Gilbert & George arrive at The Atkinson this winter

Southport is about to land something that has been more than three decades in the making. From 7 November, The Atkinson on Lord Street plays host to 'ARTIST ROOMS: Gilbert & George', the first time the duo's work has been shown at a north west venue in over thirty years. It runs Monday to Saturday until 20 February 2027, closed on Bank Holidays, and entry is free, with the gallery open from 10am to 4pm.

The show comes through ARTIST ROOMS, a touring programme co-owned by Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland, which was set up in 2008 following the d'Offay Donation. The National Galleries of Scotland is the public body behind three national galleries and two partner galleries, and the partnership with The Atkinson is what brings the work this far north.

For anyone who has only ever seen the name on a gallery wall, it is worth knowing who is actually behind it. Gilbert Prousch, born 17 September 1943 in San Martin de Tor, Italy, and George Passmore, born 8 January 1942 in Plymouth, first met on 25 September 1967 while studying sculpture at St Martin's College of Art in London. They have described themselves as 'two people, but one artist' and have championed 'art for all' throughout a partnership that now stretches close to sixty years. They won the Turner Prize in 1986, represented the UK at the Venice Biennale in 2005, and in 2007 the Tate Modern gave them what was then the largest retrospective ever held there for any artist. They were elected Royal Academicians in 2017 and stepped down from the role in 2020, and they have lived at Fournier Street in Spitalfields, East London, since 1968.

The exhibition itself reaches across decades of their practice, so it is not just the late, large-scale pieces people recognise. You get the early, rarer work: the charcoal-on-paper sculpture The Nature of Our Looking (1970) and early video pieces like Gordon's Makes Us Drunk (1972) and In the Bush (1972). Alongside those are the bigger, brightly coloured multi-part works they are best known for, including EXISTSERS (1984), FAITH DROP (1991), and LIGHT HEADED (1991), which combine photography, text and found objects on a grand scale.

The themes are not shy. Religion, sexuality, race and identity run through the work, alongside the tensions and desires that come with living in a modern metropolis. It is the sort of show that asks you to look at the things we usually ignore or tidy away.

The people putting it on are clearly pleased with the pairing. Jemma Tynan, Exhibitions and Learning Officer at The Atkinson, called it a 'very special moment' and said their bold vision has shaped contemporary art for decades. Ceri Lewis, senior curator of ARTIST ROOMS, framed the show as an open invitation to enter the world of Gilbert & George and confront your own attitudes to the social norms and taboos of contemporary life. Given the free entry and the sheer scale of the names involved, it is a strong case for a winter trip out to Lord Street.