Reviews

Review of Salford Museum and Art Gallery

Sophie Wildman Altrincham College of Arts

Visit on 26 June 2006

Salford Museum and Art Gallery I thought was well structured and had interesting events on. I walked through Lark Hill Place made nearly fifty years ago and built almost accurate to a street in 1762. It was built well and had realistic shops like a tobacco shop, music shop and toyshops etc. There was superb sound effects that made the street even more realistic and brought the atmosphere alive. It really made you feel as if you were there at the time and it helped you understand the lifestyle and what it was like there at that period. There was a plaque on the houses to give information and tell us what year it was. I thought this Old Street was very fascinating and helped me learn a lot about that time period, it was well presented to look accurate and the aura was just striking. This is definitely one of the favourites to visit and I would suggest Lark Hill Place to anyone that is interested in learning about lifestyle’s and buildings in Salford around the years of 1762. This part of the museum celebrates its 50th anniversary next year.

Mills and Looms. This was an interesting exhibition telling us the story of the textile industry in Salford. Here I learnt about Sir Eikanah Armitage who is known to be the worst boss in Salford and his life story. Also I learnt all about the textile timeline. The impression of this exhibition was helpful because it had a lot of information and even had an old newspaper telling us information. This exhibition I thought was quite pleasant you could learn about Salford’s textile manufactory and it had different maps and quizzes to keep it almost entertaining for younger people. Again this is very useful to anyone who is interested in learning about Salford’s textile industry.

What would you do if? This exhibition was all about the different cultures in Salford and showing us what kind of situations refugees and asylum seekers face. The exhibition was made interesting because on the way in it had three doors where you had to make a decision which one to go through, this showed us what it is like for refugees when they have to make decisions which really gives you a feel for their life. In the exhibition it was impressive because an artist had used actual clothes worn by refugees and asylum seekers, which appeals to visitors. It had a lot of items made by children which I thought made it pleasant and there was entertaining features also made by children and schools. I really liked this exhibition because it was something different and also very creative. This would really make people of all ages understand different cultures and what it would be like and it had a deeper meaning to the exhibition as well because it was also making people think about the decisions they make and what would happen when they made it. I would definitely recommend this exhibition to people of all ages because I think it is worth a visit and I am sure other people as well as me will also enjoy it.

Also at the museum if your children did not enjoy the other exhibitions there is a section of the refugee exhibition called ‘The Den’ which is mainly for the children. It has a large tree den, which inside has a tunnel and games for the children as well as an Indian shelter, which also has activities inside for the children. I thought this was very entertaining and great fun for the kids! This is definitely a must see attraction especially for the younger ones.

In conclusion the Salford Museum and Art Gallery is a great trip out for families and even if you just want an hour out somewhere. There are great exhibitions on for everyone to enjoy and learn and fun activities for kids. I really enjoyed it and I definitely recommend that people visit the museum and drop by the new great exhibitions they have on at the moment. I think this is definitely a ‘must see’ event.

Salford Museum and Art Gallery

By Sian Mason, Bury Grammar School

Visit on June 26 2006

Salford Museum and Art Gallery is an ideal place for families to go, as all of the exhibitions it holds are interesting enough to appeal to adults and fun for children too. On top of this, the museum is easy to find (situated next to Salford University) and will cost you very little as entrance and parking are both free.

Lark Hill Place

The secret of this recreated Victorian Street’s authenticity lies in the fact that it appeals to all of the senses. Before even entering Lark Hill Place, you notice the realistic background noises that are being piped into the street from all angles. Each of the shops have their own unique sound, for example the pub is filled with music and laughter. Only a dim light glows in the street giving it an eerie atmosphere. There is also great attention to detail, as there are stuffed birds and posters advertising theatres from that time (one poster is from as far back as 1718) on the walls. I think that this part of the museum is good for children to visit because they will find it interesting to see what children of that period did to entertain themselves (at the toy shop) and they are able to see what people did before the invention of computers (at the printers). Children can also have their pictures taken sitting in the carts. Lark Hill Place has been so successful that next year it will celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Mills and Looms

This exhibition tells the story of the textile industry in Salford, from the booming business created by Sir Elkanah Armitage in the 1800s right up to today. It tells not only of the mill owners themselves, but also of the ordinary people who worked in them. It is interesting to find out what the workers actually thought of the mills. I was surprised that although some people were upset by the dangerous conditions and long working hours, others were proud to be working in such a successful industry. The exhibition allows the visitor to interact with it with the help of magnetic word boards and a lip-reading game. I also liked the huge map of old Salford and its textile mills on the floor, where visitors can find where they live on it.

What Would You Do If...?

This tackles the controversial subject matter of refugees, by putting the visitor in the position of a refugee. At the beginning there are three different entrances and you must choose the one that leads you to safety. This makes the point that although some people have harsh views about asylum seekers, they must try to think about what they would do if their family were in danger. Throughout the exhibition the voices of real refugees telling their story are played. There are photos and videos of refugees living in this country that portray them as proud and happy, which challenges the general view of them. For the adventurous, there is a tunnel that you can crawl through to follow in the footsteps of Shameless actor, Chris Bisson, who opened the exhibition!

The Den!

This is an exhibition for the young at heart, who will enjoy exploring a variety of different dens. This is ideal for young children, who will enjoy the various activities available in the dens. They can dress up, play with hand puppets and make their own masterpiece from fur and pipe cleaners. However you do not need to be a child to appreciate the unique dens on display: a Wendy house, a tepee and a tree house. Although this is a very light-hearted exhibition it has a serious message behind it, as it gives us an example of how refugees might create their own makeshift homes.

Salford Museum and Art Gallery Review

Review by Katie Davis, Walkden High School, Work Experience 2005

Today I visited the Salford Museum and Art Gallery. The exhibitions were interesting and I enjoyed my visit. The exhibitions are free for all ages this is a brilliant place for all the family for an afternoon.

The staff were very helpful giving us information whilst we looked around. School trips are organised with costumed guides.

Lark Hill Place

Lark Hill Place is a small street designed to look like shops each shop is different displaying old objects from the separate shops. The shops are abased on the mid 1930’s, Tudor and also Victorian eras. Some of the shop fronts are originals and the post boxes are also original. Lighting and sound effects make it feel just like an old street.

Objects are also used: a chimney sweep, a washing line, stuffed birds and a horse and cart.

The guide told us, “The Street was originally built in 1957 for the public to look around.” It takes a lot of up keep and we clean it when we can. The museum recently received a grant, which was spent on the street re-designing some of the shops. The museum had tried for a lottery fund but have never had it granted.

Inside the blacksmith and pub have sound effects as though someone was inside working, talking and a piano is also playing inside the pub.

Damian Cruikshank

This is a paper exhibition with sculptures to the roof made out of just paper. Damian is at the exhibition every Monday and Wednesday telling people about his work. I would recommend visiting on these days to get the full idea of his work and how it is put together.

He has classes of children coming to work with him and said, “they start off uninterested but by the end of the day they are involved and love the creations we make together.” He was very interesting to listen to and showed us many pieces he has designed and made.

Art Gallery

This gallery never changes its display of paintings, pottery fine arts and furniture. The pictures are beautiful and the frames are carved. The art dates back to the Victorian era. There is an adventure trail for children to complete whilst adults look at the artwork

Life Times

It gives you an idea of how things have changed through the years. Old prams, wedding dresses through the ages are in show have changed considerably.

There is a ‘now and then’ match up game showing how pairs of objects have changed. There is also a ‘what am I?’ game with clues about an object so you can work out what it is. Both children and adults will enjoy the games.

Two seating areas are set up for children to colour in and a separate one for adults to sit and look through folders of pictures of weddings, births, deaths and places from by gone years. These are really interesting to look at places that we now know and what they used to look like. Computers are set up with information about halls in this area.

War Exhibition

A video is played continuously showing wartime messages from the soldiers to their loved ones at home.

An air raid shelter is set up in the exhibition and you can sit and listen to clips from people’s experiences from the war. Boards of information on the walls display info about the deaths. Over 3000 children died on the front line in the war

I enjoyed my afternoon looking around the Museum and Art gallery. My favourite Exhibition was Damian Cruikshank the paper sculptures were amazing and it isn't until you feel the sculptures that you realise that it is in fact paper. The staff were very helpful and made it and enjoyable visit.

Review by Thomas Swift, aged 15, The Swinton High School

Today I took a trip to the Salford museum and art gallery in which I found out facts and interesting attractions. Firstly I went into the Lark hill place in which I discovered how life was in the streets of them days. The street was split into different sections, one section being the Victorian side and the other being the Tudor and there was a small section in the central area in which was from the 1930’s.

There were all sorts of shops and houses from the olden times of Manchester including pawn brokers and a pub!

Secondly I went to the gallery upstairs in which held paintings beyond belief of creation. The paintings were absolutely magnificent and I would recommend for anyone to see them. There were pictures of old buildings and pictures of crowds in huge ballrooms, there were also statues of humans in which look to date back a while ago, other paintings were there but I could go on forever.

After the gallery we passed through to the Lifetimes exhibition in which was based on early life in Salford and most items were contributions by Salford citizens. The exhibition was full of multimedia and puzzles for fun while you learn. Some of the multimedia was the computers in which gave information and pictures of Salford and Manchester earlier in the century. In the lifetimes exhibition there were jigsaws and other puzzles. Lifetimes offers an opportunity to celebrate the city's past and predict the future.

In the next room there were phones which were linked to survivors voices in which they told you about the difficulties during the war. The room held allsorts of books and information including one which held a bomb shelter you could walk into and read books, it was all very interactive. That room was based mostly on World War 2.

Our next stop was to the “paper man” as I called him because of his unbelievable creativity for making sculptures from paper. He made towers from the floor to the ceiling in which was made from a paper design in which twisted, turned and bended everywhere, I would label the paper man as a MUST SEE! He also made sculptures of cubes in which have been symmetrically altered to make weird shapes. Sadly he wont be hanging for too much longer so I would recommend for people to see him while you can.

Review by Tom Partington, 15, The Swinton High School

Salford Museum and Art Gallery is a very good experience for all ages, not only is it free admission, it is a great place to learn the history of Salford. It appeals generations to visit to or get chance to see some amazing pieces of art, past or present.

Lark Hill Place

In 2005 Salford museum and Art Gallery refurbished a Victorian street with some original objects from 18th century Salford. As you walk down Lark Hill Place (the name of the street) you hear and see a great replica of Victorian life in Salford. I looked through the interesting windows of shops and houses and could imagine I was there. If you really want to get into the atmosphere, you can dress up in Victorian clothes. I admired the street and real artefacts such as the Landau Carriages and an old bicycle. The shops included a shoe shop, chemist, public house (were you could purchase beer at only 13), and much more. I also looked into Victorian houses, which had paintings and hand carved cabinets and other well made pieces of furniture. As I walked down the dim Cobble Street of Lark Hill, I had access to help and assistance from staff when I had a question. I could also listen to the audio tour to help learn the interesting facts of the Victorian period. It really is a good learning experience.

Art Gallery

There is also the Art Gallery, which is a permanent display. This is a place were I could relax and take in the Victorian art. There are paintings, pottery, handcrafted objects such as cabinets and sculptures made from marble and ivory, as well as activities for children. There is also an audio guide to help get an insight into the fabulous art. My favourite painting there was ‘Ship on Fire’ by Alfred Montague.

Lifetime Gallery

I was amazed when I visited the lifetime gallery of how Salford has changed in the past hundred the years. Citizens of Salford have contributed to the museum by sending in objects and photos of different places in Salford. I was able to have access to computers to watch slide show’s of photos and quotes from people and areas in Salford. There is access to computers and I watched a slide show of my hometown Swinton and was amazed how much the area has changed. It was well set out and nice to see that people had helped and contributed to make this gallery as interesting as it is.

War expedition

To add to my visit to the history of Salford, I walked into The Spirit of Salford, wartime expedition. There were sound and facts all around the room, with a continuous video about the war playing. There are children’s activities to help learn and an air-raid shelter with an audio guide to help every-one learn. You could also feel and play with a lot of objects. I learned a lot about how Salford coped with the world wars. There was a picture of houses blown to pieces and I thought, “I wouldn’t like to come home to that”!

Damian Cruikshank

I then met modern artist, Damian Cruikshank, who is at his brilliant ‘Paperwork’s’ exhibition every Monday and Wednesday. I would recommend visiting on these days as Damien is more than happy to talk about his work and explain how he likes to improvise his work of paper sculpting and create networks of lines and shapes. Damian enjoys his work and is very open in talking about. He creates shapes of all different sizes, including pillars reaching so high so they touch the roof! The most outstanding fact about Damian’s work is all his sculptures are made of paper! It brilliant to see his work and believe its made from sheets of paper and his method of scoring and folding to make these great pieces of work. Damian’s work is very open and not all in cabinets so people can get a feel for how it comes together. People can also help this amazing collaborative artist create a new sculpture by making a cube from paper and joining up lines onto his work, so not only can you see his exhibit, you can help you can help it grow. Damian also enjoys doing workshops for schools, which he says, have been a great success.

Salford Museum and Art Gallery is a very interesting place to visit, I learnt and enjoyed a lot from my visit. The place is packed with activities for all ages and has something for everyone. It is ideal for school trips, or just part of a relaxed day out. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a good experience in Salford.

This page was last updated on 8 November 2010