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”.
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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Manchester Museum’s iconic T-Rex Stan is moving for the first time over 20 years
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Museum’s iconic T-Rex Stan is moving locations for the first time over 20 years.
Stan, the famous Tyrannosaurus rex at the heart of Manchester Museum’s Fossils Gallery, is on the move from one historic building to another, as he leaves his home in the Museum next spring for a spectacular residency in a Grade II-listed Edwardian swimming pool.
That’s right – the famous dinosaur is heading on holiday to Victoria Baths, where he’ll be on display in the Gala Pool, marking the first time he has left Manchester Museum since arriving there in 2004.
The process of moving Stan to Victoria Baths is already being tipped as a ‘gargantuan task’.
Manchester Museum’s iconic T-Rex Stan is moving for the first time over 20 years / Credit: The Manc Group
It’s expected that the move will take a team of specialists a full week, as at 12-metres long and 3.7-metres tall, big boy Stan is roughly the size of a double decker bus and his bones must be dismantled and reassembled in a strict order to ensure counterbalance and stop him from toppling over.
During the residency at Victoria Baths, Stan will be on display to the public but will also act as the centrepiece for a full programme of events – with more details set to be announced soon.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for people to experience this incredible Tyrannosaurus rex in an entirely different context,” explained Georgina Young, who is the Acting Director at Manchester Museum.
“Not only is Victoria Baths breathtakingly beautiful, but their team will bring renewed creativity to encounters with Stan.”
Anthony Baker, CEO of the Victoria Baths Trust, added: “Victoria Baths would like to state for the record that we did not invite a T-Rex skeleton into our Grade II-listed swimming pool. Stan has made his own arrangements and we are simply going along with it.
“He is insisting that we open our doors for free so that as many people can visit him as possible and it is very difficult to say no to a giant dinosaur, especially when he asked so nicely.”
Stan the T-Rex will be at Victoria Baths from 22 March to 19 April 2027, and he’ll be free to pop in and say hello to.
Featured Image – Stephen Gidley (via Flickr)
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Workers at major Manchester city centre hotel to strike this bank holiday weekend
Emily Sergeant
Workers at one of the most prominent hotels in Manchester city centre are set to strike this bank holiday weekend.
Workers at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel and its bar venue The Refuge, who are members of the union Unite, will take 24 hours of strike action on Saturday (29 August) in what is said to be a ‘long-running dispute’ over union busting.
The strike day chosen by the workers is the second day of this year’s Manchester Village Pride, and is historically the most lucrative day of the year for their employer.
This is because Kimpton Clocktower is located very close to the Pride Parade route, and for several years has been a very popular location for people attending the festival, and even runs a number of Pride events itself.
Unite says that for months now, workers at the Kimpton Clocktower – which is owned by InterContinental Hotels Group UK (IHG) – have been asking for formal union recognition to improve conditions after raising several issues with management, but IHG UK has refused this and instead ‘targeted’ the union for its actions.
Workers at a major Manchester city centre hotel are set to strike this bank holiday weekend / Credit: Rebecca Hope Photography (Supplied)
Previous strikes have already taken place this summer, apparently causing ‘financial hits’ to the business in the process – with the bar being forced to close early at several events as there were not enough staff to cover them.
“A strike on Kimpton’s most profitable day is entirely of its own making,” commented Unite regional officer, Alison Treacher. “Throughout this dispute, Kimpton Clocktower management have treated its loyal workforce with contempt and our members have shown they will not stand for it.
“There is still time to avoid this highly disruptive strike action, but that relies on IHG changing tack by listening to its members and giving them the union recognition they have long been calling for.”
This dispute is said to be the first ever hospitality strike in the North West.
Unite is currently running a petition demanding that IHG UK stop targeting union activists, recognise the Kimpton workers rights to have their grievance heard collectively, and support their union recognition campaign.
Emily Sergeant -
11th May 2022 
