Spring programme at Rediscovering Salford: Talks, tours, exhibition launch & more!

Join us on Saturday 2nd April as we celebrate the final months of Rediscovering Salford, a city-wide creative programme inspired by Salford’s parks and green spaces:

Laura Daly – The Storm Cone
Artist tours
Free to attend – book your place for 12 noon or 2pm


Join us in Peel Park to explore augmented reality artwork app The Storm Cone by Laura Daly. Located on the site of the original bandstand in Peel Park, experience an immersive brass band soundscape through your phone or tablet (devices also available to borrow, please arrange with the Museum).

Refreshments provided in the cafe following the tour.
Full information & free ticket booking on the Museum website.

Lowri Evans – Leaves/Leaving
Exhibition launch
2-4pm

Join artist Lowri Evans to celebrate the opening of her exhibition Leaves / Leaving at Salford Museum and Art Gallery. The exhibition follows a participatory public event which took place under three trees in Salford during Autumn 2021, and reflects on cycles of life, death and the act of letting go.

Refreshments will be provided.
Full information & free ticket booking on the Museum website.


Further events:

Exhibition You Belong Here at Salford Museum & Art Gallery has been extended until 19 June 2022. Visit to see historic, modern and contemporary artworks inspired by our local parks and green spaces.

A programme of free tours and events accompanies the exhibition:

13th April, 6-6.30pm: Curator tour of the exhibition. Book here
23rd April, 2-3pm: Curator tour of the exhibition, with BSL interpretation. Book here
28th April, 2-3pm: Curator tour of the exhibition. Book here
19th May, 6-7.30pm: Artist Talk with Laura Daly. Book here
12th June, 2-3pm: Audio-described tour of the exhibition. Book here

Exhibition review on Corridor 8

“The power of the piece is not just in exploring historical memory, but the way it brings the listener back to the present moment. It foregrounds the part that green spaces and communal past-times can play in recovery from individual and collective trauma today…”

Greater Manchester-based writer and researcher Natalie Bradbury responds to exhibition You Belong Here and augmented reality app The Storm Cone in a new review at Corridor 8: Read here

Image: Installation view, courtesy Rourke Heiss.

Take part: Leaving – A study of Autumn by Lowri Evans – 9th/10th/11th November

Tues 9th November, 2-5pm, Eccles Recreation ground
(near the Church Street entrance)
Weds 10th Nov, 2-5pm, Ordsall Hall
(in the grounds)
Thurs 11th Nov, 2-5pm, University of Salford campus
(at the willow tree, near Newton Building)
Just drop in

Throughout late Summer and Autumn, artist Lowri Evans has been exploring the trees of Salford – meeting with enthusiasts and experts alike along the way. Reflecting on cycles of life, death, and the act of letting go, her new project Leaving asks what we can learn from nature – and what wisdom we might share with each other.

Get involved!

You are invited to drop by and meet Lowri under three trees in Salford and let go of something – big or small, come rain or shine. These exchanges will be transformed into artworks as part of her commission for the University of Salford Art Collection and Salford Museum & Art Gallery – part of the city-wide Rediscovering Salford project.

Free, no booking necessary, suitable for all & wheelchair accessible. Hot tea served!

Please note: event will go ahead whatever the weather – unless torrential/extreme. Wrap up warm & waterproof if you plan to pop by. Check our social media for updates!

Oct news: Extended dates + new work launched

Great news – the You Belong Here exhibition has been extended til 19 June 2022! Giving visitors plenty more time to enjoy these nature-inspired artworks through the coming seasons. Visit by dropping in or booking in advance!

Plus – video artwork Circadian Bloom (California Poppy) has launched in the Museum cafe. Enjoy this gently moving AI-generated artwork alongside the window view of the park and delicious tea and cake.



Events programme continues: contemporary art, heritage, gardening, brass bands and more!

An image showing Anna Ridler’s Circadian Bloom installed outdoors in Athens. Three screens, showing images of flowers installed in a triangle formation among trees and stones. The left hand image contains an orange flower, the centre image is largely obscured by greenery, and the right hand image shows two yellow flowers.

We are delighted to return to in-person events at Salford Museum & Art Gallery, offering a programme of talks and tours.

Visit the events page for full listings. Upcoming highlights include an ‘in conversation’ event between digital artist Anna Ridler, writer/curator Georgia Ward-Dyer, and RHS Bridgewater gardener Sylvia Travers.

If you can’t make it in person, all of our talks will be livestreamed on the Salford Museum Facebook page – plus recordings will be made available online later in the year.

Image: Circadian Bloom, Anna Ridler, installed in Athens – photo by Stelios Tzetzias

Share with us: Your favourite tree in Salford

A yellow leaf floats on a river, with handwritten text on it.

Do you have a favourite tree in Salford? Maybe it’s a tree you have climbed up or sheltered under. Maybe you planted it. Maybe it was already hundreds of years old when you were born…

As the leaves fall in Autumn 2021, artist Lowri Evans will be getting to know the trees and the people that love them around Salford as part of a new project for the University of Salford Art Collection in collaboration with Salford Museum & Art Gallery.

This project will pay attention to the cycles of nature, life death and life again, and how we can learn from trees and apply it to our personal lives. Seeing life decay and nourish new life again.

Share your favourite tree with us – post your images, stories or memories on social media using the hashtag #SalfordTrees  (on Twitter and Instagram) and tagging Lowri at @LowriEvans on Twitter or @thelowri on Instagram. (On Facebook, just post your image in our comments!)

#SalfordTrees

Exhibition brochure: Now online & in print!

Three white square booklets are piled together on a wooden table. The cover reads "You Belong Here" and has a green leaf pattern. The booklets are an exhibition brochure.

The exhibition brochure for You Belong Here is now available online and in print.

A limited run of printed copies are available for free to collect at the Museum – or you can browse the whole publication online here.

Features new texts in response to our commissioned artworks, by writers: Carole O’Reilly, Greg Thorpe, Morag Rose, Sara Jaspan, Nicholas Blincoe.

Behind the artwork: new articles in Salford Now

A wide image of the interior of Peel Hall in Salford. Around 200 red seats are at the centre of the image, and a wooden floor in the foreground. There are large white walls with closed dark grey curtains. Around 20 musicians with wind, brass and percussion instruments sit in the space, widely spread out due to covid social distancing. They are rehearsing for a recorded performance.

Head over to Salford Now to read two new articles featuring artists from the You Belong Here exhibition.

Laura Daly discusses creating her new augmented reality app The Storm Cone – including collaborating with staff and students at the University of Salford throughout the pandemic: “Collaborating with people from so many different areas of expertise and just working as a team was absolutely brilliant, it brought so much into the mix of what’s possible.”
Read more here

Hilary Jack and Lizzie King, both based in Salford, discuss some of the inspiration behind their works – which respond to and celebrate our local parks and green spaces
“Peel Park was one of the first public parks where anyone could go of any class. It is a park that is for everyone, accessible to everyone. That is what really inspires me.” (Lizzie King) – Read more here

Featured image: socially-distanced brass band rehearsals at the University of Salford, for The Storm Cone artwork app. Photo by Joseph Stevenson


Behind the exhibition: Curator’s podcast

Our exhibition opening at the Museum has been slightly delayed due to storm damage at the building (don’t worry – staff, artworks and collections are all fine!)

While we prepare to re-open safely, you can catch up with the exhibition curators Claire Corrin (Salford Museum) and Stephanie Fletcher (University of Salford) in this new podcast, to find out more about the inspiration behind the project, and what you can expect to see in the gallery.

June 2020

Opening delay

We are sorry to announce that the re-opening of Salford Museum & Art Gallery has been delayed due to storm damage at the building.

The artwork, collections and staff are all fine, but the building needs some time to dry out and repair.

Please visit the Salford Museum website or social media for updates – and we’ll look forward to seeing you again in a few weeks!

Image: Installing ‘Peel Park’ painting by Harold Riley

Welcome to You Belong Here: Artists Rediscovering Salford’s green spaces

A historic black and white photograph of Peel Park and Peel Building in Salford, England. In the foreground and midground are shrubs and trees filled with leaves. To the left of the image is Salford Museum and Art Gallery, and to the right is Peel Building, a large red brick building with many windows, some overlooking the park.

The University of Salford Art Collection and Salford Museum & Art Gallery have commissioned four Salford-based artists Jack Brown, Cheddar Gorgeous, Hilary Jack and Lizzie King to make work for You Belong Here: Artists Rediscovering Salford’s Green Spaces, a new exhibition and events programme.

Continue reading “Welcome to You Belong Here: Artists Rediscovering Salford’s green spaces”
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