MAH17: First to see at Manchester Art Gallery

Polly Checkland Harding

Visit now

First to see

Manchester Art Gallery, City Centre
18 May 2017

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

Shirley Baker, Hulme, 1965. © Shirley Baker Estate. Courtesy of the Shirley Baker Estate.
Book now

Manchester Art Gallery stays open late for the launch night of two new exhibitions as part of Manchester After Hours 2017. Be among the first to see Shirley Baker: Women, Children and Loitering Men, a showcase of photographs by radical street photographer Shirley Baker, who focused her lens on the urban slum clearances in Manchester and Salford from the 1960s onwards. Set to a specially commissioned soundscore by arranged by Derek Nisbet, which combines noises from the streets with Baker’s voice from a 1922 interview, the images include a series of colour photographs that have never before been exhibited, depicting children playing on a rubble heap, an elderly couple picking their way across a post-clearance landscape, and more of the values and experiences of working class communities at the time.

Also open to the public for the first time is an exhibition that spans South Asian craft over the last three centuries – including ceramics, textiles and metalwork from Manchester City Galleries’ historic collections that have been specially conserved for display – alongside the contemporary art it has inspired.

What's on at Manchester Art Gallery

Peterloo Tour
TourManchester
The Peterloo Massacre Tour

Visit key locations associated with a moment that helped shape the future of the nation, tracing the footsteps of those who stood for change.

From £20.00

Where to go near MAH17: First to see at Manchester Art Gallery

Manchester
Restaurant
Ban Di Bul

Ban Di Bul is a longstanding Korean restaurant in the very centre of Manchester.

Salut Wines
Chinatown
Bar or Pub
Salut Wines

Salut wines pride themselves in offering “wider horizons beyond the safe choices.” With 42 wines by the glass and a regularly changing selection of bottles in their Enomatic wine preservation machines (or  “wine jukebox,” as they’re colloquially known), this is one of be best bars in Manchester for exploring new vintages.

St Peters Square Manchester
City Centre
St Peter’s Square

St Peter’s Square is a public space in Manchester – home to the city’s iconic library, town hall, Pankhurst statue, art gallery and famous Midland Hotel.

Manchester Central Library
Manchester
Library
Manchester Central Library

The stunning Manchester Central Library is now back open for all visitors who wish to browse the enormous collection or simply relax in this magnificent building.

Chinatown
Restaurant
Manchester Art Gallery Cafe

Summery bakes, seasonal salads and fresh light meals at Manchester Art Gallery’s in-house café, courtesy of highly-regarded Head Chef Matthew Taylor.

Chinatown
Hotel
The Alan

This high-end city-centre restaurant has an excellent afternoon tea option that more than matches up to the superb main menu.

Contemporary Six, art gallery in Manchester
City Centre
Gallery
Contemporary Six

Contemporary Six is an independent commercial art gallery in Manchester city centre, set up by Alex Reuben in 2010.

Manchester
Shop
Siam Smiles

Now based at the Great Northern, Siam Smiles is a food stop that’s hot on everyone’s lips.

City Centre
Restaurant
Blinker

Elegant cocktail bar in the centre of Manchester, with a relaxed atmosphere and wonderfully friendly staff.

What's on: Exhibitions

In a large industrial space filled with dobby looms hangs a blood red textile piece infront of a sheer white backdrop.
Until
ExhibitionsLeeds
Loops at Sunny Bank Mills

‘Loops’ is a new collaborative exhibition of textiles at Sunny Bank Mills, connecting artists from across the Netherlands and Yorkshire.

Free entry

Culture Guides

Music in the North

Gigs are coming in hot this spring – from long-awaited returns to one-off happenings you’ll blink and miss if you're not careful.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Experimental performance, thought-provoking new writing and our picks of Manchester International Festival - here’s what’s taking centre stage this summer.

A painting called Daphne, 2021, by Carolien Walker. The painting features Caroline’s own daughter as a toddler.
Exhibitions in the North

Captivating, urgent and intimate - we bring you our top exhibition picks, with even more art festivals, artist-led shows and new venues.

Cloudwater Production One
Tours and Activities in the North

Go forth with wild abandon to dance the pavements, dabble with the paint and down the pints in this month's tours and activities guide.

Classical Music in the North

Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.

A young boy with a white sash around his left arm cries.
Cinema in the North

Outdoor cinema announcements, a major retrospective at HOME, and the best of indie cinema.