This spring sees Manchester host a range of exhibitions, whether it be galleries, studios and museums presenting art from both new and renowned artists, or installations that really get you thinking and immersed in the experience. Manchester is a cultural hub and you’ll find plenty of exhibitions showcasing the likes of art, photography, memorabilia, sculptures and historical artefacts across the city to discover during your free time. So switch off from the everyday and become fully absorbed in these exhibitions taking place in Manchester this winter, many of which are free to visit.
Art & design exhibitions in Manchester
1. L.S Lowry Exhibition, The Lowry
Of course, the largest collection of L.S Lowry‘s work has to be on display at his namesake gallery, and The Lowry boasts its most comprehensive selection ever. Lowry’s so-called ‘matchstick men‘ populate his paintings based on locations around the North West where he spent most of his life, especially Pendlebury, Lancashire, and often evoke a familiarity in northerners, whether through the industrial landscapes they portray, or familiar activities such as ‘Going To Work‘ or milling around a ‘Market Scene‘.
In addition to his paintings, the gallery also houses an extensive archive of photographs, press cuttings and exhibition catalogues associated with Lowry, providing critical and curatorial analysis of his work for a deeper look at the person behind the easel. This permanent exhibition is perfect for anyone familiar with his work who wants to get a real-life look at their favourite pieces, but also newbies keen to take in some North West culture at the true home of L.S Lowry.
🚪 Permanent exhibition.
🎟️ Free entry.
📍 The Lowry, Pier 8, The Quays, Salford, Manchester M50 3AZ.
2. David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away), Aviva Studios
David Hockney’s vibrant and immersive exhibition returns to Aviva Studios this winter. With huge state-of-the-art projections and a revolutionary sound system, Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away) invites you to experience the world through David Hockney’s eyes.
Factory International’s David Hockney – dog-friendly slot is also back by popular demand on 21 December! Bring your furry friend to the winter immersive exhibition by David Hockney, who has painted many portraits of his two dachshunds Stanley and Boodgie over the years.
🚪Open 16 December, 2025 – 11 January, 2026.
🎟️ Get tickets here.
📍 Aviva Studios, Water St, Manchester M3 4JQ.
3. Recoverist Curators, The Whitworth
Meet the Recoverist Curators: six people who decided to share their experiences of recovery from substance use through art. Anastasia, Annie, Chanje, Dom, Paul, and Penny spent 12 months searching through the Whitworth gallery’s world class collection for works that truly spoke to them about addiction and the journey to recovery.
In the resulting exhibition, called Recoverist Curators: Re-imagining the World We Live In, individual memories, personal artefacts and creative responses are woven in between over 25 images from artists and designers including Francis Bacon, Tracey Emin and Lucienne Day – Recoverist is a portmanteau word, combining ‘recovery’ and ‘activist’.
The show offers an intimate window into the lives, past and present, of its six first time curators, with their memories and insights bringing new meanings to well-known works of art. The free exhibition is part of Portraits of Recovery’s Recoverist Month programme of events, this September, sees a film premiere, three art exhibitions, and more at venues including the Whitworth art gallery, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester Museum and HOME.
🚪Until July 2026.
🎟️ Free entry.
📍 The Whitworth, Oxford Rd, Manchester M15 6ER.
4. Outrageous Women: Marriage, Religion and Culture: Stories told by the Desi Grannies, Imperial War Museum North
IWM North invites visitors to discover ‘Outrageous Women: Marriage, Religion and Culture: Stories told by the Desi Grannies’, a new display created by a Manchester-based group of Indian Punjabi women known as the Desi Grannies, exploring their perspectives on family, marriage, religion, and the role of women within their culture.
The Desi Grannies have transformed the IWM North Waterway space using a dupatta – a long scarf, traditionally worn around the head, neck and shoulders – as a canvas. To accompany the display, the exhibition will present a short film detailing the creative process of the artists. Forming part of IWM’s outreach with the local community, ‘Outrageous Women: Marriage, Religion and Culture’ provides a platform to share personal stories relating to IWM’s collection and work from a different perspective.
🚪 Until 31st January, 2026.
🎟️ Free entry.
📍 Imperial War Museum North, The Quays, Trafford Wharf Road, Manchester, M17 1TZ.
5. Show XL, INNSiDE Manchester
Instagram post via @heads_uk
INNSiDE Manchester has launched SHOW XL, an exciting year-long celebration of artistic talent in partnership with HEADS Creative. This open-call initiative spotlights the work of local Manchester artists, ensuring a dynamic and ever-evolving art experience for both guests and the local community.
HEADS Creative has been at the forefront of fostering Manchester’s creative community, and the collective commented: “Our partnership with INNSiDE started 1 year ago with the joint vision for providing a space for artists to be seen and celebrated. We couldn’t be happier to continue our collaboration with the team into 2025 for another year of showcasing more talented artists and the pieces they have created that deserve to be showcased.”
🚪 12-month rotating exhibition.
🎟️ Entry is free – find out more here.
📍 INNSiDE Manchester, 1 First St, Manchester M15 4RP.
Cultural exhibitions in Manchester
6. Shooting Stars Pays The Rent, The Refuge
As Manchester gears up to welcome The BRIT Awards for the first time, the city’s iconic Kimpton Clocktower Hotel is housing a new free exhibition, in partnership with celebrity photographer and filmmaker Steve Read. Having shot rockstars, rappers, royalty and leading fashion brand campaigns, Read is bringing his collection of celebrity portraits Shooting Stars Pays The Rent to Manchester for the first time.
The collection is open to the public, available to view for free, on the walls of the hotel’s bar The Refuge. An intimate retrospective spanning portraits from the late 90s and early 2000s, which Read took whilst living and working in Hollywood, the exhibition features a cinematic collection of rappers, rock ‘n’ rollers, movie stars and cultural trailblazers, drawn from a time when he was immersed in the grit and glamour – including portraits of Ray Liotta, Eminem, Lennox Lewis, Ozzy & Sharon Osbourne, Mickey Rourke, Michael Stipe and many more.
🚪 Until February 1st, 2026.
🎟️ Entry is free and unticketed.
📍 The Refuge, Kimpton Clocktower Hotel, Oxford St, Manchester M60 7HA.
7. Spies, Lies and Deception, IWM North
Showcasing over 60 objects including gadgets, classified documents, art, film and photography, this free exhibition uncovers the secrets of extraordinary individuals who risked everything. From imaginary armies at D-Day to 1950s suburban spy rings and the recent growth of deep fake technology, Spies, Lies and Deception unravels stories from the battlefields of the First World War through to the present day. The exhibition explores what happens when we are deceived and who pays the price.
On page and screen, fictional gadgets and covert operations often seem implausible, yet the real-life stories of spying will leave visitors of all ages questioning if anything is ever what it seems. Suitable for all, Spies, Lies and Deception is recommended for families and children 8+. Young recruits can visit the ‘Mission Room‘ to embark on a top-secret exhibition trail, piecing together information to find out if they have what it takes to succeed in the world of spies.
🚪 Until 31st August, 2026.
🎟️ Entry is free.
📍 Imperial War Museum North, Trafford Wharf Rd, Trafford Park, Stretford, Manchester M17 1TZ.
8. It Requires Getting Lost, Castlefield Gallery
It Requires Getting Lost is the result of a unique partnership between the Roberts Institute of Art (RIA), Venture Arts and Castlefield Gallery. Three artists working in the North of England – Gregory Herbert, Malik Jama and Jocelyn McGregor – have been invited by the partner organisations to work in dialogue with one another and in response to major works from one of the UK’s most significant private collections, the David and Indrė Roberts Collection (managed by RIA).
The artists have together experienced one another’s sources of inspiration, including places and spaces where humanity and nature come into contact in unexpected ways – to date these have included Anderson boat lift, a wishing well in Alderley Edge and Yordas Cave in Ingleton. Guiding the artists’ research and overall exhibition are shared interests in the complex entanglement of human and non-human worlds, and testing the boundaries between the natural and artificial, making and material, intention and accident.
Selected and commissioned works featured in It Requires Getting Lost will span film, photography, painting, sound, projection mapping, and sculpture. A diverse group of works, together they point to what can be discovered in embracing the unknown.
🚪 Open until 22 February 2026.
🎟️ Free entry.
📍 Castlefield Gallery, 2 Hewitt St, Greater, Manchester M15 4GB.
9. Ukraine: Our Ordinary Lives, Imperial War Museum North
Spanning the period since the 2022 invasion, IWM North’s Big Picture Show uses powerful real-life stories to highlight the experiences of 15 young Ukrainians, exploring their lives as they try to find normality, living their ordinary lives through extraordinarily challenging times. Told through their own social media posts, their stories are shared through images and footage capturing the reality of what everyday life is like for young Ukrainians caught up in war.
It forms one of six ‘Big Picture Shows’ on permanent display at the museum and is a 360-degree immersive experience projected onto the 27-ft high walls of the main exhibition space, and plays once daily.
🚪 Permanent display.
🎟️ Entry is free.
📍 Imperial War Museum North, Trafford Wharf Rd, Trafford Park, Stretford, Manchester M17 1TZ.
Historical exhibitions in Manchester
10. Reebok and Norman Walsh – The Bolton History of the Running Shoe, Bolton Art Gallery, Library & Museum
This must-see exhibition celebrates the origins of Reebok, the global sportswear brand that was founded in Bolton. The story begins with the pioneering work of Joseph William Foster, who designed racing pumps for the 1924 British Olympic Team – the business soon became one of the earliest mass producers of running shoes.
The spirit of enterprise continued through Foster’s grandsons, Joe and Jeff, who launched Reebok in the late 1950s. The exhibition also explores Reebok’s connections with another local sports shoe company, Norman Walsh Footwear, and their mutual ties with local running clubs like Bolton United Harriers and Horwich RMI Harriers.
🚪 Until 18 January 2026.
🎟️ Free entry.
📍 Bolton Art Gallery, Le Mans Cres, Bolton BL1 1SE.
11. People’s History Museum
Manchester’s People’s History Museum is the UK’s only museum entirely dedicated to sharing the stories of the revolutionaries, reformers, workers, voters and citizens who strive(d) for change. We recommend checking out the entire collection at PHM as it’s ever-growing and truly fascinating. From suffragette banners and badges, to political posters and artwork, the PHM tracks the political and community history of Manchester, focusing on those who have, and still, fight for justice and equality.
🚪 Exhibition durations differ.
🎟️ Free entry – donation encouraged.
📍 People’s History Museum, Left Bank, Manchester M3 3ER.
12. Lily Parr display, National Football Museum
Instagram post via @nationalfootballmuseum
Lily Parr – one of football’s first female superstars – gets a new permanent museum display dedicated to her life and legacy. It features never-seen-before photographs of Lily and her teammates – which were found in an old suitcase hidden in a loft for four decades. Emerging in the 1920s as part of Preston’s Dick Kerr Ladies, Parr scored nearly 1000 goals in a three-decade career. She played in some of the world’s first women’s international matches and was a trailblazer for women footballers the world over.
🚪 Permanent exhibition.
🎟️ Free entry.
📍 National Football Museum, Cathedral Gardens, Todd St, Manchester M4 3BG.
13. At Home with the Pankhurst Family, Pankhurst Centre
Ever since No.62 Nelson Street was saved from demolition in the 1980s, the Pankhurst Centre has endeavoured to protect and preserve this important historical building and ensure the story of Emmeline Pankhurst is told to inspire and motivate the next generation of radical activists. This engaging and immersive exhibition explores the extraordinary achievements of the Pankhurst Family in the house where they lived and where the very first meeting of the Women’s Social & Political Union took place in 1903.
🚪 Permanent exhibition.
🎟️ Entry is free – book your slot here.
📍 The Pankhurst Centre, 60-62 Nelson St, Manchester M13 9WP.
Immersive exhibitions in Manchester
14. Museum of Illusions
If you’re a regular TikTok user, you’ve probably stumbled across the global sensation that is Museum of Illusions before. It promises a captivating experience for visitors of all ages, immersing them in a world of optical illusions and interactive exhibits designed to challenge perception, spark curiosity, and stimulate the imagination. Museum of Illusions Manchester aims to offer a mind-bending, immersive experience that combines entertainment with education, pioneering the innovative concept of “edutainment”.
This one’s for all the family, with mind-boggling, Manchester-inspired exhibits including The Reversed Room – a Manchester tram illusion where guests appear to hang upside down from a Metrolink tram; The Following Eyes Illusion – where a famous Manchester persona can’t get their eyes off of guests; and The Building Illusion – where visitors can appear to hang from an iconic Manchester building.
🚪 Permanent exhibition.
🎟️ Get tickets here.
📍 Museum of Illusions, 58-66 Market St, Manchester M1 1PW.
15. Power Up, Science and Industry Museum
Play the very best video games from the past five decades and try out over a hundred different consoles in this ultimate hands-on gaming experience. There’s something for everyone, from Pong to Pacman, Sonic to Street Fighter and Mario to Minecraft, plus a selection of games created in Manchester.
Face off against friends and families in multiplayer showdowns, rediscover your childhood favourites and test out some of the latest virtual reality experiences. Game on!
🚪 Open every Saturday & Sunday in term time and daily during school holidays.
🎟️ Tickets £8 here.
📍 Science and Industry Museum, Liverpool Rd, Manchester M3 4JP.