Since it opened in 2025, HOME Manchester has cemented itself as the go-to place for independent cinema, theatre and art exhibitions in the heart of the city centre. And now, in their 10th year, they’ve expanded into the previously unloved railway arches on Whitworth Street West. The result is three interconnected spaces for artists in and around Manchester to work, exhibit and network.
Described as a ‘world class, free-to-use, artist development hub’, HOME Arches launched today (23 January). There’s over 250 sq m of space for artists to do their thing across three different arches, which will create 5,000 hours a year of studio time.
And the brief is broad: creatives are welcome to work on anything from visual art to theatre to film, entirely for free. Half of those hours will be set aside for artists who are currently underrepresented in the industry, including members of the Global Majority, d/Deaf and disabled artists, and artists from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
The idea is to ‘democratise access to the arts’ for creative people in Manchester. As well as space, they’ll also get access to technical equipment and expertise.
The three conjoining arches – the central one of which is named after Manchester culture-maker Sir Bob Scott – have had a £3.5 million makeover, making them a spacious and welcoming space with state of the art tech capabilities, meaning artists aren’t limited in what they can create.
The best thing is, the arches are completely visible as you walk down Whitworth Street West, so you can have a nosey at what’s going on next time you’re out and about in town.
Kicking things off, the very first works to take over the HOME Arches are Sophie Mahon, Omid Asadi and Alfreema Islam-Wright. Sophie’s audio visual installations fill the space, projecting tranquil orbs and soundscapes on different surfaces.
Omid Asadi’s stained glass windows come to life at night time, illuminated from the inside. While theatre-maker Afreena Islam-Wright has a new performance, produced with Jerwood Arts. They show how broadly the space can be, and will be, used.
Beyond this, some of the upcoming programme has already been announced, including workshops and an exhibition from Manchester-based Maisie Pritchard, who specialises in bold and colourful sculptures as well as new work from prolific mural artist Venessa Scott.
Karen O’Neill, the CEO of Home said: “HOME Arches will provide high quality free space and facilities for artists to develop work, create, share ideas and continue to be supported by HOME’s Artist Development programmes.”
We can’t wait to see what unfolds under the Arches.
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