Open Days and Events
While the Hall is still closed to general visitors, we are hosting regular Open Days and events through the year. It will be several years still until we can fully open the building. The dress collection still occupies most of the space and structural work is needed to make the Hall fully accessible. But while we work towards this aim, Open Days are an opportunity to connect with the Hall, explore its historic interior and collections, enjoy a taster of the current activity programme and contribute to the ways in which we are trying and testing things out.
Open Days are co-programmed with local groups and artists. There are a variety of activities throughout the day including tours and exploration inside the Hall, and indoor and outdoor creative workshops. The garden is open for digging and planting, or simply to enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee. If you have an idea for a future Open Day activity or event, please contact Meg Parnell at meg.parnell@manchester.gov.uk.
Open Days are co-programmed with local groups and artists. There are a variety of activities throughout the day including tours and exploration inside the Hall, and indoor and outdoor creative workshops. The garden is open for digging and planting, or simply to enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee. If you have an idea for a future Open Day activity or event, please contact Meg Parnell at meg.parnell@manchester.gov.uk.
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Upcoming Events OPEN DAY : Saturday 29 April, 11am - 4pm We hope you can join us for a day of activity, connection, curry and tea and coffee! Our next Open Day will be a chance to see and celebrate our latest In the Windows by Women's Voices. Women's Voices are working with Platt hall to lead the day and are excited about the following activities: Embroidery is a universal language – 11-1 pm, Drop in Our latest In the Windows exhibition brings together work by Longsight-based Women’s Voices sewing group and embroidery from the Platt Hall Collection. See their beautiful display and spend time with Women’s Voices and Platt Hall staff looking at their original work and items from Platt Hall’s global embroidery collection. Tours of the Hall– 11.30-12.15/ 2-2.45 - Limited places, please book via EventBrite Have a look inside around the Hall. Take a tour with the Platt Hall staff team and see inside the spaces. Spend time imagining the Hall as a House, see some of the dress collection and catch a glimpse of the park from one of the windows. Find out what curious objects have been arriving at the Hall in the past few months. Learn a stitch workshop, 11am – 1pm, drop in family workshop Have a go at a range of embroidery stitches with women from Women’s Voices. We will have chunky needles on hand for younger sewers and those who are trying something new. More experienced sewers also welcome! Women's Voices Rice and Dahl lunch – 1-2 pm The Women’s Voices cooking group will be serving delicious bowls of rice and dahl in our Platt Hall garden. Pay what you can. Suggested donation £3. Refreshments will also be available to buy from Grounded Coffee so come along to meet neighbours. Women’s Voices Choir – 3-3.30 pm Hear the choir sing in our beautiful Platt Hall garden. Open Garden – 11 – 4 pm See what is growing in the garden. Chat to Dan and volunteers about the garden project. Ethnic Health Forum – 11 - 4 pm Chat to the Ethnic Health Forum staff about the work they are doing to support local communities. |
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Saturday 2 April 2022
April's Open Day was an opportunity to test out two new activity strands that directly inform the development of the Hall - a day of looking, talking and making.
This year sees the beginning of a long term programme to re-organise the collections at Platt Hall and Manchester Art Gallery. Opening the Box is our new programme to begin this process, collectively exploring hidden stories, highlights and oddities of the collections. First objects to emerge at our test session this weekend included tiny household items from a 'Nuremberg model kitchen' and impossibly glamorous (if slightly disturbing) 19th century feather capes. We also hosted the first of our new Makespace skillshare workshops, led by the creative and talented people of Rusholme, Moss Side and Fallowfield. Artist Nadia Sultana led a drop-in henna pattern workshop, resulting in some glorious patterns inspired by nature and geometry.
Outdoors, we planted seeds for the garden and started work on restoring the Coronation Fountain at the front of the Hall in advance of this year's Platinum Jubilee. And Anthony Hall brought his fabulous Field Station, a pop-up investigation kit to promote climate awareness. Exploring just one square metre of ground in microscopic close up reveals an extraordinary world teeming with non-human life, from worms and centipedes to the moss of Moss Side - our fellow residents and neighbours.
This year sees the beginning of a long term programme to re-organise the collections at Platt Hall and Manchester Art Gallery. Opening the Box is our new programme to begin this process, collectively exploring hidden stories, highlights and oddities of the collections. First objects to emerge at our test session this weekend included tiny household items from a 'Nuremberg model kitchen' and impossibly glamorous (if slightly disturbing) 19th century feather capes. We also hosted the first of our new Makespace skillshare workshops, led by the creative and talented people of Rusholme, Moss Side and Fallowfield. Artist Nadia Sultana led a drop-in henna pattern workshop, resulting in some glorious patterns inspired by nature and geometry.
Outdoors, we planted seeds for the garden and started work on restoring the Coronation Fountain at the front of the Hall in advance of this year's Platinum Jubilee. And Anthony Hall brought his fabulous Field Station, a pop-up investigation kit to promote climate awareness. Exploring just one square metre of ground in microscopic close up reveals an extraordinary world teeming with non-human life, from worms and centipedes to the moss of Moss Side - our fellow residents and neighbours.
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Saturday 21 November 2021
As autumn descended, and in the context of COP26, our November Open Day focused on climate and environment in our local area. In partnership with the Friends of Platt Fields and Creative Rusholme, another lucky day for the weather saw a range of tree and plant-related activities and discussions exploring environment from a range of perspectives.
The Friends of Platt Fields planted new trees and hosted a mindful tree walk led by meditation practitioner Briony Gunson, while our resident gardener Dan co-ordinated the planting of 1000 spring bulbs around the Hall and park. Local resident Tim Blackwell brought his drone along for bird's eye viewing of the tree canopy in the park. Creative Rusholme invited visitors to add their thoughts to a plan for street tree planting in the wider neighbourhood. And artists Tzanka Tcherneva-Ilieva and Meg Beamish led paper collage and clay tile making workshops inspired by natural forms and materials in the park. These are our first creative workshops in the newly opened up studio inside the Hall and it was a joy to bring making back into the building.
In the windows Perspectives from Space and Art showcased works from Manchester Art Gallery's collections alongside satellite images, maps and data demonstrating the importance of trees to a healthy city. All of which helped us to think global and act local when it comes to climate. Thankyou to Coffee Cranks once again, for providing the refreshments.
The Friends of Platt Fields planted new trees and hosted a mindful tree walk led by meditation practitioner Briony Gunson, while our resident gardener Dan co-ordinated the planting of 1000 spring bulbs around the Hall and park. Local resident Tim Blackwell brought his drone along for bird's eye viewing of the tree canopy in the park. Creative Rusholme invited visitors to add their thoughts to a plan for street tree planting in the wider neighbourhood. And artists Tzanka Tcherneva-Ilieva and Meg Beamish led paper collage and clay tile making workshops inspired by natural forms and materials in the park. These are our first creative workshops in the newly opened up studio inside the Hall and it was a joy to bring making back into the building.
In the windows Perspectives from Space and Art showcased works from Manchester Art Gallery's collections alongside satellite images, maps and data demonstrating the importance of trees to a healthy city. All of which helped us to think global and act local when it comes to climate. Thankyou to Coffee Cranks once again, for providing the refreshments.
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Saturday 18 September 2021
Our first Open House since the Hall closed in 2017! On a gloriously warm September day, we opened the front door to local residents as part of a parkwide activity day that brought people together again for the first time since lockdown. It felt so good. The parks team offered birdbox making workshops at the Lakeside Centre, the Friends of Platt Fields organised tree walks around the park, and local artists collective the Terrace Square Artists Project invited people to make their own 'crazy croquet' hoops and join in the game, inspired by objects from the Platt Hall collection.
Inside the Hall we hosted tours of the beautiful historic interiors and launched our new windows exhibition Museum on My Street showcasing objects and stories from around the neighbourhood. Artist duo Interference Art invited passers by to explore objects both strange and familiar from our new mobile museum-on-a-bike, set up on the grass outside. Local co-operative Coffee Cranks, who also run the Platt Fields Bike Hub, offered delicious hot drinks from their coffee bike (there's a theme growing here). And we even had an unexpected henna artist at work - thankyou Shabnam. It was wonderful to invite both new and familiar faces into the Hall and bring the place to life once more. Buildings need people, as people need buildings.
Image credits Audrey Albert
Inside the Hall we hosted tours of the beautiful historic interiors and launched our new windows exhibition Museum on My Street showcasing objects and stories from around the neighbourhood. Artist duo Interference Art invited passers by to explore objects both strange and familiar from our new mobile museum-on-a-bike, set up on the grass outside. Local co-operative Coffee Cranks, who also run the Platt Fields Bike Hub, offered delicious hot drinks from their coffee bike (there's a theme growing here). And we even had an unexpected henna artist at work - thankyou Shabnam. It was wonderful to invite both new and familiar faces into the Hall and bring the place to life once more. Buildings need people, as people need buildings.
Image credits Audrey Albert
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