Whitworth Art Gallery

Really enjoyed my first visit. Gorgeous open spaces, beautiful wooden floor, excellent free exhibitions. Even the soap in the toilets was Aesop — read super posh.
Particularly enjoyed the Tibor Reich exhibit. And I spent £9 on cards in the shop — what, they were cute.
Didn’t visit the café but it looked like a serene place to eat and drink while overlooking the sun setting over the park (if you’re lucky).
Go, visit the Whitworth and support this lovely space.

A place of inspiration, intrigue and just the coolest destination for challenging art, architecture & pure living including the nicest watering hole overlooking the park. Only in the cultural hotspots of the world would you find yourself in a sumptuous Chinese landscape complete with lake, inside not out, a gigantic pink woolwork vagina hanging in centre stage and small gorgeous etchings hanging out to dry. Oh and find the wonderful monkey bars outside on your way out. I love this place!

I freely admit that upon my previous two visits to this gallery of contemporary art in 2011 and 2013, I found it rather lame: The first time, half the gallery was closed due to redecoration for some upcoming exhibition — and, well, the second time around, the full gallery was accessible — and it only proved that not much was lost compared to my first visit. Nowhere near enough on display, and what was on display was rather blandly displayed for that matter.
Now, in 2015, after a UKP 15 million refurbishment, I was expecting more, much more — and my expectations were met … for the most part. The space itself feels more inviting, more open — especially the panorama windows which open towards the park in the rear of the building. And there’s more to see than previously.
That being said, presentation-​wise, there’s still some farty in the arty. To put the finger on it, the decision not to have labels on many of the exhibits — opting for printed leaflets instead where the visitor has to first figure out where everything is, then pick the number of the artwork in question, is a bad idea. A very bad idea. A VERY, VERY bad idea. As a «customer», I want to focus on the pieces of art — not on the puzzle. These stupid leaflets are just a distraction, and not a very good one. Honestly, when I first arrived and saw that I had to take out the leaflets to know which artwork was which, I got so upset I almost left the gallery without further ado! It would have been okay if the leaflets provided additional info on the artists and work. BUT THEY DON’T!!! Just the name of the artist and the title of the work. What a pathetic waste of time!!!
Contemporary art offers enough obstacles to enjoy it, you don’t need new ones artificially imposed. Art presentation doesn’t have to be pretentious, you know!
When finally I settled into the pick-​the-​leaflet-​out routine, I enjoyed it more. Especially the many wonderful portrait paintings on the ground floor. Dozens of great works there. I was less enamored with the «installation» on the first floor, but maybe that’s just me. When I look at a work of art, I need to see the CRAFT, the EFFORT that went into creating it, too. The EXPERTISE. That’s true of traditional and contemporary art — especially concerning the latter, as there is often less, MUCH less craft involved in that.
The gallery is free, non-​flash photography is allowed everywhere. The staff aren’t particularly friendly — after all, they have to keep up the good name of modern art pretense. There’s a café, too, with a great view of the park.

The Whitworth Gallery is well worth a visit especially after its revamp. The place is really modern now and there are some interesting exhibitions. The emphasis is on contemporary art. I really enjoyed looking at the paintings and photos in the Chinese exhibition which contained work from Cultural Revolution and gave you a good insight into what was happening behind the scenes in those times. I also enjoyed looking at the Domesday book exhibition and couldn’t believe the tapestry that recreated its wikipage entry. It involved lots of sewers from all walks of life to make it.
The Whitworth café is also certainly worth a visit. The space itself is lovely with glass windows all around it so you get great views of the park. The cakes are also delicious and the food is of a high quality. The Whitworth makes a good afternoon out.

Although this museum obviously can’t compare to the world’s great art museums, our overall experience there (this morning) was wonderful. First we went to the café, to have coffee (since the so-​called coffee at our B&B is *atrocious*), and we loved the café for several reasons. I had an Americano and my husband had a machiato, both of which were delicious (2.10 pounds/​each). The young guy who made our coffee — Alex (from Verona, Italy) — was really friendly. We also spoke to the manager and she was equally friendly. She told us that the café was expanded during an 18-​month museum renovation and it just reopened in February of this year. The café is *beautiful*! It’s a very large «open» space that extends out from the main part of the museum (on the upper level) and it has floor-​to-​ceiling windows overlooking the lovely Whitworth Park. As an aside, there were also lots of tempting-​looking dessert items in the café.
The museum’s permanent collection was o.k. (and not very large), but the temporary exhibit was *terrific* (it ends tomorrow, so we were very fortunate to be in Manchester at this time). We spent a lot of time viewing the temporary exhibit and it was really impressive.

We managed to time our visit here so well that it had just been announced that the Whitworth had won UK Gallery of the Year for 2015 which was just perfect.
It’s a bit of a walk from the city centre (35 minutes from Piccadilly Gardens) so we had a drinks stop at Big Hands along the way — highly recommended.
The Gallery itself is absolutely beautiful, having recently been refurbed. It has a very tranquil feeling to it and a lot of green credentials which is fantastic to see. As we entered we could hear a choir singing which was so lovely and welcoming — we headed to see who they were and it was a group of school kids. I’m not sure if it’s a regular thing or that was a special occasion but either way, it was really nice to hear them as we wandered around the gallery.
I won’t pick out any specific highlights as I think overall the gallery is really lovely, and a must-​see when you go to Manchester.

The Whitworth is worth the train ticket to Manchester all in its own right — what a wonderful place! The building has been beautifully restored, and it is just as satisfying looking out of the massive windows across the surrounding park area as it is to take in the various art collections.
We were lucky to catch the tail end of one of the choir performances accompanying the current Gerhard Richter exhibition. The singers are dotted around the room and the Arvo Pärt compositions extremely moving — I was not surprised to be told that they regularly have visitors in tears.
Another highlight was a collection of Chinese art which will form the basis of a new museum in Hong Kong.
We didn’t get a chance to sample the café/​restaurant, but the long queue probably speaks for itself.

Such a beautiful space to be in makes the visit worthwhile. Some lovely touches like ‘art hampers’ full of materials to take to a quiet corner and work on yourself. The gallery café is a large atrium surrounded by Whitworth Park making the park a spectacular feature of the gallery itself. As for the art, well, there’s a lot of it for your buck but themed by materials or subject matter made it chronological mayhem for me which I found distracting. I know my Bacons from my Turners and Morris’s but a lot leaves me cold and some exhibition spaces are just too cluttered and busy, at the expense of suitable viewing heights for too many pieces. People who laugh at the jokes in Shakespeare will probably love it! Despite my clearly philistine understanding, I’ll definitely come again. As a complete distraction it is a genuine respite from trying to make sense of the real world

I visited the Whitworth Art Gallery for their opening weekend and it was a brilliant evening. Valentines Day is usually a nono for me and the other half, but this year we decided to be cultured and visit the gallery.
So glad we did. The gallery has undergone a £15 million refurb which has doubled it in size, and looks incredible. The organisation of the opening weekend must have taken a lot of planning, and they executed it perfectly. All of the exhibitions were great, we spent hours wandering round different rooms which all held different exhibits.
One of the best things as a music fanatic would be the Video Jam stage which was upstairs. I have been to a few Video Jam events before and this was the prime location and time for it.
The gallery put together the whole weekend to include art, music, performance and a wonderful fire and light show backed by a choir to end the evening perfectly.
As far as the gallery itself it’d make a great day out for family, couples, or even just for a wander round on your own. The building after its transformation has just won the North West Building of the Year Award and it’s clear to see why. Definitely a must for any visitors to Manchester looking for a bit of culture.

When first impressions count, the new café disappoints
This is my second visit since it reopened and I thought I’d try out the café: it was a complete manic free-​for-​all, apparently due to a missing member of staff but the manager was also managing to cause havoc by interrupting every member of staff as they were going about their jobs. The food looks good, the coffee was terrible and the ambience akin to being in an echo chamber.
Turning to the gallery: as bright and shiny as everything looks, I’m surprised that the refurb cost £15M. The gallery spaces appear to be untouched and the new spaces are utilitarian at best: plenty of natural light which works for some artists but not at all for others, and spaces that are less flexible than the existing galleries. I imagine that the money has been spent on the education spaces where they might recoup some investment.
Finally, turning to the opening shows: I am a huge fan of Cornelia Parker and this is a good retrospective trip through her work. What is a little lost is the way her work has been integrated into the other galleries, in a strange hang of picture walls, objects on plinths and pieces from the collection. I felt it was unfocused and erratic, which has never been my experience of the gallery before.
It would have been 3 or 4 stars apart from the embarrassing behaviour of the café manager: on the job training does not mean haranguing staff during service.

I couldn’t wait to visit the newly reopened Whitworth Art Gallery after its £15 million refurb! They have done such an amazing job to the place. Its one of the most stunning buildings i have visited!
Each room has a different exhibit and the beautiful huge windows which overlook Whitworth park. I especially loved the exploding shed view exhibit!
Every member of staff who worked there was friendly and said hello. Make sure to take a visit to this amazing place!

Popped here for the preview night (my wife works for the Uni) and have to say they’ve done an amazing job of blending the old and new together — in fact it’s so seamless that a total newbie to the city would probably be pretty impressed and not thinking it was 2 different places.
The new upstairs café looks fairly well set up with great views over all of the Whitworth park area (think a large glass rectangle reminiscent of a Grand Designs country build) and from here all the galleries stretch up, down, left, right — in fact there’s galleries everywhere!
The only bugbear I’d say is that the loos aren’t very well signposted and there hardly seems to be any of them (unless I was just missing them after exploring for ages) — I’m looking forward to seeing what this place is like when fully opened in a couple of weeks time.
Ps — there’s also a great exhibit on 1960’s pop art in one of the galleries at the moment — definitely worth checking out!

Super art gallery.
Re-​opening 25^th October 2014 after a HUGE refurbishment & extension.
In summer 2013 they held an amazing closing party for local residents and I can’t wait for the re-​opening, to see what they’ve created.
A great facility for locals & visitors
UPDATE. Opening 14^th Feb 2015 (project ran over)

Tony Oursler: The Influence Machine
Screened in July 2011 as part of
Projections: Works from The Artangel Collection was great.

The Whitworth Gallery plus the adjoining Whitworth Park (see Unilocal) is a winning combination for any visitor to Manchester. In the Gallery building, Edwardian redbrick/​marble interior contrasts with the light wood, glass and stainless steel of the Scandanavian-​style redesign carried out in the 1960s — the building merits a visit in its own right. The gallery is beautifully spacious, with the staircases and balconies providing interesting movement and perspectives around the building — its all very soothing and refreshing and does something good to my head, even before I’ve set eyes on an exhibit!
I admire how the Whitworth manages to be accessible and family-​friendly without any sense of dumbing down or creating an inelegant play-​school environment. Although not a parent myself, I can imagine educational entertainment being had with the factfiles, activity stations and highly authentic and ornate dressing-​up costumes! See the ‘Learning’ section of their website for family fun events and more high-​brow events.
Textiles and decorative arts have been part of the Whitworth’s programme since its inception which had a connection with Manchester’s booming textile industry of that time. There are always exotic fabrics and clothes with a story on display from the collection, with the display cases being refreshed regularly.
The visiting exhibitions I’ve always found worth the time. And as everything is free, and it is a total pleasure to walk around this beautiful building, there really is nothing to lose from a visit. Showing at the moment are a mixture of a trompe-l’œil wallpapers and contemporary art installations. See what catches your interest. The gallery attendants are very friendly and pro-​active — if you don’t introduce yourself, they will! I chanced on a video of 64 Guardsmen who each marches individually into the City of London at different entry points. They seek each other out until the whole battalion reforms, and then disperses — loved it!
The huge amount of elbow room in the gallery contrasts with the very busy lunchtime service in the Gallery Café, where Manchester food phenomenon The Modern Caterer are doing their stuff. I’ve not eaten here recently, but the cakes, plates and open kitchen look really good and one wall features a chalkboard chart of which fruit and veg are in season, month by month. I think you will understand what a good sign this is for fresh, local, seasonal produce being used — I saw a fantastic pan of pasta and wilted spinach being finished in the open kitchen when I looked in! But if it’s more a basic tea and scone or breakfast item you’re after, they have that also.
So top marks all round for Whitworth Gallery. Once you’re finished with the gallery, the park beckons with its mix of formal gardens, wild woods and play areas, benches and picnic tables.

Look at me! I’m a proper art fart this week. Yes, I did find myself seeking a bit of culture in our fair city a while back, and would you Adam and Eve it, there’s tons on offer for us. Whitworth Art Gallery is Manchester University’s artsy offering, and it certainly doesn’t disappoint. Plus it’s on my long route home. At a glance you can see that the exhibitions fringe on the unusual — from ‘Walls are Talking (Wallpaper, Art and Culture)’ to ‘Deep Rooted (How Trees Shape Our Lives)’, you can tell that you’re in an academic, analytical, culturally aware university environment.
Manchester is perhaps the city’s most prestigious university (certainly in the media anyhoo) and the art gallery, just like the museum, follows suit. There’s tons to explore; the collections include sculpture, prints, historic fine art, wallpaper, textiles and that ever increasingly important modern art. And like the museum this gallery focuses strongly on community learning, with fun for families and research and projects for kids of all ages.
The gift shop is worth a visit alone with its art and design books, quirky gifts such as tea towels emblazoned with famous prints and toys as well as artistic wallpaper and wrapping paper, and a great range of greetings cards. Entry’s free so you’ve nothing to lose (unless you hit this little retail outlet, obviously).
And last time I went in it was only to use the bathroom, and I was massively intrigued by the lovely little café. Next on my list. Plus I wound up staying far longer than I intended to — now that’s the mark of a good gallery!

You can’t go too wrong with free entry to something, unless that something is a massive pit of snakes, but luckily Whitworth Art Gallery contains no snakes, only art. And ever-​changing, good art at that.
It’s an easy way to kill time, or feel cultured, or go for a visit with a friend/​loved one/​date. The possibilities are indeed endless. They keep it up-​to-​date so it’s always worth paying a visit back again from time to time to see what’s new, and to feel like you are actually a mature, cultured individual rather than the oik you are at heart.
The café is nice but expensive, as is the way with many museums and art galleries, so I’d only recommend visiting if you want to try out the organic stuff they do which is quite nice.

I spent two years living in student halls within a one minute walk of this gallery. Entry is free. Yet I still encountered numerous fellow hall residents who had never made the short trip to this gallery, and I don’t really blame them. In those days the museum didn’t look too inviting especially for people who don’t know their Bacon from their sausage. However, now that they’ve put more gates in the peripheral fence and started to display large pieces of art work outdoors (including teepees in the summer) it looks rather more inviting. I’m looking forward to seeing quite how they will expand into the adjoining Whitworth Park.
I’m not a huge art fan and probably wouldn’t pay to get into this museum, but have always been able to find something to catch my attention in here. A particular favourite of mine was the William Morris exhibition, as he was one of the only artists who I remember from art lessons at school (I was better at designing wallpaper than sketching a basket of fruit).
I used to go here for a break from revision during the dreaded exam time and it is certainly a peaceful place in which to escape from the hustle and bustle of Oxford Road. It is never busy and the staff don’t hassle you. On one visit a friend and I decided to try on the kimonos and other foreign costumes which were hung in the middle of the main hall — a great hands on touch for kids (or small adults — I couldn’t fasten them!). The four-​year-​old girl which we befriended in our regression was certainly having a great time!
The shop has a good range of arty books and I’ve picked up some great greetings cards and postcards here too.

Lucian Freud
Francis Bacon
L.S. Lowry
J.M.W. Turner
Henry Moore
Vincent Van Gogh
Pablo Picasso
Barbara Hepworth
Rachel Whitread
David Hockney
Richard Hamilton
Peter Blake
Originally opened in 1889, the Whitworth Art Gallery has emerged into one of the most important galleries in the North West with a collection of over 50,000 pieces of historic, modern and contemporary art. Spread over two floors and several rooms, they usually have a small selection of work from their collection exhibited alongside visiting exhibitions.
Fans of textile designers like William Morris and Thomas Wardle should check out some of the gallery’s rugs, silks and wallpapers whilst fine art lovers should be bowled over by the watercolours, drawings and sculptures on display. Personally, I’m more drawn to the gallery’s contemporary art and am thrilled that they’re currently showing Lynn Hershman Leeson’s The Complete Roberta Breitmore til Summer 2010.
If you’re not familiar with Leeson, she’s an American artist that spent four years in the 1970s ‘performing’ and documenting ‘a persona’ she called Roberta. The photos, videos and sound recordings she collected make fascinating viewing and should provoke healthy debates about gender, sexuality, identity, ‘the self’ and surveillance culture.

This is why Unilocal is so useful. I LOVE Whitworth Art Gallery, it’s right across the road from where I went to college and I used to go here most days to escape… but I’d completely forgotten about it until I saw Alison’s review!
I’m not a huge fan if art really, I dislike most modern art but I am fascinated by older works, that is what is amazing about The Whitworth, you can go straight to the part that you like and just sit there.
No pressure, no hustle and bustle, no one bugging you, it’s just a perfect place to escape from everything.
There’s no pretension here, it’s in the university area so the main visitors are students, it’s not in the city centre so it’s not that busy either.
The best part is of course that it’s free entry, you have no excuse to not check it out.