Shakespeare and Manchester: A Victorian Powerhouse Exhibition

This exhibition tells, for the first time, the story of how seven personalities transformed Manchester into a global centre of Shakespearean theatre in the Victorian era and reveals present-day evidence of the city’s innovative engagement with the works of Shakespeare.

These seven people operated in diverse fields - business, religion, theatre, architecture, academia, politics - but were united by their appreciation of Shakespeare’s cultural value and, as if imitating the seven bees atop Manchester’s coat of arms, they collaborated to create an urban, libertarian, distinctively Mancunian interpretation of Shakespeare’s works.

The exhibition also presents traces of Manchester’s Victorian influence that can still be found today – the portrait of Ira Aldridge in Manchester Art Gallery, the Shakespeare Window in the entrance of the Central Library, and the Shakespearean Garden in Platt Fields Park.

One aim of this exhibition is to raise awareness of the benefits to mental and physical health conferred by the Shakespearean Garden and to obtain funding for a full-time gardener who can secure the future of the garden for the benefit of the citizens of Manchester.

Manchester Central Library First Floor Display Cases February 12th 2026 - May 30th 2026

"For so work the honey-bees,

Creatures that by a rule in nature teach

The act of order to a peopled kingdom.

They have a king, and officers of sorts,

Where some like magistrates correct at home;

Others like merchants venture trade abroad;"

The Life of King Henry the Fifth (1.2.187-92)

For more details please contact:

Dr. Ian Nickson. Honorary Research Fellow, University of Manchester, ian.nickson-2@manchester.ac.uk

Kattie Kincaid Project Lead for the Shakespearean Garden, kattiekincaid@hotmail.com

Location; Manchester Central Library, St Peter's Square, Manchester, M2 5PD

Picture; The Shakespeare Window in the entrance of the Central Library

A Saturday in Salford …… in 1977 ….. the exhibition at The Langworthy Cornerstone Community Centre ... today

Last night I was at an exhibition of photographs of a bit of Salford that was lost and has now been found again.

The pictures were taken by Steve Chapman who on a Saturday nearly 50 years ago wandered down from Langworthy to the Docks recording what he saw.

He was accompanied by Phil Portus, another young photographer and both were aware that with the programme of wholesale house clearance, buildings and a community would soon be lost for ever.

Steve reflected that as a young art student in Manchester he had followed the redevelopment of Hulme which in just a few short years had demolished rows of small terraced houses as well as shops, pubs and small workshops wiping away a close-knit community.

Steve Chapman

And having rediscovered the negatives from that Salford trip he agreed to this exhibition of his work at the Langworthy Corne stone Community Centre.

The event attracted a host of people, from family, friends, and former residence of the area including Jimmy who features on one picture with a group of his friends.

Judging by the comments the display of Steve’s pictures brought back a heap of memories and are an important record of what the area was like and will stand long after that Salford has faded from living memory.

Many will remember that Steve’s companion on the day had an exhibition a few years ago at the Cornerstone where he showcased his images.*

Steve discussing an image

Tony Flynn and Steve

Steve’s fascinating record of that past Salford is on at the Cornerstone Community Centre from  Monday through  to Friday until December.

And because I can, here is a short video made by Tony Flynn talking to Steve, Jimmy and others on the night.*

Location; Langworthy Cornerstone Community Centre

Pictures; of the evening, from the collection of Andrew Simpson, 2025

*Phil Portus, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Phil%20Portus

**Salford Revisited chatting with photographer, Steve Chapman, https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=4359521310945096&id=100006618102433&rdid=n8TQxXnPD3dgNRUg#

A paint brush …. and 365 ways of saying well done Mr. Lowry

Today is the anniversary of the death of L S Lowry, that rent collector better remembered as the painter who painted Salford.

His works capture that tired over used observation that “its grim up north” which might have had some truth, but even when Lowry was painting the painting it could have been mirrored by heaps of places from south Wales and the Midlands to those bits of London by the River, where gasometers, docks and small sweatshops mingled to make a place which was occupied only by those who had no choice.

Added to which he painted lots more than grimy northern scenes or odd looking people as I discovered when Peter Topping gave me a guided tour of his work held at the Lowry in Salford.

The trip challenged my preconceptions of what a Lowry looked like.

So here among the matchstick figures and factory chimneys belching out spirals of yellow and grey smoke are fine seascapes, still life compositions and portraits.

And it was that range of work that led Peter to create a Virtual Exhibition with 365 works of Art inspired by L S Lowry.*

As Peter says “people make their way to Southern Cemetery where Lowry is buried  and leave paint brushes of all shapes and sizes to honour the man.  And so I thought as an homage to the great man I would create 365 of my works of artwork that were inspired by his work, and display these in a virtual gallery where anyone from around the world could go and see the paintings with a click of the mouse.

The idea for a virtual art exhibition had begun when we were planning the Chorlton Arts Festival just as Covid was making it impossible for people to gather together.

That led me to think that maybe I could create an electronic gallery with a painting for each day of the year.  It’s an approach I am sure given Lowry’s own unconventional way of depicting the world he would have embraced”.

And it fitted well with Peter’s earlier projects of creating scenes in Chorlton which Lowry might have painted if he visited us.

All of which leaves me to reflect if I had a choice on a wet Thursday of paying tribute to Mr. Lowry I think I would go for the electronic platform and walk through the virtual gallery rather than stand beside some paint brushes in Southern Cemetery.

Or I could do both ..... we shall see.

Location Chorlton and the world

Paintings; If Mr Lowry came to Chorlton, © 2017 Peter Topping, Paintings from Pictures,

Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk

*The Virtual Exhibition, Inspired by L S Lowry,  can be viewed in its entirety at https://www.artsteps.com/view/639c9a1ec0a4cb48a002edbe

‘War Works’ an exhibition of art by David Dunnico … December 6th and into the new year

So in these uncertain times I was pleased that David Dunico’s new exhibition was going ahead  on November 5th at the AIR Gallery, The Warehouse, 30 Grosvenor Road, Altrincham.

But of course we are now about to enter the November lockdown, with David emailing me "Not surprisingly my exhibition has been postponed because of the lockdown – Assuming it ends on 2nd December, the exhibition will open on Saturday 5th December. 

It will run into January – I haven’t got any more information on exact dates yet".

So in anticipation of the event,  here I shall just lift the exhibition notes which say it better than I could.

“The Cenotaph features in a new art exhibition about remembrance, which appropriately and not without coincidence, opens the week the Whitehall war memorial reaches its Centenary.

Manchester artist David Dunnico’s exhibition is called ‘War Works’ and runs from 5th to 28th November at Air Gallery in Altrincham. It includes prints, video and installations, which take a critical look at how the First World War was memorialised and how this affects the way we look at later conflicts including the ‘war on terror’. 

In 1919, architect Edwin Lutyens was commissioned to design a monument for the route of the Allied Victory Parade which was to march through London. He quickly produced the deceptively simple cenotaph, which was made of wood and plaster and only intended to be in place for a few weeks. 

However, it immediately became the focus for the Nation’s mourning and was replaced in 1920 with the present permanent structure of Portland stone. 100 years on, it is still the most important and well known of an estimated 100,000 war memorials in the UK. 

In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, there was a craze for collecting ‘Crested Ware’ – small, white porcelain ornaments, decorated with the heraldic crest of a town or city. These were made in simple shapes of familiar objects. During the First World War designs included tanks, battleships and artillery, after the War, the Cenotaph was a popular subject. 

The different towns and cities displayed on these mementos reflects the fact that there was barely anywhere in the country that was not mourning local people who had been killed or injured in the war. 

Dunnico has used over 75 examples amassed from eBay in one installation. They are laid out in the shape of Britain and make a comment about the place war memorialisation has in this country. 

The Cenotaph also features in a large print called ‘Empty Tomb’ the literal translation of the word from the Greek. Other pieces include a video of the Two Minute Silence – which makes you realise how the city is never silent, especially when the gun signaling the start of the Silence sets off car alarms near and far. 

A couple of the exhibits were shown in Dunnico’s ‘Flag of Convenience’ photography exhibition held 

last year at Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery, being shown for the first time is ‘A War Imagined’ – What seem to be granite memorial plaques carved with the names of war dead, which on closer viewing turn out to be acrylic sheets, engraved with the cast lists of British films about the Second World War. Dunnico said: “The Second World War seems central to the English national identity, but people’s understanding of it largely comes from half-remembered movie dramas. History is understood literally and figuratively in black and white”. 

‘War Works’ an exhibition of art by David Dunnico

December 6th 2020- January  2021

AIR Gallery

The Warehouse

30 Grosvenor Road

Altrincham

WA14 1LD

0161 941 1129

info.airgallery@gmail.com

https://www.airgallery.space/

Opening times: Wednesday – Friday: 11am – 6pm 

Saturday: 12noon – 5pm. Free

Because of the COVID restrictions people are asked to book the day before visiting the exhibition through Eventbrite:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/126246112521

The blog joins a distinguished band of history groups ...... Manchester Histories Celebration Day

Now I like the idea that the blog has joined a club which includes some fascinating and interesting organizations working to uncover more of our collective past.

And last week we were enrolled in to the Hall of Fame, or to be more accurate Manchester Histories Celebration Day.*

The charity Manchester Histories is one I have been involved in. 

It “delivers projects, events and activities with communities that reveal, share and celebrate Greater Manchester's diverse histories and heritage. [including] the Manchester Histories Festival.

Manchester Histories is a growing and dynamic charity that works collaboratively with people, organisations, and partners to reveal, share and celebrate Greater Manchester's diverse Histories and Heritage.

Manchester Histories works throughout the year delivering projects, training, exhibitions, events, networks and more with communities to recognise, explore and value histories”**

And that brings me back to Manchester Histories Virtual Celebration Day 2020, which is "a chance to celebrate all the hard work of organisations that are often run by volunteers, but play an important role in telling local stories and help to connect people together through history and cultural activities".

In all there are at present 26 groups in the club, of which one of my favourites, is Clayton Hall Living History Museum, but it would be unfair to single out any one.  So I will leave it at that, with of course links to the Manchester Histories site and their Celebration site.

Location; Greater Manchester

Pictures; Clara East Lancs Uniform, circa 1914-1918, courtesy of David Harrop,  Chorlton Union Workhouse button, circa 1837-1930, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*Manchester Histories Celebration Day, https://manchesterhistoriescelebrationday.myportfolio.com/chorlton-history-blog

**Manchester Histories, https://manchesterhistories.co.uk/aboutus/default.aspx

Visions of Sardinia ............. films from the Dante Society .............. today

Now here is one not to miss, hence the advance warning ....... from The Dante Society.

Visioni Sardea

"A selection of short films about the people of Sardinia. We will discover how contemporary issues affect their lives – In Italian with English subtitles.

Introduction in English by Silvana Serra

Free admission

The screening will be followed by a social gathering with Sardinian wine and nibbles

Sunday September 22nd at 4.30pm       

Cross Street Chapel – Cross Street Manchester M2 1NL

Societa’ Dante Alighieri and Comites Manchester are pleased to invite you to the following screening

To allow us to organise the seats and nibbles please book in advance at dante@newfuture.org

The Societa’ Dante Alighieri has a branch in our city.*

“It was established in 1996, and the Manchester branch is one of the Society’s many branches around the world.

The Society’s headquarters are in Rome, and its mission is to promote the Italian language and Italian culture abroad.

Membership is open to both Italians and non-Italians, and members and supporters enjoy a wide programme of events throughout the year.

Members and non-members alike are welcome to attend.”*

So that is it.

Location; Manchester


Pictures; courtesy of the The Societa’ Dante Alighieri, and from the collection of Andrew Simpson


*The Societa’ Dante Alighieri, https://dantemanchester.org.uk/

Sardinia ........... a selection of films hosted by the Dante Society

Now here is one not to miss, hence the advance warning ....... from The Dante Society.

Visioni Sardea

"A selection of short films about the people of Sardinia. We will discover how contemporary issues affect their lives – In Italian with English subtitles.

Introduction in English by Silvana Serra

Free admission

The screening will be followed by a social gathering with Sardinian wine and nibbles

Sunday September 22nd at 4.30pm       

Cross Street Chapel – Cross Street Manchester M2 1NL

Societa’ Dante Alighieri and Comites Manchester are pleased to invite you to the following screening

To allow us to organise the seats and nibbles please book in advance at dante@newfuture.org

The Societa’ Dante Alighieri has a branch in our city.*

“It was established in 1996, and the Manchester branch is one of the Society’s many branches around the world.

The Society’s headquarters are in Rome, and its mission is to promote the Italian language and Italian culture abroad.

Membership is open to both Italians and non-Italians, and members and supporters enjoy a wide programme of events throughout the year.

Members and non-members alike are welcome to attend.”*

So that is it.

Location; Manchester


Pictures; courtesy of the The Societa’ Dante Alighieri, and from the collection of Andrew Simpson


*The Societa’ Dante Alighieri, https://dantemanchester.org.uk/

‘Flag of Convenience’…….. A new exhibition of photography and artworks by Manchester documentary photographer David Dunnico

Now I am very excited about the forthcoming exhibition by David Dunnico at Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery from Saturday May 25th

The exhibition according to David "looks at how the Union Jack Flag went from being a banner of Empire to a symbol of ‘Mod’ – How it shook off an association with racism and football hooliganism and was rehabilitated with Cool Britannia, Brit Pop and the London Olympics. 

But after Brexit, and a resurgence of nationalism here and the election of Donald Trump in the USA, what does the Union Jack symbolise now? 

Flags are just pieces of coloured cloth, but people turn them into powerful symbols by giving them their own, sometimes contradictory meanings. 

This timely exhibition uses humour and biting social comment to unpick the many tangled threads of patriotism, nationalism and branding which hold the Union Jack together (and make it such an iconic graphic design).

Together, the forty photographs record the ‘interesting times’ we are living in. They range from German supermarket (Aldi) advertising their “Championing of Great British Quality” to the Orange Order’s annual seaside outing to Southport. 
From rainbow coloured Union Jacks on gay pride parades, to dystopian shots of CCTV cameras watching flags fluttering in a cold breeze. 

Flying the Flag, Manchester & Salford Whit Walks, May 2018*

Brexit is of course featured. my honeymoon was spent in Yorkshire searching for and eventually findin) Nigel Farage’s 'Brexit Betrayal' bus".

So there you have it, a thought provoking exhibition which contains some stunning photographs.

The exhibition runs from Saturday 25 May to Friday 28 June 2019.

You can met David on Saturday June 1 from  2pm to 4pm, when he will be giving a tour of the exhibition on.

The exhibition Is fee, Is at Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery, Wellington Road South, Stockport, SK3 8AB, 0161 474 4453, stockport.artgallery@stockport.gov.uk 

Opening Times
Tuesday to Friday 1pm – 5pm
Saturday: 10am – 5pm
Sunday: 11am – 5pm
Monday: Closed except for Bank Holidays 11am – 5pm

*Flying the Flag, Manchester and Salford Whit Walk, May 2018. "The Union Jack being used in its formal role as flag of our country and as a fashion design".

For more information, photographs, interviews you can contact David at,  david@dunni.co.uk 0161 445 1893 / 07533 141331

Or read his blog at David Dunnico, https://daviddunnico.wordpress.com/pop-art/