Manchester Art Gallery Highlights Tour
Carmel Smickersgill, Tours & Activities Editor
Manchester Art Gallery is a central and essential part of the city. With its protected architecture and the priceless contents of its galleries there is a lot to appreciate. Let an enthusiastic and knowledgable guide help you fully appreciate the gallery with their highlights tour. It is a perfect opportunity to get to know some of the pieces in a bit more detail.
A team of knowledgeable volunteers take it in turns to conduct the tours. Each tour is different, the featured artworks are personal choices of the individual tour guides and reflect their different personalities and interests. No matter who the each tour is being led by, every guide is equally passionate and informed about the works and the artists’ lives, however, most guides will have a specialism so will focus on a particular area, style or era.
Whether you are a knowledgeable art critic or a novice art appreciator, there will be something of interest. Accessible on many levels, the tours manage to neither patronise nor skimp on the technical aspects of the art. Expect to learn about where artists find inspiration, the feelings and responses they evoke in pieces or how each work fits into the social context of the time in which it was created.
Often the guides include a section about the history of the gallery and its architecture. You will see where a modern connecting courtyard joins three Victorian buildings, forming the collection of gallery spaces, with earlier stages of the restoration deliberately left on show.
Tours are at 2 pm every Thursday to Sunday and are approximately an hour in duration.
