Manchester Museum has released a sneak peak inside its walls as its £15m transformation project continues.
The huge museum, a landmark in Manchester, has been closed to the public since this time last year, and won’t reopen until February 2023.
During its closure, the cultural institution will be adding a modern two-storey extension, a new entrance, and inclusive facilities like a Changing Places toilet, picnic area, prayer space and quiet room.
The once-in-a-generation capital development project is called Hello Future, and will revamp the 132-year old museum.
Inside the cultural institution during its refurbishment. Credit: Manchester Museum
Manchester Museum, which is part of The University of Manchester, has released new footage from its transformation.
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The original neo-Gothic building, designed by renowned architect Alfred Waterhouse, is being extended and improv ed.
The new extension is clad in green-glazed terracotta tiles to pay homage to Victorian and Edwardian period buildings across Manchester.
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It will be home to a South Asia Gallery, in partnership with the British Museum, and a new Exhibition Hall, which will open with Golden Mummies of Egypt, featuring eight mummies and more than 100 objects from Manchester Museum’s Egyptology collection.
The new accessible entrance from Oxford Road will feature breath-taking objects from the museum’s 4.5 million-strong collection.
More than eighteen thousand objects been moved or protected from building work.
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Esme Ward, Manchester Museum Director, said: “We are extending the building, making room for more joy and learning and evolving into the museum Manchester needs.
“Galleries and exhibitions will showcase the best of the museum’s historic collections, as well as addressing the urgencies of the present day.
“We can’t wait to reopen our doors in just six months’ time. Until then, we will continue to bring updates on our progress.”
Featured image: Supplied, Manchester Museum
Art & Culture
Manchester has been named the ‘most inspiring’ city in the UK – and this is why
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has got itself another title to be proud of, as it’s just been named the number one “most inspiring” city in the UK.
And now, the city has been praised for the inspiration it has to offer.
We all know the UK is a melting pot of culture, and is a country brimming with creativity, arts, and innovation, but have you ever stopped to think about which UK cities would be considered as the most inspiring for creatives?
Well, the team over at printing experts Aura Print were pretty intrigued by it, and so decided to do a bit of research in a bid to come up with a top 10 list.
Manchester has been named the ‘most inspiring’ city in the UK / Credit: Marketing Manchester | Kimpton Clocktower Hotel
They considered a wide range of factors in the process that has seen Manchester come out on top – with some of the factors including the number and density of art galleries and museums, theatres, comedy clubs, right through to the street art scene, the availability of creative job opportunities, and the number of art and design universities.
Based on all of these factors, each city was given an ‘inspirational score’ out of 10 to help create the final rankings.
Top 10 Most Inspiring Cities in the UK
Manchester – 8.33/10
Brighton and Hove – 7.69/10
Bristol – 7/10
London – 6.94/10
Edinburgh – 6.60/10
Leeds – 6.55/10
Liverpool – 6.45/10
Glasgow – 5.71/10
Newcastle – 5.57/10
Belfast – 5.52/10
Manchester earned an impressive 8.33/10 for its inspirational score, thanks to having the highest number of comedy clubs outside London, a bustling street art scene, over 13 billion admiring the city on TikTok, and even being called a “must-visit for theatre aficionados” due to being home to the UK’s biggest theatre in the round in the Royal Exchange Theatre.
Brighton and Hove takes the second spot on the list just behind Manchester, with Bristol, London, and Edinburgh all following close behind to round out the top five.
Other fellow northern cities on the list include Leeds in sixth place, as well as Liverpool in seventh, and Newcastle in ninth.
Featured Image – Marketing Manchester
Art & Culture
Disney’s smash-hit musical Aladdin is coming to Manchester on its first UK tour
Emily Sergeant
Disney’s smash-hit musical Aladdin is heading out on its first UK tour later this year, and the magic carpet will be landing here in Manchester.
Based on the beloved 1992 animated film of the same name, and following several critically-acclaimed and sold-out runs on both Broadway and in London’s West End since it first debuted back in 2011, it’s now been announced that Disney’s Tony and Olivier Award-nominated musical, Aladdin, is to tour the UK and Ireland for the first time ever.
The massive musical will take to the stage at some of the country’s best-loved theatres – with the tour set to kick off in Edinburgh in just a few weeks time.
Liverpool, Bradford, and Sunderland are just a handful of the other Northern locations the show will be stopping off at in 2024, as well as here in Manchester, while Glasgow, Cardiff, Birmingham, and Bristol are also set to see the magic live on stage – with several other major UK cities named on the lineup too.
One lamp, three wishes and infinite possibilities…
Disney’s spectacular Broadway and West End musical ALADDIN comes to Manchester in May 2024!
Aladdin will be taking over Manchester’s Palace Theatre for an extended run from Wednesday 22 May to Sunday 7 July 2024.
The UK and Ireland tour of Disney’s Aladdin will star Yeukayi Ushe as Genie, and introduce Gavin Adams as Aladdin, while Desmonda Cathabel will play Jasmine when the show opens in Edinburgh – with casting for the role in future venues to be announced soon.
They’ll be joined by Adam Strong as Jafar, Jo Servi as Sultan, Angelo Paragoso as Iago, Nay-Nay as Babkak, Adam Taylor as Omar, and Nelson Bettencourt as Kassim.
Disney’s smash-hit musical Aladdin is coming to Manchester on its first UK tour / Credit: Disney’s Aladdin
The show features all the timeless songs we know and love from the film.
It also features new music by Tony, Olivier, Grammy, and eight-time Acadamy Award winner Alan Menken, and lyrics by the equally-decorated trio of Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, and Chad Beguelin, while the production and is directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw.
Tickets to Disney’s Aladdin at Manchester Palace Theatre are set to go on general sale on Friday 27 October, with prices ranging from £20 up to £150 and expected to be snapped up fast.
Daisy Jackson -
22nd August 2022 
