A-Z of Salford’s Collections at Salford Museum and Art Gallery

Gemma Gibb, Associate Editor

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A-Z of Salford's Collections

16 March 2019-23 February 2020

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Salford Musuem
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One of our top museums for families, Salford Museum and Art Gallery (which opened in 1850 as the Royal Museum and Public Library)  has a tip top new exhibition to showcase the range of its incredible treasures.

Follow the alphabet on a journey from an Ape to the zodiac. Get up close to intriguing items and social history, Victorian and British modern art and Pilkington Ceramics collections (once hand-produced and decorated in a factory nearby).

It’s a great way for families to get an eclectic and enriching overview, not to mention gather some fun facts like how Victorian gentlemen protected their moustaches from tea and which monarch’s stockings reside there.

A highlight of any visit also, is the atmospheric Victorian street installation Lark Hill Place.

Created from many original shop fonts and set at dusk, Lark Hill has such a haunting atmosphere that even the coolest of kids (and grown-ups) will want to explore the street which is full of authentic interiors and curiosities. The shops and houses include a toy shop, music shop, chemist, pub, artisan’s cottage and the printers of the local paper The Salford Reporter.

 

 

Brilliant to visit come rain or shine with the vast grasslands of Peel Park on the doorstep, permanent collections, changing exhibitions and welcoming café and shop (which famously sells slates as “Victorian ipads”), we love that this place is such an important part of our history. Said to be the first free public library in England, it is still operating in the same pioneering spirit with its rich mix of free access to history and culture galore today.

During school holidays don’t miss Toys Through Time, Mrs Tomlinson’s Sweet Shop and art and design workshops galore.

Where to go near A-Z of Salford’s Collections at Salford Museum and Art Gallery

Laura Daly: The Storm Cone at Peel Park, Salford
Salford
The Storm Cone, Peel Park

The Storm Cone is a digital artwork and soundscape by artist Laura Daly and composer Lucy Pankhurst, which simulates lost park bandstands and explores their forgotten histories.

Manchester
Music venue
Peel Hall

One of a few remaining Gothic concert halls in the United Kingdom. It has tiered seating for 370 and is housed in the Peel Building which stands at the front of the Peel Park Campus.

Manchester
Park
Peel Park

Peel Park in Salford is the oldest public park in Britain and the first of three to be opened in 1846.

Manchester
Gallery
Centenary Building

One of The University of Salford’s School of Arts and Media facilities. The Centenary Building won the RIBA Award and Stirling Prize in 1996 and the Civic Trust Award in 1997.

Salford
Restaurant
Old Pint Pot

This lively spot could be considered a jack of all trades – pub, restaurant, events space and live music venue.

Salford
Gallery
GK Gallery

This Chapel Street gallery and tea room hosts 8-12 week long exhibitions giving emerging artists a chance to showcase their work.

Chapel Street
Gallery
Islington Mill

A former cotton spinning mill, Islington Mill in Manchester now houses artists’ studios, galleries, a recording studio, a nightclub, cafe and B&B.

Manchester
Event venue
7 Spot Pottery

Part of Salford Makers, 7 Spot is a 360 square foot ceramics studio offering classes and workshops as well as studio space for members.

What's on: Exhibitions

Woman agaisnt space background
ExhibitionsManchester
(Re)collection at saan1

Across three floors of saan1, three independent curators pursue distinct interpretations of memory, nostalgia and landscape.

Free entry
ExhibitionsManchester
Nothing Gold Can Stay at texture

After recently finding a new home in Cheetham Hill, texture 2.0 hosts its second show, fittingly themed around transience and impermanence.

Free entry
Poster for Bodies in Water. A figure wearing a multicoloured, fringed costume and silver star-shaped headpiece stands knee-deep in a lake beneath dark clouds, with green hills in the distance. Bright green text reads: “Bodies in Water”, “8–25.8.26” and “PV: 7.8.26, 18–21”. Bottom left shows the PINK logo and address: Hilton House, Lord Street, Stockport, SK1 3NA.
Exhibitions
Bodies in Water at PINK

Folklore wraps around human anxiety in this new PINK exhibition, where the dragons and giants of Lake Bala become placeholders for fear itself.

Free entry

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