A historic Liverpool city centre music venue has closed with questions remaining over its future operation.
Arts Club, located on Seel Street in the Ropewalks area, is one of the main music and club spaces in the city and has provided the backdrop for a wide range of events down the years. The live music venue has existed in a number of forms in recent decades, previously operating as the Barfly, The Masque, East Village Arts Club and most recently Arts Club, following a major refurbishment.
Since 2016, Academy Music Group (AMG), which also runs O2 Academy Liverpool, has operated the venue. As well as hosting a wide array of local and touring live music acts, popular club nights such as Chibuku and Circus have regularly hosted nights at the Arts Club.
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Arts Club continued to stage events following lockdown and the end of social distancing measures, but since the start of 2023 all listings at the venue have either been cancelled or moved to other premises. All social media accounts relating to the venue also appear to have been removed, with no official announcement that the venue would be closing.
With the venue remaining closed, AMG has now confirmed to the ECHO that it is no longer continuing to operate Arts Club. A spokesperson has confirmed the withdrawal of AMG in a brief statement, which read: "Academy Music Group is no longer operating Arts Club Liverpool."
No further details were provided on the decision to not continue its lease. AMG also said it could not provide any explanation as to why it had chosen to cease operations at one of Liverpool’s best known event spaces, or if discussions were ongoing with a new tenant.
The lease for Arts Club has previously changed hands in the last decade and enabled it to continue as a live music space and bar. It is unclear whether discussions to continue operating as an events space are being explored.
The Arts Club’s history dates back to the 1800s as a meeting place for the Liverpool Royal Institute, one of the first art institutions outside of London. The venue boasts a theatre-style room for its main performances with other stages featured inside the building.
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