culture
Manchester Art Gallery Opens Three Historic Buildings With 25,000 Free Artworks
The city-centre gallery occupies three connected buildings, two designed by Sir Charles Barry, and is free to enter six days a week.
How we reported this
Manchester Art Gallery, once known as Manchester City Art Gallery, is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in the heart of the city centre. It is free to enter and open six days a week, closing on Mondays, and holds a collection of more than 25,000 objects of local and international significance.
The gallery's home is an architectural story in its own right. The main premises were built for a learned society in 1823, and the collection now occupies three connected buildings, two of which were designed by Sir Charles Barry and are listed. The building that links them was designed by Hopkins Architects, following an architectural competition managed by RIBA Competitions, and opened in 2002 after a major renovation and expansion.
What is on show
The collection ranges across centuries of painting, sculpture, decorative arts and design, with particular strengths that have made the gallery a fixture on the national cultural map. Alongside the permanent displays, a changing programme of temporary exhibitions gives regular visitors a reason to return through the year.
Its city-centre location, a short walk from St Peter's Square and the main shopping streets, makes it one of the easiest cultural stops to fold into a day in town.
The gallery is particularly noted for its holdings of Victorian art, including an important group of Pre-Raphaelite paintings, alongside decorative art, craft and design that reflect Manchester's history as a centre of manufacturing and taste. Family-friendly spaces and a programme of talks and workshops sit comfortably beside the historic galleries, so the building works as much as a place to spend an afternoon as a place to study individual masterpieces.
Visiting
Because the gallery closes on Mondays and its exhibition programme and any ticketed shows change through the year, it is worth checking the official website before visiting. Entry to the main galleries is free, so it remains an accessible option for families, students and visitors on a budget.