One of Manchester’s most-visited museums has made it onto a prestigious funding shortlist, and it could soon be granted a significant sum.
People’s History Museum (PHM) in Manchester city centre has this week been announced as one of five museums selected as finalists for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2022 – which is the largest museum prize in the world, and celebrates the “innovation and creativity” of the UK’s museums and galleries.
Art Fund Museum of the Year 2022 is all about championing organisations whose achievements tell the story of museums’ creativity and resilience, and particularly focuses on those engaging the next generation of audiences in innovative ways.
PHM has been shortlisted alongside Horniman Museum and Gardens in London, the Museum of Making in Derby, The Story Museum in Oxford, and Tŷ Pawb in Wrexham.
But why has it made the shortlist?
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Well, for People’s History Museum, the aim of the Art Fund Museum of the Year is reflected in its work with communities and individuals, especially exploring hidden stories, giving space to unheard voices, and nurturing authentic content.
The museum says it prides itself on curating programmes that are focused on contemporary issues challenging inequality, and ones that are approached with “a vision for a fairer society where people’s voices and actions make a difference”.
— People's History Museum (PHM) (@PHMMcr) May 10, 2022
PHM is also a museum that encourages people to take a stand on issues, and that uses its own voice to unite with those sharing its belief in a caring community and society.
As well as delivering a number of outstanding projects and programmes throughout the challenging year that was 2021, most notably in recent months, PHM has stood together with refugees, and alongside the international development charities, refugee groups, and cultural organisations that make up the coalition, to campaign against the Nationality and Borders Bill.
As the national museum of democracy, PHM’s collection features significant historic and contemporary objects, banners, posters and photographs that all help to tell of the ongoing struggle for equity and equality by workers, reformers, voters, revolutionaries, and citizens – with many of these key moments having taken place in Manchester.
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There’s exhibitions dedicated to the Peterloo Massacre, the suffragettes, the fight for LGBT+ rights, and so much more.
People’s History Museum (PHM) is one of five museums selected as finalists for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2022 / Credit: People’s History Museum
“We are absolutely delighted to be shortlisted for Museum of the Year 2022, which is such amazing recognition of the brilliant work of the whole museum team,” said Katy Ashton – Director at People’s History Museum.
“I’ve always been incredibly proud of our museum and truly believe there is something very special about PHM and the work it does in collaboration with communities – celebrating people’s stories, sharing our collections, bringing people together and playing an important role as a space for social action and change.”
The decision on the winning museum will be made by a judging panel chaired by Art Fund Director, Jenny Waldman.
The winning museum will be announced at a ceremony at the Design Museum in London on Thursday 14 July, and will be granted an impressive £100,000 of funding, while the other four shortlisted museums will each receive £15,000 in recognition of their achievements.
Featured Image – People’s History Museum
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Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Emily Sergeant -
11th May 2022 
