Left to right: Senior Creative Lead Inbal Livne, Councillor Luthfur Rahman OBE and Curator of Platt Hall Collections Liz Mitchell.
Platt Hall is an 18th century Grade II* listed textile merchant’s house located in Platt Fields Park, two miles south of Manchester city centre. It has been part of Manchester Art Gallery since 1926, and from 1947 to 2017 was the Gallery of Costume, the world’s first dedicated museum of fashion and dress.
Now Platt Hall is changing. With the creation of a new Fashion Gallery at Manchester Art Gallery and improved collection storage across all the Gallery’s sites, Platt Hall is being transformed into a space that brings together communities, collections and creativity for social good.
We’re creating a sustainable future for this landmark historic building by partnering with schools, doctors’ surgeries, community centres and welfare charities, as well as local businesses, voluntary groups and residents across the neighbourhoods of Rusholme, Moss Side, Fallowfield and Longsight. Collectively, we are working to break down barriers of cultural participation and ensure Platt Hall best meets the needs of its local communities today and in the future.
The award of £400,000 over four years by Paul Hamlyn Foundation Arts Access and Participation Fund will pave the way for this development. The grant will support the growth of Platt Hall’s team through the implementation of three new roles and two new residencies that will combine strategic, practical, research-centred and creative approaches to create a sustainable and long-term working model.
“We are pleased to support the continuation of Manchester Art Gallery’s ambitious transformation of Platt Hall into a community resource for local neighbourhoods, exploring participatory decision making, interrogating collections policy and practice and broadening the Gallery’s understanding of its civic role. We’re looking forward to working alongside them as they seek out new ways to bring communities and creativity together.”
Shoubhik Bandopadhyay, Head of Programme – Arts, Paul Hamlyn Foundation
