s vision and offered audiences a tactile, layered experience of the show. It stands on view until December 2025, a testament to the lasting cultural value of this special year.
Our involvement in Borough of Culture 2024 held a deeper resonance too. It coincided with a milestone moment for us as an organisation: the purchase of our very first building, right here in Birkenhead. This permanent home for Make Hamilton on Argyle Street marks a bold new chapter, and delivering ambitious, celebratory cultural projects in the same year we planted roots felt like the ultimate alignment of purpose and place.
As we moved into spring 2025, we brought the high street to life with Art After Dark, which saw over 300 people come together to explore the vibrancy of Birkenhead’s creative community, laying the foundation for ongoing collaboration and connection.
We’re grateful to the wide network of partners, collaborators and neighbours we worked alongside, proof that creative ambition flourishes best in community. Together with our residents and neighbours, we were able to realise a year of work that was as creative and grounded as it was bold and imaginative. The momentum continues into 2025, with new ideas taking shape, partnerships flourishing, and the buzz of the Borough of Culture propelling us forward.
We’re proud to have played a part in this landmark year. Through reimagined art, meaningful collaboration, and a commitment to sustainability and community, we’ve helped make culture feel tangible and inviting. The legacy is already visible, not just in our installations and exhibitions, but in the relationships, spaces, and creative confidence that have emerged.
As we look ahead, we remain driven by the same mission that carried us through 2024: to make creativity visible, valued and rooted in the Wirral.
