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Guides
What's on
Where to go
See all

Salford Royal Academy Takeover

Sara Jaspan, Exhibitions Editor

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Salford Royal Academy Takeover

Salford Museum and Art Gallery, Manchester
19 May 2018-24 February 2019

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

Free
Poppy, Esme, Oleanna, Gracie and Kate, 2014. Personal Feeling is the main thing - Chantal Joffe at The Lowry, Salford
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The Royal Academy of Arts may be based in London, but its current roster of 80 elected Academicians (including Sonia Boyce, Isaac Julien, Tracey Emin, David Hockney, Cornelia Parker, Sir Antony Gormley and Tacita Dean) are certainly not all capital-dwellers, and neither were their predecessors. To mark its 250th birthday, the globally-renowned institution has launched a nationwide programme of exhibitions, displays, tours, talks and one-off events presented with Art Fund support, which look back on a quarter-of-a-millennium of making, debating and exhibiting art, and celebrate the more than 650 leading artists and architects that have helped shape its story so far. Here we take a look at what’s happening in Salford – home of RA LS Lowry and now a growing independent art scene.

Where to go near Salford Royal Academy Takeover

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.

Salford Makers
Chapel Street
Event venue
Salford Makers

Salford Makers are a collective of artists, designers, educators and makers based at Islington Mill in Salford.

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What's on: Exhibitions

Brettel Blue
Until
ExhibitionsManchester
Black Country Type II at The Modernist

The Black Country. Not always the first place people associate with colour, design and typography – but Tom Hicks has spent years looking closely enough to challenge that.

Free entry
Jen Orpin - A Very 70's Summer. Oil on cradled panel
ExhibitionsManchester
10 x 10 at Saul Hay Gallery

Saul Hay celebrates its 10th anniversary with an exhibition that gives 100 artists just 10 centimetres to work with.

Free entry
Until
ExhibitionsMediaCityUK
Curtain Up at Lowry

Lowry presents an exhibition on group communion, featuring artists who capture the energy and anticipation of live audiences.

A poster by city of making showing images from the University of Salford Archive's
Until
ExhibitionsSalford
City Of Making at The New Adelphi

Creativity, making and innovation have long shaped Salford. City of Making traces that legacy from industrial roots to today’s artists, designers and creative technologists.

Free entry

Culture Guides

Food and Drink in the North

There’s been lamb, there’s been champagne, there’s been okra. Look at what you could have eaten, then plan the next few weeks accordingly.

Hofesh Shechter - Theatre of Dreams at Lowry
Theatre

Dark comedy, visceral dance theatre, Fringe hits and open-air performances on a railway viaduct - try something new this season.

Exhibitions

From post-it-sized art to commissions that fill entire gallery walls, five exhibitions ask what the overlooked reveals.

Mermaid Chunky by Simon Pizzey.
Music

From manifesto-wielding DJs to bands blurring gigs with performance art, our music guide is newly stocked with artists who see live music as a place for risk.

Emily Lloyd-Saini as Grace in Space and Harrie Hayes as Lieutenant Strong in Horrible Science
Family things to do in the North

Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Cinema in the North

There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.

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