Carry the Clouds Away: New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery
University of Salford
17th August – 18th December 2026
Free entry, open to the public 10am – 4pm weekdays (excl bank holiday).
*Please note the exhibition will not be open during the Peel Park celebrations on 22nd August, but attendees are encouraged to visit during gallery opening hours.
This Saturday Peel Park celebrates its 180th year of bringing nature, community and the outdoors to the people of Salford since it’s opening in 1846.
In commemoration the park will be having a birthday celebration taking place from 11am to 3pm on 22nd August, with family friendly activities including live theatre performances by Barton Theatre Group, music from the Farnworth and Walkden Brass Band, the Wagon Train, guided walks, a children’s book launch and trail. The event is open to all and free of charge with no booking required. The Peel Park Birthday event has been organised jointly by the Salford Ranger Team and the Friends of Peel Park. See here to read more on the event and it’s programme.
A short walk away from Peel Park is the Art Collection’s new exhibition Carry the Clouds Away, in the New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery on campus. Keeping to the spirit of the Peel Park event, this exhibition celebrates the varied ways in which we find inspiration, connection, and solace in places of nature, with some of the works centred around Peel Park itself!
Michael J Goodger, Peel Park Bandstand (1970), Watercolour and gouache
Laura Daly’s The Storm Cone (2021) is an immersive artwork combining augmented reality with music composed by Lucy Pankhurst. The Storm Cone reveals lost bandstands in our municipal parks, exploring their forgotten histories. You can experience the artwork itself in Peel Park using the app linked below to see for yourself a digital ‘ghost’ of Peel Park’s long ago demolished bandstand, and listen through headphones to experience an immersive brass band ensemble performance much like visitors would have heard before the bandstand’s demolition in 1965.
If you find yourself at Peel Park for the celebrations or otherwise experience the artwork while you’re there via the methods below:
Laura Daly, The Storm Cone (2021), 3D printed model; and augmented reality app
Also showing at the gallery will be Hayley Suviste’s The River Has Many Lives (2026), an artwork developed as part of a community project with Salford Loaves and Fishes. The project includes an audiovisual artwork presenting a glimpse of the conversations, discoveries and creative processes that evolved through workshops led by guest facilitators Fiona Brehony (poetry and zine-making), Vicky Clarke (field recording and underwater listening), Lizzie King (cyanotype and photography), and Morag Rose (guided walk) as the community participants traced the length of the River Irwell from Peel Park to Kersal Wetlands. Shown alongside this are cyanotype prints and poems by the participants. Participant Ann Chan’s poem is the inspiration behind our exhibition title: Carry the Clouds Away.
Lizzie King’s Rooted (2021) is a collection of postcards depicting three benches in Peel Park, and the views from these benches. It was originally produced as part of a body of work for Rediscovering Salford (2021), a citywide partnership project which explored and celebrated the city’s green spaces. During her research, Lizzie discovered a wealth of Peel Park postcards dating to the early 1900s. Personal inscriptions on the reverse revealed the park as a popular holiday destination, as well as somewhere for local families to enjoy. Alongside her postcard inspired Giclée Print, Lizzie has provided postcards for visitors of the gallery to write on, sharing their own memories of Peel Park with others.
Lizzie King, Rooted (2021), Giclee print and postcards
The Storm Cone was commissioned through a partnership between University of Salford Art Collection and Metal in collaboration with Salford Culture and Place Partnership on the occasion of Rediscovering Salford. Generously supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, additionally supported by PN Daly Ltd and Zinc and Copper Roofing.
The River Has Many Lives is a continuation of Suviste’s previous work From the River’s Mouth (2025) originally commissioned for Sounds From The Other City festival by the University of Salford Art Collection in collaboration with the University’s Acoustics Laboratories. With thanks to the participants and co-creators: Aki, Alan Lai, Ann Chan, Ann Li, Basheer, Florin-Marian Mehtupciu, Karl Mather, Lee, Neil Baines, Selina Lo, Silvia P.B. Mendes, Stuart Watson, Teresa Leung and Vilson Beveilli Mendes. Special thanks to the staff at Salford Loaves and Fishes – Hannah, Helen, Janice, Jennifer, Joe and Jodie – whose generosity and support made this project possible. Supported by: North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership (NWCDTP), Salford Loaves and Fishes, University of Salford Art Collection and Acoustic Laboratories.