An updated list of museums, galleries, cinemas, libraries and performance venues
With most venues - except performance - now reopened, we stopped updating this article on 5th October
After months of closure, and the loss of vital income for many, most cultural venues were allowed to reopen from Saturday 4th July. Despite this green light, however, reopenings are a gradual process: adhering to COVID-19 measures (from sanitation to social distancing) poses new challenges, while reduced capacities necessitate a further blow to budgets already severely under strain. The City Council is now asking for £71.8 million to help Manchester's cultural life 'repair, restart and rethink.'
Here are the Manchester venues that have confirmed when they are reopening with suitable measures in place so far; please note services may be reduced and remember that face masks are now required in indoor cultural venues.
This list is subject to change and will be regularly updated. For other GM postcodes, we advise checking with your local attractions for (re)opening times and visiting information.
MULTI-ARTS CENTRES
HOME - phased from 4th September
The Lowry - phased from 27th November
MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES
The below galleries have a primarily non-retail focus; retail galleries were able to open from 15th June
Ordsall Hall - 13th July
National Football Museum - 23rd July
Imperial War Museum North - 1st August
Salford Museum & Art Gallery - 4th August
Elizabeth Gaskell’s House - 12th August
Science & Industry Museum - 14th August
Manchester Art Gallery - 20th August
People's History Museum - 1st September
Centre for Chinese Contemporary Arts - 2nd September
International Anthony Burgess Foundation - 8th September
PAPER Gallery - 12th September
Castlefield Gallery - 16th September
Manchester Museum - 16th September
The Whitworth - 16th September
Museum of Transport Greater Manchester - 26th September
Holden Gallery - 2021
LIBRARIES
Manchester Libraries - phased from 4th July
Portico Library - 1st September
Working Class Movement Library - 15th September
CINEMAS
ODEON Trafford Centre - 4th July
Cineworld Didsbury - 31st July
Vue Manchester Lowry - 7th August
ODEON Great Northern - 21st August
Everyman Manchester - 21st August
Vue Manchester Printworks - 26th August
Update: Cineworld has announced it will close all branches from 9th October until further notice, the same date ODEON will reduce hours at some of its venues. Boris Johnson has urged people to visit cinemas, which have been hit by dwindling audiences and a lack of blockbusters due to the pandemic.
PERFORMANCE VENUES
It remains an uncertain time for performing arts, which nationally reached stage four (socially distanced indoor performances) of the reopening ‘roadmap’ outlined by culture secretary Oliver Dowden on 15th August; in Greater Manchester, this was even later due to local lockdown restrictions. You can see the reopening tale up to stage four in our Octagon article and follow the ongoing story in our performing arts reopenings.
