Modernist Society

Creative Tourist
The Modernist shop
The Modernist

The Modernist Society is a creative project dedicated to celebrating and engaging with 20th-century architecture and design, through publishing, events, exhibitions and creative collaborations. Their bricks and mortar shop opened in May 2019 in the Northern Quarter and is the only bookshop in Manchester specialising in architecture and design. With a focus on modernist architecture, graphics, typography, transport, furniture and product design, if you can’t make it in real life, you can always shop online. Alongside the books there’s also a specially selected range of modernist products from cushions to mugs and from chocolate to shiny spoons. It’s also #modernistHQ with the office upstairs, where the magazine is put together, plus there’s a library and a gallery and event space where regular exhibitions are held.

58 Port StreetManchesterM1 2EQ View map
Telephone: 0161 235 8469 Visit now

Opening Hours

  • Tuesday11:00am - 5:00pm
  • Wednesday11:00am - 5:00pm
  • Thursday11:00am - 5:00pm
  • Friday11:00am - 5:00pm
  • Saturday11:00am - 5:00pm

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

What's on near Modernist Society

Three men sit next to each other. One's head is bandaged, one holds a torch and one wears a sleepmask.
Until
CinemaManchester
Wes World at HOME

Take a trip back into the world of Wes Anderson this May as HOME present a series of the acclaimed auteur’s most beloved films alongside The Phoenician Scheme.

From £7.95
TESS at HOME: A woman holds four planks over her head, watched on by three women.
DanceManchester
Tess at HOME

A bold, breathtaking fusion of circus and storytelling, Ockham’s Razor transform Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles into a visceral, visually stunning spectacle.

From £21.20
The Same Deep Water as You at PINK
ExhibitionsStockport
The Same Deep Water as You at PINK

Get involved in this artistic and ambitious takeover of PINK’s three-storey venue, weaving together live performance, video, sculpture and sound.

Free entry
Commons at SODA
Until
ExhibitionsManchester
Commons at SODA

Commons is a programme of openly accessible, interactive events led by digital artists, showcasing the nuances of our interactions with tech.

Free entry

Where to go near Modernist Society

Manchester
Restaurant
Zouk

Manchester has more than one top-tier Indian restaurant, but Zouk is right up there with the best, and counts Drake as a fan.

Bakchich
Manchester
Restaurant
Bakchich Manchester

Bakchich does excellent, reasonably priced Lebanese food – including sharwarma, pickles, meshawi grills and baklawa – in a beautifully tiled, high-ceilinged space.

Manchester
Bar or Pub
The Thirsty Scholar

Friendly pub under a railway arch serving vegetarian and vegan pub food, as well as hosting regular live music.

Manchester
Theatre
The Dancehouse

From its charming Art Deco interiors to a quirky, highly original creative arts output, our theatre is firmly established within the city’s famously vibrant cultural scene.

Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Burgess Cafe Bar
at IABF

Small but perfectly-formed café – which also serves as the in-house bookstore, stocking all manner of Burgess-related works, along with recordings of his music. It’s a welcoming space, with huge glass windows making for a bright, welcoming atmosphere.

Manchester
Restaurant
Mama Z

Top class Filipino cuisine currently based at pop-up central, Hatch.

Manchester
Restaurant
Ol Brewery Bar

A nano brewery and keg bar, Ol is a meeting of minds between Takk and Byrne The Cake brewery.

Culture Guides

Hannah Platt 'Playing Out', courtesy of Threshold, photograph by Jules Lister.
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.

Sextile
Music in the North

Gigs are coming in hot this spring – from long-awaited returns to one-off happenings you’ll blink and miss (unless you’re paying attention).

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Eclectic as ever. You'll find inventive reworkings, world-class contemporary dance and Greater Manchester's inaugural Improv Festival in our guide.

portrait of Lorsung in a dark shirt with dark hair and dark round glasses
Literature Events in the North

We've got laughs and we've got leftfield on the live literature radar this month. Something for everyone, from poets playing with form to short story writers looking long.

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.