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Whitworth Art Gallery

4.3 (48 reviews)
InexpensiveArt Galleries
Open 12:00 pm - 4:00 PM

Whitworth Art Gallery Photos

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Image courtesy of Whitworth Art Gallery website
Sarah-Jane B.

Lucian Freud Francis Bacon L.S. Lowry J.M.W. Turner Henry Moore Vincent Van Gogh Pablo Picasso Barbara Hepworth Rachel Whitread David Hockney Richard Hamilton Peter Blake Originally opened in 1889, the Whitworth Art Gallery has emerged into one of the most important galleries in the North West with a collection of over 50,000 pieces of historic, modern and contemporary art. Spread over two floors and several rooms, they usually have a small selection of work from their collection exhibited alongside visiting exhibitions. Fans of textile designers like William Morris and Thomas Wardle should check out some of the gallery's rugs, silks and wallpapers whilst fine art lovers should be bowled over by the watercolours, drawings and sculptures on display. Personally, I'm more drawn to the gallery's contemporary art and am thrilled that they're currently showing Lynn Hershman Leeson's The Complete Roberta Breitmore til Summer 2010. If you're not familiar with Leeson, she's an American artist that spent four years in the 1970s 'performing' and documenting 'a persona' she called Roberta. The photos, videos and sound recordings she collected make fascinating viewing and should provoke healthy debates about gender, sexuality, identity, 'the self' and surveillance culture.

"Website Photo"
Sarah-Anne M.

This is why Yelp is so useful. I LOVE Whitworth Art Gallery, it's right across the road from where I went to college and I used to go here most days to escape...but I'd completely forgotten about it until I saw Alison's review! I'm not a huge fan if art really, I dislike most modern art but I am fascinated by older works, that is what is amazing about The Whitworth, you can go straight to the part that you like and just sit there. No pressure, no hustle and bustle, no one bugging you, it's just a perfect place to escape from everything. There's no pretension here, it's in the university area so the main visitors are students, it's not in the city centre so it's not that busy either. The best part is of course that it's free entry, you have no excuse to not check it out.

example of wallpaper/textile display in the gallery's initial hall
Kelli F.

Housed with over 55,000 objects, the Whitworth Art Gallery is a gallery/museum that beacons as a cultural symbol of Manchester. The Whitworth focuses on fine art (with a specialty in watercolour), sculpture, and many works on paper (prints, textiles, and wallpapers). Even if you aren't the artsy fartsy type, the Whitworth is absolutely a place to see. After its £15million renovation in early 2015, the Whitworth has become an architectural, eco-friendly behemoth fit for the entire family. I've never experienced such a wide variety of visitor engagement activities for every age group - toddlers, adults, students, and researchers alike! There is always something going on, which adds to its vivacity and most importantly, its accessibility. The Whitworth opens its doors to its entire collection. You can contact any of the members of the curatorial team (found on their website) and schedule a one-to-one appointment to view any particular items. I would absolutely recommend seeing their textiles and wallpapers as they are very 60s/70s retro-heavy! One of the best things about the Whitworth is how its walls have extended to embrace the beauty of Whitworth Park. Now you can have a cup of tea and a delicious cake in an entirely-windowed room, overlooking acres of greenery. The renovation of the gallery's interior is also something to come see in itself! A very modernistic approach to a cultural institution, the Whitworth embraces a lot of natural light and dimensional rooms for a very unique viewing experience. You must have a look for yourself!

Kirsten P.

I spent two years living in student halls within a one minute walk of this gallery. Entry is free. Yet I still encountered numerous fellow hall residents who had never made the short trip to this gallery, and I don't really blame them. In those days the museum didn't look too inviting especially for people who don't know their Bacon from their sausage. However, now that they've put more gates in the peripheral fence and started to display large pieces of art work outdoors (including teepees in the summer) it looks rather more inviting. I'm looking forward to seeing quite how they will expand into the adjoining Whitworth Park. I'm not a huge art fan and probably wouldn't pay to get into this museum, but have always been able to find something to catch my attention in here. A particular favourite of mine was the William Morris exhibition, as he was one of the only artists who I remember from art lessons at school (I was better at designing wallpaper than sketching a basket of fruit). I used to go here for a break from revision during the dreaded exam time and it is certainly a peaceful place in which to escape from the hustle and bustle of Oxford Road. It is never busy and the staff don't hassle you. On one visit a friend and I decided to try on the kimonos and other foreign costumes which were hung in the middle of the main hall - a great hands on touch for kids (or small adults - I couldn't fasten them!). The four-year-old girl which we befriended in our regression was certainly having a great time! The shop has a good range of arty books and I've picked up some great greetings cards and postcards here too.

Meike B.

The Whitworth is worth the train ticket to Manchester all in its own right - what a wonderful place! The building has been beautifully restored, and it is just as satisfying looking out of the massive windows across the surrounding park area as it is to take in the various art collections. We were lucky to catch the tail end of one of the choir performances accompanying the current Gerhard Richter exhibition. The singers are dotted around the room and the Arvo Pärt compositions extremely moving - I was not surprised to be told that they regularly have visitors in tears. Another highlight was a collection of Chinese art which will form the basis of a new museum in Hong Kong. We didn't get a chance to sample the cafe/restaurant, but the long queue probably speaks for itself.

Tibor Reich
Laura C.

Really enjoyed my first visit. Gorgeous open spaces, beautiful wooden floor, excellent free exhibitions. Even the soap in the toilets was Aesop - read super posh. Particularly enjoyed the Tibor Reich exhibit. And I spent £9 on cards in the shop - what, they were cute. Didn't visit the cafe but it looked like a serene place to eat and drink while overlooking the sun setting over the park (if you're lucky). Go, visit the Whitworth and support this lovely space.

Thomas M.

I freely admit that upon my previous two visits to this gallery of contemporary art in 2011 and 2013, I found it rather lame: The first time, half the gallery was closed due to redecoration for some upcoming exhibition - and, well, the second time around, the full gallery was accessible - and it only proved that not much was lost compared to my first visit. Nowhere near enough on display, and what was on display was rather blandly displayed for that matter. Now, in 2015, after a UKP 15 million refurbishment, I was expecting more, much more - and my expectations were met ... for the most part. The space itself feels more inviting, more open - especially the panorama windows which open towards the park in the rear of the building. And there's more to see than previously. That being said, presentation-wise, there's still some farty in the arty. To put the finger on it, the decision not to have labels on many of the exhibits - opting for printed leaflets instead where the visitor has to first figure out where everything is, then pick the number of the artwork in question, is a bad idea. A very bad idea. A VERY, VERY bad idea. As a "customer", I want to focus on the pieces of art - not on the puzzle. These stupid leaflets are just a distraction, and not a very good one. Honestly, when I first arrived and saw that I had to take out the leaflets to know which artwork was which, I got so upset I almost left the gallery without further ado! It would have been okay if the leaflets provided additional info on the artists and work. BUT THEY DON'T!!! Just the name of the artist and the title of the work. What a pathetic waste of time!!! Contemporary art offers enough obstacles to enjoy it, you don't need new ones artificially imposed. Art presentation doesn't have to be pretentious, you know! When finally I settled into the pick-the-leaflet-out routine, I enjoyed it more. Especially the many wonderful portrait paintings on the ground floor. Dozens of great works there. I was less enamored with the "installation" on the first floor, but maybe that's just me. When I look at a work of art, I need to see the CRAFT, the EFFORT that went into creating it, too. The EXPERTISE. That's true of traditional and contemporary art - especially concerning the latter, as there is often less, MUCH less craft involved in that. The gallery is free, non-flash photography is allowed everywhere. The staff aren't particularly friendly - after all, they have to keep up the good name of modern art pretense. There's a café, too, with a great view of the park.

Ashley F.

Such a beautiful space to be in makes the visit worthwhile. Some lovely touches like 'art hampers' full of materials to take to a quiet corner and work on yourself. The gallery cafe is a large atrium surrounded by Whitworth Park making the park a spectacular feature of the gallery itself. As for the art, well, there's a lot of it for your buck but themed by materials or subject matter made it chronological mayhem for me which I found distracting. I know my Bacons from my Turners and Morris's but a lot leaves me cold and some exhibition spaces are just too cluttered and busy, at the expense of suitable viewing heights for too many pieces. People who laugh at the jokes in Shakespeare will probably love it! Despite my clearly philistine understanding, I'll definitely come again. As a complete distraction it is a genuine respite from trying to make sense of the real world

www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk

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17 years ago

Great Gallery - Free too lots of space, the cafe is excellent, staff were a bit stretched but really great seasonal food. GO!

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Review Highlights - Whitworth Art Gallery

One of the best things about the Whitworth is how its walls have extended to embrace the beauty of Whitworth Park.

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Manchester Museum - Stairs to the levels

Manchester Museum

4.3(34 reviews)
0.5 miOxford Road Corridor
£

This is a very impressive museum full of artifacts and exhibits. We loved everything about this…read moremuseum and the best part was the entrance is free! They have artifacts from Egypt, Africa, and many locations. They have quite a bit of wild animal exhibits representing the different species in the UK. They have a nice cafe to sit and rest also. They have a lift. I definitely recommend this museum. So nice and so much to see.

Imagine it is 150 years ago, and you are a rich, white English dude. You travel the world and…read moresimply help yourself to whatever catches the fancy of your magpie little brain. You plunder flora and fauna, antiquities, important cultural objects from other peoples. You compete with other rich, white dudes to create the biggest collection of the most random things someone could think of. "I have one of every butterfly on each of the inhabited continents!" "Oh yeah, my stuffed 2-toed sloth is bigger than yours!" Fast forward to the present, and the current caretakers of this hodgepodge of objects of dubious provenance are tasked with creating cohesive exhibits for the public. There are some really interesting pieces in the museum. I was able to hold a 2,000 year-old carved stone perfum vial. See the cross section of a turtle skeleton (so cool how the spines follow the inner curve of the shell), admire a stuffed porcupine. It was fascinating to think about what caught the fancy of people in the past. I would have loved to have seen more discussion of how these objects came to be, and what that tells us about classism, racism, and the history of imperialism. Be that as it may, I'm glad to see that someone's past light fingeredness is at least entertaining and educating the public today, instead of collecting dust in a storage facility somewhere.

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Manchester Museum - Dinosaur bones

Dinosaur bones

Manchester Museum
Manchester Museum - Exhibit

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Exhibit

Generation Pop - www.generationpop.co.uk/

Generation Pop

4.0(2 reviews)
1.4 miCity Centre

Generation Pop! is an American art gallery that has moved into the City Tower in Manchester…read morePiccadilly for a limited time only! Generation Pop is pretty big in America and has sold artwork to famous people and the trendiest of New York's art-lovers. The Manchester gallery features some well-known artists including Alison Lefcort and Eric Waugh. If you don't know much about these artists then check them out online. The best I can do to describe the art is to say that its in the street art style. If you've seen the film out at the moment with Banksy, then you'll have seen a lot of art in a similar style. If you haven't seen this film, do so. They've got some interesting Star Wars art-work if thats your thing! They host special events regularly so its worth signing up for a newsletter on the website.

Tucked away behind Marks and Spencers you can easily miss this small art gallery. But fear not, I'm…read moreputting it on the map. Generation Pop began in New York with music legends, royalty and politicans as collectors. It's success comes to Manchester featuring work from Alison Lefcort, Eric Waugh, Tim West and the photographer Frank Worth. The style of art I will try to describe as comic strip, colourful pieces. I don't know, go see for yourself. The current exhibition is ending soon and then there'll be a four week period or so until a new one is set up. Every Thursday is a free wine and ponder at the pictures evening, so no excuse not to get down to Generation Pop! Once I've converted you, head down to its sister down the Lowry, Salford Quays, the Toons animation gallery.

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Generation Pop
Generation Pop

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Manchester Craft and Design Centre - It's Christmas dontcha know!

Manchester Craft and Design Centre

4.4(36 reviews)
1.7 miNorthern Quarter
££

Gorgeous creative space with 20 plus studios bursting at the seams with unique, one off pieces…read moreranging from jewellery to artwork. I LOVE this place, they showcase a lot of local talent. There is a cute coffee shop that sells the usual tea, coffee, cake and small plates so it's perfect for a coffee and a browse. Fun Fact: Back in the day this used to be the local fish market, the original features including the tiles still remain in tact. On some days I swear you can smell residual fishiness but that could just be my mind playing tricks on me!

Angela's absolutely right, this place is so easy to miss. When I first happened upon this place by…read moreaccident, thankfully after I'd hauled Lex G all over the Northern Quarter in an attempt to locate Teacup she still had the energy to spot this gorgeous, adorable building and say, 'What's that?' Me being the investigative yelper that I am said, 'I have no idea. Let's have a look.' Thank goodness we did, because I thought places like this only existed in small towns, at Cedar Farm (a beautiful little crafts-driven farm with shops in Mawdesley that I highly recommend... ahh, my rural homeland radius) or in Brighton. Literally, I felt like I'd stepped into somewhere along the seafront in my brother's resident city, because the last time I saw open studios and handmade jewellery for sale, I was indeed in that picturesque place by the sea. From the outside the building is pretty, but when you walk in it really takes your breath away. Delightful little exhibitions, artists at work... I instantly made a mental note to bring mothers here, mine or in-law, the next time they're in Manchester as they love places like this. The centre has such a lovely quaint feel to it, and goodness me, tranquil? I couldn't have felt more tranquil had you tipped a load of Kalms tablets down my throat and given me a Slanket and a chocolate Horlicks. And whether you're naturally a chilled out person or slightly neurotic and over-organised like myself, no doubt walking in here will instil in you a sense of calm that you'll struggle to find anywhere else in Manchester. The work for sale is exceptional, and I myself was instantly attracted to the wall hangings comprising of collages of iconic Manchester photographs, such as street signs, buildings, bands, restaurants and so forth. I could have stayed in here for hours.You're bound to come home with something special and unique here gifts-wise. Cafe Aromat has its own website and looks absolutely mouthwatering, so I promise that when we pop in again I'll get some munch there and let you know how it is. I know, I suffer for my art don't I. *Winks.*

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Manchester Craft and Design Centre - From www.craftanddesign.com

From www.craftanddesign.com

Manchester Craft and Design Centre - From www.craftanddesign.com

From www.craftanddesign.com

Manchester Craft and Design Centre - From www.craftanddesign.com

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From www.craftanddesign.com

Castle Galleries

Castle Galleries

4.2(5 reviews)
1.7 miCity Centre
££££

Castle Galleries is a franchise with stores across the country, I've visited the Leeds, York and…read moreLondon branches as well as Manchester. They're all pretty similar and the staff are usually very friendly and happy to chat. There are two stores in Manchester, one on Deansgate and one in the Trafford Centre. As a student I frequently popped in to the Manchester store on Deansgate, I find they house beautiful pieces and the staff are very chilled out and helpful. Whether you buy or not is besides the point. Over the years I've been to various launches and events, drank copious amounts of free wine and even won a book in a raffle! So it was only fair that once I started 'adulting' (working, saving, being a grown up *yawn*) I bought my first piece from here - see attached picture. It wasn't cheap, but I adore it and it makes me smile every time I look at it. I found the painting online for a little cheaper than the gallery price and when asked they matched the online price which was excellent. I felt incredibly drawn to Bob's paintings from the first moment I saw his work. There was something warm and familiar, soothing even about his style. The almost gloomy settings appealed to me, I love the way he uses light and dark to bring the paintings to life. I came to learn that Bob Barker was born and raised in Bradford and that his workshop isn't far from where I grew up! His background is reflected through his work. This connection plus the fact that I love his style of painting meant I needed to own a piece! The piece I bought really spoke to me, I was going through a bit of a rough patch at the time I bought it and now whenever I look at it, it reminds me that I'll be ok, 'Whatever the weather' :)

Castle Galleries on Deansgate is the Manchester arm of a pretty big chain - the UK's leading art…read morestore according to their website.. I'd never heard of it before so went in to have a look at what they had to offer. Beats waiting for the bus across the road anyway. I saw some interesting stuff from a few artists - most notably Paul Corfield's Dorset inspired candy coloured landscapes and Jeff Rowland's beautiful, dark, rain filled scenes. Prices ranged from just over a hundred for glycee on paper to £300-£700 for canvases. If you're not in the market for a piece it is still worth having a look around; the staff here aren't all steely and unfriendly if it becomes obvious that you are not buying as with some art stores and small private galleries. They are a bit Bob Dylan mad at the moment - they have limited edition prints from his Drawn Blank Series. So if you are a fan of legends in one area of creativity branching out into another then you might consider one of these crazy pieces.

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Castle Galleries - My beautiful painting. 'Whatever the weather' by Bob Barker. Print on canvas.

My beautiful painting. 'Whatever the weather' by Bob Barker. Print on canvas.

Castle Galleries
Castle Galleries - Dreamy

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Dreamy

Whitworth Art Gallery - galleries - Updated May 2026

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