The Whitworth

11/06/2026

Get hands-on with clay in our next creative workshop.

Join El Garrard from Blether Craft Club for an evening exploring mark-making and coloured slips, creating your own unique set of ceramic tile artworks inspired by The Practice of Liberation.

Blether Craft Club is a community arts collective running events, workshops and a monthly Craft Club at the Carlton Club in Manchester.

Ceramics Workshop with Blether Craft Club
Thursday 11 June, 6pm to 8pm
From £32, concessions available

Book your place now. Link in bio.

IMAGE CREDIT Installation view -16 April 2026Press creditMichaela Yearwood-Dan, The Practice of Liberation (2026) installation view at the Whitworth © the Whitworth, The University of Manchester. Photographer: Michael Pollard.

10/06/2026

Madge Gill’s intricate drawings and textiles open up fascinating questions about creativity, spiritual experience, mental life and artistic authorship.

Join and The Whitworth for a free online seminar exploring Gill’s remarkable work from a range of perspectives, with talks from researchers and specialists in art, textiles, psychology and visionary practice.

📅 Thursday 11 June 2026
🕙 10am to 2.30pm
📍 Online
🎟 Free

Find out more – https://masp.org.br/en/seminars/madge-gill-seminar

09/06/2026

Celebrating Festival of Libraries across Greater Manchester 📚✨
From 10–14 June, libraries across the city-region are coming together for a vibrant programme of events celebrating reading, creativity and community.

We’re resharing this lovely piece from John Rylands Research Institute and Library looking back at life behind the scenes in the 1950s and 60s so you can read the full blog.

🔎 Featuring reflections from a former member of staff, it offers a fascinating glimpse into the history and daily rhythms of one of Manchester’s most iconic libraries.



https://www.manchestercityofliterature.com/project/manchester-libraries-festival/

What was it like to work at The John Rylands Library in the 1950s and 1960s?

In our latest blog, Dr John Hodgson interviews Brenda Scragg, the oldest living former member of library staff.

Brenda’s memories offer a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes at the library with reflections on everyday working life, the people who shaped the institution and our 1972 merger with The University of Manchester.

Read the full blog here: https://ow.ly/RmSX50Z6e5I

📸Brenda Scragg née Knowles installing an exhibition in the Historic Reading Room in the early 1960s. Image courtesy of Brenda Scragg. Photographer unknown.

07/06/2026

Next week Saturday! 📆

Join us next weekend for the Whitworth's 2026 Community Day 🥳

This year's event is inspired by Universally Manchester Festival and Refugee Week. It brings together partners, artists and communities from across Manchester to celebrate creativity, connection and belonging ✨

Get involved and discover: workshops, performances, exhibitions and conversations, share stories and experience how art can create connection, foster understanding and celebrate Manchester’s diverse communities.

📅 Saturday 13 June
⏰ 11am - 4pm
📍the Whitworth
🎫 Free entry, drop in
Book your tickets and find out more about the workshops: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-whitworth-community-family-day-tickets-1989395239715

The day highlights a variety of Whitworth led partnerships and projects including; Whitworth Young Contemporaries ✨ to the inclusive creativity of Venture Arts 🎨, the cultural vibrancy of Afrocats🥁 the reflective strength of Still Care 🍃 and the intergenerational connections nurtured through our Age-Friendly Programme 🪡 the event celebrates the many communities and programmes that shape the Whitworth.

See you there 👋

06/06/2026

Curator led exhibition tour

Join curator Olivia Heron to discover more about the exhibition, Michaela Yearwood-Dan: The Practice of Liberation.

Discover how the artist transformed the gallery space into a layered installation that explores themes of spirituality, memory, and liberation.

Thursday 18 June, 6pm - 6:30pm
Book your tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1990168332055?aff=oddtdtcreator

04/06/2026

Get a first look at new exhibition 📣 Hyundai Translocal Series: Entangled and Woven

Join us for a special preview evening exploring textiles, making and shared stories across Cheongju (Korea), New Delhi (India) and Manchester 🗺️

From large-scale installations to delicate embroidery and hand-spun fibres, the exhibition brings together contemporary artists and historic textiles from the Whitworth’s collection in unexpected and powerful ways.

✨ Exhibition Preview
📅 Thursday 9 July
⏰ 6pm - 8pm
🎟 Book your free tickets now: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1989550394788?aff=oddtdtcreator

Artwork Photo: Jounghye Yoo, Gilded Veil, 2025, installation view in Hyundai Translocal Series: Entangled and Woven, National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy. Photo by Garima Bhaskar

02/06/2026

Join our team📣

We're looking for our new fantastic AV and Digital Systems Technician. 🎥

Are you a technical expert with a passion for the intersection of art, culture, and digital innovation? It’s a dream opportunity to join the teams at the Whitworth and Manchester Museum during an exciting time in their respective histories. In this dual-site role, you will be the primary contact for AV infrastructure, ensuring our equipment is expertly maintained and its creative potential is fully realised across galleries, exhibitions, and events. 🌟

🔗For more information and details on how to apply, head to our Jobs page - https://www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk/about/joinourteam/jobs/.

✍️ Applications close at midnight, Tuesday 23rd June 2026.

Image Credit: Isaac Julien, Ten Thousand Waves, 2010. Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro, London. © Isaac Julien. The Whitworth, The University of Manchester.

01/06/2026

This Volunteers’ Week, we’re celebrating the brilliant people who give their time, energy and care to the Whitworth.

From welcoming visitors and supporting workshops, to helping in our gardens, collections, events and family programmes, our volunteers are part of the everyday life of the gallery.

We’re especially proud of our family volunteering programme, which gives parents, carers, children and young people the chance to volunteer together. It’s a joyful way to build confidence, share skills, meet others and feel part of a creative community.

A huge thank you to all our volunteers, past and present. The Whitworth wouldn’t be the same without you.

Watch our film https://ow.ly/VIVp50Z6eiW - and read more about family volunteering via Oxford Road Corridor - https://ow.ly/iMtl50Z6eiV

31/05/2026

Last chance to see ✨

Delaine Le Bas: Un-Fair-Ground at the Whitworth this weekend!

This major exhibition Delaine Le Bas: Un-Fair-Ground, offers an expansive survey of the artist’s groundbreaking feminist practice across her career. Bringing together new works by the artist in conversation with key pieces from the Whitworth collection. This captivating exhibition creates a powerful dialogue around identity, resistance, folklore and belonging.

📷: Delaine Le Bas: Un-Fair-Ground (2026) installation, the Whitworth, The University of Manchester. Photo: Michael Pollard.

27/05/2026

✨ Craft Club at the Whitworth ✨

Get hands-on with clay in a new series of ceramics workshop hosted by Blether Craft Club.

Led by artist and facilitator El Garrard, this session invites you to explore mark-making and coloured slips, creating your own unique set of ceramic tile artworks inspired by Michaela Yearwood-Dan: The Practice of Liberation 🎨 now on at the Whitworth.

Blether is a Manchester-based community arts collective running creative events and workshops across the city 💫

📅 Thursday 11 June
⏰ 6pm – 8pm
📍the Whitworth
🎟️ From £32 (concessions available)
Spaces are limited — book now via the link here - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/blether-presents-craft-club-at-the-whitworth-tile-workshop-01-tickets-1989815564919



Image Credit (1): Installation view, ‘Michaela Yearwood Dan: The Practice of Liberation’, The Whitworth, Manchester, 2026. Photo: Michael Pollard.