The Whitworth

It was a pleasure to welcome His Excellency Ambassador Hiroshi Suzuki and his wife, Eiko, to the Whitworth during his visit to Manchester. He had a behind-the-scenes tour of "Beneath the Great Wave: Hokusai and Hiroshige" by our Curator of Historic Fine Art, Imogen. We hope that he enjoyed the rest of his visit with Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Bev Craig. Thank you to colleagues from across The University of Manchester for supporting us in this visit.

We're delighted to announce that we've been shortlisted for the Best Museums Change Lives Project Award at the Museums Change Lives Awards 2026! 🏆 Recoverist Curators: Reimagining the World We Live In was a participatory exhibition at the Whitworth, co-developed with Portraits of Recovery (PORe). The exhibition placed recovery, rather than addiction, at the centre of its narrative and was the first of its kind in the UK. Six people in recovery, curated artworks from the Whitworth’s collection, using lived experience to challenge stigma and present recovery as creative and hopeful. The Museums Change Lives Awards celebrate the achievements of museums that are making a difference to the lives of their audiences and communities across the UK. Find out more about the shortlists on the MA website 👉 https://bit.ly/4yodzhc #Museums2026

The conservation of L. S. Lowry’s "Industrial Scene" (1965) has recently been featured by Tru Vue, who generously sponsored the specialist museum-grade glazing used in the project. Their published article and case study, written by our own Sarah Potter ACR (Acting Collection Care Manager & Conservator [Object and Preventive]), explores the conservation and redisplay of the painting, highlighting both the treatment work undertaken and the important role that high-quality glazing plays in the long-term preservation and presentation of artworks. The feature is also helping to share the project with a wider international audience through Tru Vue’s conservation and museum networks. You can read Sarah's article here - https://lnkd.in/gRYFrxiS

Are you interested in supporting the curation of our internationally renowned textile and wallpaper collections?🧵 We are seeking a motivated individual to join our team as Assistant Curator (Textiles and Wallpapers). This maternity cover role offers an exciting opportunity to support curatorial activity relating to the management, research, interpretation and access of the Whitworth’s internationally significant textiles and wallpaper collection and supporting with the delivery of our rolling programme of exhibitions and displays. To find out more and apply, click here: https://lnkd.in/ekFxQMvQ Applications close at midnight, Monday 24 August 2026. Image Credit: Kaimurai, “The answers to all my prayers are in the questions I never asked”, Hyundai Translocal Series: Entangled and Woven installation (2026) the Whitworth, The University of Manchester. Photo by Michael Pollard

New exhibitions opening this week! ⚡ Explore two new exhibitions opening on Saturday 1 August, developed in partnership with some fantastic organisations. The Labour of Care 👐 An exhibition dedicated to centring the voices and experiences of midwives and maternity healthcare professionals. Developed in partnership with Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) this new exhibition presents artworks to explore care, labour and emotional resilience at the frontline of maternal health. Featuring new artworks created by healthcare professionals in workshops held at the gallery, on display side-by-side with works from the Whitworth’s collection. Developed in partnership with Manchester University Hospitals Foundation Trust (MFT). The Still Care project and The Labour of Care exhibition are generously supported by the Rayne Foundation, @sandscharity and Friends of the whitworth. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/dmXqacD4 Reflections - Sangat and the Self 🪷 A new exhibition inviting reflection on personal and collective wellbeing through art. In collaboration with without SHAPE without FORM, this exhibition brings together recent works by Jasmir Creed and Roo Dhissou alongside works from the Whitworth collection. Exploring individuality, kinship and healing through community and spiritual practice, it invites visitors into a shared space for reflection, dialogue and shared experience. Developed by @withoutshapewithoutform and the Whitworth Find out more: https://lnkd.in/dPNfstBs 🖼️ Artwork credits: (Image 1) Caroline Walker, Study for Ultrasound (2021) detail © Caroline Walker. Courtesy the Artist; GRIMM, Amsterdam/New York/ London; and Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh. Photo: Peter Mallet. Work loaned by UCLH Arts, University College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. (Image) Roo Dhissou, A String of Love (detail), 2025. Photo courtesy the artist and without SHAPE without FORM. #newexhibitions #summerexhibition #partnerships #artwellbeing #contemporaryart

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://lnkd.in/eSvPgd2M 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 👋 #UniversallyManchester #freeactivities #familyfriendly #communityday #allwelcome #freeworkshops #agefriendlyprogramme

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://lnkd.in/eZh7QivY 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 #CheongjuCraftBiennale #HyundaiMotorCompany #ContemporaryArt #TextileArt #TextileArtists #CraftContemporary #MaterialCulture #artandcraft

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 as our new AV and Digital Systems Technician. 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://lnkd.in/ekFxQMvQ. ✍️ 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.

Explore Japan’s floating world and experience the remarkable art Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige. These celebrated woodblock prints capture the landscapes, seasons and everyday life of Japan during the Edo-Period. 🌊 Beneath the Great Wave: Hokusai and Hiroshige 📅 Now on until 15 November 2026 🎫 Free entry 📍the Whitworth #hiroshige #manchester #exhibitions #hokusai #japaneseart #print

Huge congratulations to our team! 🥳 We're incredibly proud to celebrate the Recoverist Curators team, on winning the Making a Difference Award for Outstanding Public Engagement Initiative at @officialuom this week 🎉 The award celebrates the partnership between @portraits_of_recovery and the Whitworth, and recognises the powerful impact of this exhibition and the open, honest contributions of the co-curators - Anastasia, Annie, Chanje, Dom, Paul, and Penny (not pictured) and their strength and determination in challenging the stigma surrounding addiction and recovery. “I’m so pleased for the team receiving this award as it affirms something we’re deeply committed to at the Whitworth. Lived experience is not an addition to research but a vital form of knowledge in its own right. Recoverist Curators has grown through our partnership with Portraits of Recovery, whose work continues to shape the depth, imagination and integrity of this practice. The project is part of a wider, ongoing effort to open up our collections as spaces for shared inquiry, care, and challenge. We see this as long-term work that needs to keep evolving in relationship with the people, histories, and contexts that shape it.” — Ed Watts, Head of Civic Engagement and Education at the Whitworth ⚡Recoverist Curators: Re-imagining the World We Live In 📅 On until 5 July 2026 🎫 Free entry #MakingADifference #PublicEngagement #Recovery #RecoveristCurators #PortraitsOfRecovery #Whitworth #LivedExperience #CommunityEngagement