Liverpool has always been a hub for creativity.
Home to renowned theatres, museums, music venues and of course four pretty famous lads. In recent years we’ve seen the Marvel franchise, Harry Potter and Peaky Blinders come to town filming on our old Georgian streets, to take us back in time. This is why it makes so much sense for Hope Street to play host to a new, fresh and creative space.
The Arts Bar is located inside Liverpool’s Grade 2 listed Masonic Hall transforming what was somewhat an old and dated room into a vibrant, fresh and creative space where the new contrasts the old. The grand chandeliers light the eye-catching walls stunningly, whilst the old brass bar plays the perfect host to the cocktails and craft beers. Natural light spills through the huge Hope Street facing bay windows, giving life to creativity in the room. The finishing touches on the venue were added by the brilliant Molly Hawkins, who has filled with venue with colour with an eye catching mural.
Daytimes are comfortable yet fun. You can find a quiet corner to work on your laptop with a slice of homemade cake and a warm coffee, whilst local musicians develop new work in jam sessions on the stage. The playlist is littered with upcoming, local artists to help keep you in the loop with Liverpool’s buzzing music scene. The library area, jam packed with plays of old and new, is the ideal place to spend your lunch with friends. Evenings come round and the Bohemian atmosphere sweeps through the space as the stage lights up and punters wind down from work in the best way. Craft beers, cocktails, wines and so much more fly out for some of the best prices the city has to offer. The deals of 4 beers for £10 or 2 cocktails for £12 are almost enough to actually pull you in off the street.
The centre bar almost splits the room in half and unintentionally creates two venues, the gig area and the lounge. Depending on what mood you’re in, you pick the side you fancy. Brought to you by the team behind the Liverpool Arts Society, the venue hosts new and innovative events. Before lockdown, each night was booked up with live music, comedy, fine art classes and the occasional Karaoke Quiz night – there certainly is something for everyone. New work is encouraged and supported as musicians find a home from home where they feel comfortable experimenting and showing off new projects. The team have used their experience in events to bring scaled down gigs, scratch nights and comedy shows to life and they say we can expect to see more of the same. Arts Bar Live, their newest endeavour that promotes local music is becoming a staple event in Liverpool’s music scene. Check out Arts Bar Live for yourself by visiting the YouTube channel; https://bit.ly/38ctzWl
Owner, Alex Medlicott said; “COVID-19 has had an absolutely devastating effect on both the creative and hospitality industries. Live performance is almost non-existent and the ever changing sanctions on bars and restaurants have made it difficult for venues to plan for the future. We took our time returning from the lockdown period in an effort to make sure the correct measures were in place to help our staff and customers feel as comfortable as possible, all whilst sticking to our mission of supporting and celebrating Liverpool’s creative scene. A scene that needs help now more than ever. With the major theatre & music venues remaining closed for the foreseeable, we promise to give artists a place to call home. Our entire team come from a creative background, with experience in ballroom dancing, theatre, music and tech design. We are passionate about the local creative scene and the whole reason we set this space up was to shine a light on the wonderful work being created in the city. We will be promoting new music, we will be subsidising rehearsal space in a safe and clean environment, we will be promoting and selling art totally commission free and we are open to any ideas anyone has on how we can support local artists in what might be the most challenging time we see in our lifetime.”
For more information head over to their Facebook or Instagram page via the links provided;
https://instagram.com/liverpoolartsbar
www.facebook.com/LiverpoolArtsBar