AS MANCHESTER’S restaurant trade continues to bubble away on full heat, there’s another industry on the back burner quietly cooking up its own new openings. It seems the city’s fine art scene is quite literally undergoing a renaissance, with this year alone seeing Chuck Gallery, Sloe Gallery and The Contemporary in Altrincham joining our 2015 gallery roundup. Castle Art Gallery has opened another branch on King Street, Contemporary Six is leaving its Royal Exchange Arcade home for a two-floor unit on Princess Street and even Manchester Airport is getting on the act by appointing its own artist-in-residence. 

The gallery is so off the beaten track you’ll even need a video to find it

Now joining the melee is Saul Hay Gallery, which occupies an idyllic spot in Castlefield’s Railway Cottage (actually, that’s the only caveat - whenever a train rumbles past, the windows quite literally tremble). 

“Luckily the paintings don’t fall off the wall,” laughs Catherine Hay, who opened the gallery with her husband Ian last month. “I like the trains: being by the Rochdale Canal and under the railway makes it feel like we really are in the heart of Manchester’s industrial heritage. It’s also a very creative area, which lends itself well to the business.”

Saul Hay (on the left)Saul Hay (on the left)

The space’s light airy nature and picturesque location sets off the works beautifully, but then it did take over a year to find. And it’s a pipe dream that’s been long in coming for the avid collectors, who already have links with much of the art community. Catherine left an NHS career of almost 30 years to manage the gallery - “a huge leap of faith” - while Ian continues to work flexibly as a business systems analyst, helping to source the artists in his spare time. 

So what do they look for when taking on new talent? “Quality essentially”, says Catherine, adding that - aside from being UK-based - the only theme is what appeals to them. Artists number around ten, as space dictates, and span a former Iranian champion boxer to a church fresco painter from Transylvania - while mediums range from delicate leaf carvings to Paul Bennett’s abstract canvases and Mandi Payne’s spray-painted concrete works, which explore Sheffield’s Grade II-listed Brutalist Park Hill council estate. Sculpture is also represented, and there are tentative plans for an exhibition of renowned homeless photographer Lee Jeffries next year. 

Jo Taylor Piceous IIIJo Taylor 'Piceous III'

“Once we’ve got going a bit, we definitely plan on regular exhibitions - and there probably will be a theme, or solo show element. The minimum we exhibit artists is three months so there is room to change it up. We’ve also developed a relationship with Castlefield Gallery nearby and are going to try and host exhibitions at similar times to them, so we can cross-promote. For example, they’re hosting a preview of Miniature Worlds on Thursday so we’re also staying open late for people to pop over here and have a glass of wine. It’s like a Castlefield art crawl!” 

Catherine is full of ideas like this, also hinting at some literary or acoustic events, and a chance encounter at Mirabel Studios even led to Mayor Carl Austin-Behan attending Saul Hay’s opening. But then again, with the gallery so off the beaten track - located over the footbridge behind Bass Warehouse - that you’ll even find a website video on how to find it, such proactiveness is needed. Let’s hope this is one hidden treasure that won’t remain hidden much longer. 

Saul Hay Gallery, Railway Cottage, 33a Collier Street, Castlefield, M3 4LZ - open Wed-Sat 10:30am-6pm and Sunday 10:30am-5pm or by appointment