Painting of tower blocks.

Mandy Payne, In Limbo (2017). Spray paint, oil paint, tape, archival matt varnish on concrete. © Mandy Payne.

Acquired: a century of collecting

How do public art collections evolve and how and why are works acquired?

Charting a 100-year history of collecting this exhibition explores artworks from Salford Museum and Art Gallery and the University of Salford collections.

Paintings, ceramics, sculpture, print and digital works from the two collections are displayed together, some for the first time in public.  The exhibition aims to tell the story of how the collections in Salford have been developed over the last century and in turn considers how public collections can, and do, support artists.

Works on display include paintings by Vanessa Bell, Graham Sutherland and Mandy Payne; sculptures by Jacob Epstein and Willow Rowlands; prints and drawings by Albert Adams and Jai Redman.

The exhibition also includes recent additions to the University of Salford Art Collection; Mountain of Crowds by Yang Yongliang, purchased with support from Art Fund, and in association with Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (CFCCA), and Bhangra Muffins by Shezad Dawood, donated from the Thomas Frangenberg Estate (London) through the Contemporary Art Society.


Exhibition tours 
Find out more about the works in the exhibition in these free guided tours:
Wednesday 6 February , 1 – 1.45pm
Wednesday 13 March, 6 – 6.45pm
Thursday 2 May, 1 – 1.45pm
Admission: Free, booking required


Exhibition dates: Saturday 3 November 2018 –  Sunday 9 June 2019
Opening hours: Tuesday – Friday, 9:30 am – 4:30pm  and Saturday and Sunday 11:30 am – 4pm
Christmas closure: From Monday 24 December – re-opens Wednesday 2 January 2019 at 9.30am
Venue: Salford Museum and Art Gallery, Salford

Logo for the Contemporary Art Society