The Whitworth

A gallery and public venue on Manchester’s Oxford Road, within Whitworth Park, close to The University of Manchester– winner of Visit England’s gold prize for Large Visitor Attraction of the Year 2016, among others.

The Whitworth is an iconic red brick structure founded in 1889 and was the first English art gallery in a park. It hosts both permanent and changing collections, and is known for an innovative team of curators who regularly take on international pieces with an experimental edge.

It is open 7 days a week, with free entry to the public.

The Whitworth was supported by a number of prominent Mancunians in its early years, including C.P Scott who was the then editor of The Manchester Guardian. Over its 126-year history the gallery has welcomed ground-breaking art, readings and events.

Often nicknamed the ‘Tate of the North’, the gallery fosters academic research and collaboration, as it is part of the University of Manchester.

The Whitworth has literary connections too – and has been a venue for live literature events. This has included a 2017 commission from Faber and Faber poet Zaffar Kunial, who produced a series of poems in response to an exhibition of the work of Raqib Shaw at the gallery. The poems were performed as part of Manchester Literature Festival. Poet Ben Okri has also spoken here.