Ruskin’s Manchester: ‘Devil’s Darkness’ to Beacon City at MMU

Creative Tourist

Visit now

Ruskin's Manchester: 'Devil's Darkness' to Beacon City

24 June-23 August 2019

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

Ruskin's Manchester: 'Devil's Darkness' to Beacon City at MMU, Manchester
Rose Textile Pattern, c. 1895 © Collection of the Guild of St George/Museums Sheffield
Book now

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of John Ruskin, the prominent Victorian writer, art critic, artist and social thinker. Ruskin gave some of his most important lectures in Manchester and was enthusiastically received by Mancunians. This exhibition held at Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections celebrates Ruskin’s relationship with Manchester and the city’s response to him. Ruskin spoke out against the social, political and environmental injustices of his day and criticised the worst aspects of industrialisation. He promoted access to museums and art education for the working classes. During his lecture ‘The Unity of Art’, at the Manchester School of Art, he spoke about education, manufacture, craft and art, declaring that, ‘FINE ART is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together’. This lecture is at the heart of this exhibition, which seeks to introduce Ruskin and demonstrate his importance and continuing influence on art, craft and design education.

Where to go near Ruskin’s Manchester: ‘Devil’s Darkness’ to Beacon City at MMU

exterior of Contact Theatre building
Manchester
Theatre
Contact Theatre

Following a major redevelopment, the iconic venue on Oxford Road will be reopening its doors to welcome the public back into the building this autumn. 

Manchester
Music venue
The Deaf Institute

The Deaf Institute is a vibrant gig venue and nightclub for which it is well worth taking a jaunt out of the Northern Quarter.

Manchester
Catalog Bookshop

Find Peter and his Christiania cargo bike around All Saints Park, a hop, skip and a bunnyhop from Manchester Poetry Library.

Manchester
Bar or Pub
Sandbar

Sandbar, just off Oxford Road in Manchester, is a well-loved watering hole, with a great selection of ales and some eccentric seating.

Johnny Roadhouse store
Manchester
Shop
Johnny Roadhouse

Buffeted by fried chicken outlets, legendary musical instrument emporium Johnny Roadhouse has been serving the local music community for over 50 years.

Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Eighth Day

Eighth Day is a co-operative shop that sells ethically-sourced food, wine and cosmetics. There’s also café that serves hearty, healthy meals in the basement.

Manchester
Event venue
The Proud Place

Based in the heart of Manchester on Sidney Street, The Proud Place houses The Proud Trust and serves as a community hub for the wider LGBT+ population across Greater Manchester and beyond.

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

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.

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.

Experience a unique deep listening art installation inviting audiences to lay down and be bathed in sound and light.
Exhibitions in the North

From city-wide art festivals to open-air sculptural installations, we have exhibitions from all around the North, both indoors and out.

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.

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.