esea contemporary

Creative Tourist

Visit now

esea contemporary

Market buildings, Thomas Street, Manchester, M4 1EU
0161 832 7271
  • Tuesday10:00am - 5:00pm
  • Wednesday10:00am - 5:00pm
  • Thursday10:00am - 5:00pm
  • Friday10:00am - 5:00pm
  • Saturday10:00am - 5:00pm
  • Sunday12:00pm - 5:00pm

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

Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art CFCCA by Michael Pollard
Photo by Michael Pollard
Book now

Thanks to its dynamic programme of events and exhibitions celebrating artists of East and Southeast Asian heritage, esea contemporary (formerly Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art, CFCCA) is a non-profit arts centre, widely regarded as the number one place for experiencing East and Southeast Asian contemporary art in the UK.

Established in 1986, it was originally located in Chinatown but is now tucked away at the end of Thomas Street in Manchester’s vibrant Northern Quarter.

esea contemporary presents and supports art informed by East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) cultural backgrounds. Alongside a regularly changing programme of new exhibitions, it also commissions new work and runs artist-in-residency schemes.

Previous exhibitions featured work from Steph Huang, Dinu Li, Jane Jin Kaisen and many others.

esea contemporary is a short walk away from the Manchester Craft and Design Centre, Saan1 and Black Redstart Gallery.

What's on at esea contemporary

What's on near esea contemporary

Craft Beer Tour Around Manchester
Until
ActivityManchester
Craft Beer Tour Manchester

Join Craft Beer Tour Manchester for a journey through some of the cities best local breweries and artisanal beer serving bars. Discover the personality of Manchester’s beer through a diverse

From £45

Where to go near esea contemporary

Manchester Pubs
Manchester
Bar or Pub
Trof Northern Quarter

It’s a landmark year for Trof NQ. In the ten years since it first opened, the Northern Quarter has developed around it to become one of the city’s most prominent areas.

Manchester
Bar or Pub
Bar 21

A bar in Manchester’s Northern Quarter for fans of television and cinema science fiction. Enjoy food and drink amongst a off-beat selection of movie memorabilia.

Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
This & That Café

Eternally popular curry canteen taking its name from a time when patrons didn’t know what to call their orders, but pointed instead to a bit of “this” and “that”.

Manchester
Bar or Pub
The Bay Horse Tavern

The Bay Horse Tavern is a laid-back pub based in the dead centre of the Northern Quarter, with a wide range of drinks and food options.

Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Ziferblat Manchester

Ziferblat is a pay as you stay café in the northern quarter, where everything is free – except the time you spend.

Manchester
Shopping Centre
Smithfield Market

The neo-Romanesque arches of this former wholesale food market still stand as a reminder to the Northern Quarter’s mercantile past.

Culture Guides

Music in the North

Manchester’s closing out the year – and looking to the new one – with a run of gigs from some of the country’s best underground exports.

Sepia image of a courtroom with the words 'Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird’
Theatre in the North

Winter brings a huge haul of seasonal shows, as well as productions that resolutely veer away from the fairy lights.

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.

A white mattress is burning in a black rocky landscape.
Exhibitions in the North

In galleries around the North this autumn, you'll find tactile sculptures, Treasures with a capital 'T' and plant magic.

Food and Drink in the North

Hear ye, hear ye. Take some eating-out tips from our wintertime guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.