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Come on Down to These 9 Art Exhibitions in Manchester
Ever had far too much free time that you didn’t know what to do with it? Well, there’s lots to do once you’ve stepped onto the streets of Manchester, and so many things to see! But if there’s one thing we’d definitely recommend, it’s checking out what museums and art exhibits have to offer.
After all, what’s the harm in getting the mind a little stimulated? It definitely beats spending the whole day staying at home. Plus, it’s more interesting than just staring at a blank wall, at least you’ll be staring at something interesting!
So join us as we walk you through different art exhibitions in Manchester. Once you take a step into these exhibits and have a look through their displays, you’ll find yourself in brand new worlds!
Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You
Media from: @scienceandindustrymuseum
Location: Special Exhibitions Gallery, Level -1, Science and Industry Museum, Liverpool Rd
Contact: 0330 058 0058 (cel.)
Operating Hours: Daily — 10 AM-5 PM
Available: 14 February 2025-4 January 2026
Entrance Fee:
- Adults, Children — £10
- Children aged 3 and under — Free
- Families and small groups (3-9 people, one being a child) — £1 off per ticket
This exhibit is the brainchild (see what we did there?) of BBC’s Children’s TV Series “Operation Ouch!” with the Science and Industry Museum. Go on a journey through this sense-ational exhibit and you’ll learn all about the five senses of the body.
Inside, you can walk through rooms and areas designed to look like different parts of the body. Each has interactive games and sensory-based science art, all of which are there to help visitors learn more about the body.
The size of the displays and rooms will also make you feel like you’ve been shrunk down to microscopic size! It’s also designed to appeal to kids or the young at heart—bring the entire family!
Pro tip
If you want to make the most out of this exhibit, join in on some of their scheduled events! There will be “Explainers” on these events who’ll provide some support and interesting fun facts throughout the event.
You can pre-book a spot in these events via the website.
Anindilyakwa Arts: Stories from Our Country
Media from: @mcrmuseum
Location: Belonging Gallery, Manchester Museum, The University of Manchester, Oxford Rd
Contact: 0161 275 2648 (cel.)
Operating Hours:
- Tuesday, Thursday-Friday, Sunday — 10 AM-5 PM
- Wednesday — 10 AM-9 PM
- Saturday — 8 AM-5 PM
Available: 8 April 2025-30 April 2028
Entrance fee: Free
Website
Curious about the art and culture of the indigenous Anindilyakwa people of Australia? The Manchester Museum has a collaborative exhibit with Anindilyakwa artists and elders showcasing their works and stories!
This exhibit displays real hand-crafted art pieces donated by the artists themselves.
You’ll find different tools and objects that you’ve never thought could be made into art! Who’d think that you could make a hook spear or even a fishing net look artsy?
With each displayed piece, you’ll learn about the Anindilyakwa people’s stories and traditions. You’ll also see how the art they made has helped pass down their stories and traditions from generation to generation. It’s an exhibit that might leave you appreciating the resilience and creativity of the human spirit.
Pro tip
Looking to have a little cultural trip through the Manchester Museum? It’s great to go on a look through this exhibit and then follow it up with a visit to the South Asia Gallery and then the Egypt and Sudan Gallery.
Unpicking Couture
Media from: @mcrartgallery
Location: Manchester Art Gallery, Mosley St
Contact: 0161 235 888 (cel.)
Operating Hours: Tuesday-Sunday — 10 AM-5 PM
Available: 21 July 2023-4 January 2026
Entrance Fee: Free
Website
There’s more to fashion than meets the eye, if this exhibit has anything to say about it! Unpicking Couture features different parts and aspects of fashion history, specifically in haute couture fashion.
With the wide variety of different dresses displayed here, you’ll learn about the little details and intricacies that come into making a haute couture piece.
What’s unique is that this place covers topics about fashion that most don’t think about. And as it turns out, there’s a lot to cover and pick at!
From investigating the link between fashion and emotion, analysing the repair or restoration of an outfit, to even presenting dress care and collection via a film. After going through this exhibit, you’ll know more about the evolution of haute couture!
Pro tip
Want to immerse yourself even more in the learning journey that this exhibit offers? There’s an accompanying essay written by one of the featured designers that you can access via the museum’s website. Have it open on your phone and read it while appreciating each displayed dress!
Santiago Yahuarcani: The Beginning of Knowledge
Media from: @whitworthart
Location: The Whitworth, The University of Manchester, Oxford Rd
Contact: 0161 275 7450 (cel.), [email protected] (email)
Operating Hours: Tuesday-Sunday — 10 AM-5 PM
Available: 4 July 2025-2 November 2026
Entrance Fee: Free
Ticket Booking
Website
Get to witness nearly 30 paintings made by the indigenous artist Santiago Yahuarcani in this preview exhibition of his work. It’s the artist’s first-ever international solo exhibition, spanning over fifteen years of his work, so you’ll get to see the history of his key works as far back as his 2010 paintings.
If there’s one thing to love about this exhibit, it’s the way that Yahuarcani paints life into the stories and myths of the Uitoto people. Yahuarcani’s works are painted using natural dyes and bark cloth, making for an exhibit with colours that pop out and grab you.
You’ll get to learn about the life and culture of Yahuarcani’s people through his art, including the impact that it has on his art. It’s worth checking out if you’re looking for more vibrantly colourful exhibits.
Pro tip
See if you can get the publication of Yahuarcani’s work from the Whitworth Shop. The book contains even more in-depth descriptions about his works, so it’s worth getting!
Lowry 360
Media from: @the_lowry
Location: The Lowry, Pier 8, The Quays, Salford
Contact: 0161 876 2000 (cel.), [email protected] (email)
Operating Hours:
- Tuesday-Friday — 11 AM-5 PM
- Weekends — 10 AM-5 PM
Available: 18 July 2025-4 January 2026
Entrance Fee: Free
Ticket Booking
Website
Have you ever looked at LS Lowry’s most iconic painting, “Going to the Match,” and wondered what it would be like to be a part of the painting? You don’t have to wonder anymore with this exhibit!
This collaboration between The Lowry and the studio, “Layers of Reality,” immerses visitors into the iconic scene that Lowry painted.
Not only is the exhibit’s venue designed to look like a diorama recreation of the painting, but it has different sounds playing too! You can admire the detail and skill put into the painting, accompanied by the background noise of chattering and whistles.
It’ll feel like you’ve stepped right into the painting yourself. Plus, the exhibit brings more life to Lowry’s piece, upping the immersiveness!
Pro tip
Grab a bite in the nearby Bar & Kitchen after immersing yourself in this exhibit, you could even get a free main course and drink if you’ve included a lunch voucher with your ticket booking!
Fragments of Time
Media from: @salford_museum
Location: East Wing, Salford Museum & Art Gallery, The Crescent, Salford
Contact: 0161 778 0800 (cel.), [email protected] (email)
Operating Hours: Daily — 10 AM-6 PM
Available: 22 March 2025-21 December 2025
Entrance Fee: Free
Website
Fragments of Time is a joint effort between the Salford Museum and four female artists: Naomi Kendrick, Lizzie King, Maggie Thompson, and Susan Wright. The exhibit explores themes of fragility, place, and change.
Once you step into Salford Museum’s East Wing, it’ll be like the venue was transformed into the artists’ studio. Each of them has a way of exploring the main themes, and it shows in the different artworks on display.
You’ll even get to see the specific kind of art that each artist specialises in, including more unusual art forms, like canvases or sketches, floor patterns, or a collection of archived photographs—it’s a nice peek into each artist’s thoughts and processes.
Pro tip
Check out the museum’s calendar and website; they occasionally host events with the artists featured in this exhibit. If you make it in time, you could get to sit in on their discussions about the pieces!
Irwell: Afterlife
Media from: @salford_museum
Location: Salford Museum & Art Gallery, The Crescent, Salford
Contact: 0161 778 0800 (cel.), [email protected] (email)
Operating Hours: Daily — 10 AM-6 PM
Available: 5 April 2025-7 September 2025
Entrance Fee: Free
Website
For those looking for another exhibition with a more sombre tone, Liam Spencer’s “Irwell: Afterlife” is another good choice. As you could guess from the title, it focuses on the River Irwell, specifically its current status and its history.
Here, Spencer showcases the River Irwell in both its natural and industrial glory, since he displays both the wildlife living in it and the structures surrounding it. You’ll find these things captured in his paintings, drawings, photography and films that are on full display here.
Through these displays, Spencer invites the visitor to look at the humble river from a different perspective.
Those who love nature-inspired art pieces or who want a bit of contemplation on their art exhibit crawl might be drawn to this one. It’s definitely the type of exhibit you’d want to quietly take in.
Pro tip
If you want to have a quiet and undisturbed viewing experience, it’s best to visit during the weekdays, since the museum’s less busy around that time. Alternatively, you could visit in the early morning.
The Perspectivists
Media from: @themodernist
Location: The Modernist Shop & The Modernist Magazine, 58 Port St
Contact: 0161 235 8469 (cel.), [email protected] (email)
Operating Hours: Tuesday-Saturday — 11 AM-5 PM
Available: 4 July 2025-30 August 2025
Entrance Fee: Free
Website
Make no mistake, this might be a compact exhibition, but it’s no less interesting than the others listed here! The one thing that stood out to us was that the works featured here were unknown before they were displayed.
You might even be interested to know that these perspective paintings technically wouldn’t be considered as “art”; they were products first and foremost, which is why this exhibit is being held in the first place! It’s to get people to appreciate them as art pieces and not as products.
With this exhibit, you’ll get to appreciate these paintings in their own right, beyond just being used to sell a building or property. Overall, it makes for an underrated gem of an exhibit.
Pro tip
Including this exhibit as part of a vintage-themed outing? You might be interested in visiting Bionic Seven, the vintage clothing store next door, before or after seeing this exhibit. The combo can make for a great themed outing!
Football City, Art United
Media from: @factory_international
Location: North Warehouse, Aviva Studios, Water Street
Contact: 0161 843 8900 (cel.), [email protected] (email)
Operating Hours: Tuesday-Sunday — 10 AM-10 PM
Available: 4 July 2025-24 August 2025
Entrance Fee:
- Standard — £15
- Aviva — £10
- Children 16 and younger — Free (with one adult ticket holder present)
Do you like sports, specifically football? Do you like sculptures and installations? This exhibit combines both!
11 legendary football players have come together with 11 artists to create football-themed artworks, birthing the pieces featured here. You’ll learn something interesting and kick something interesting!
The exhibit is filled with sound installations, play arenas, paintings, drawings, animations, sculptures, and even films. Plus, visitors will get to interact with the installations, plus there are videos showing the creation of each piece!
Pro tip
Because it’s themed around a team sport, we’d suggest that it’s best to visit this exhibit in a group! You can even try dividing yourselves into opposite “teams” while interacting with some of the installations, which makes for more fun!
