About the Friends of the Whitworth Art Gallery

About the Friends of the Whitworth Art Gallery

The Friends group was established in 1933 and has been flourishing ever since. The main aim is to support the work of the University of Manchester’s Whitworth Art Gallery and its internationally renowned collection.  Nowadays the Friends is an independent charity and is run entirely by the membership.  The Chair and committee are elected; they set policy and oversee the general running of the organisation.  The 'Tuesday Team' is a group of volunteers who organise and administer all of the Friends' activities -- membership, fund-raising, events and communications.

The current membership fee, for those choosing to pay by Direct Debit, is £27 for an individual membership and, for two people living at the same address, the joint fee is £45. 

Adele Jennison a member for ten years gives us her ten reasons to join the Friends of the Whitworth.

1. Why join the Friends? Well, there is a clue in the title…Friend(ship). It’s about sharing your interest in art and affection for the Whitworth Art Gallery. Over the years, the Friends have purchased, or helped to purchase, over 1,000 works for the Whitworth collection, as well as specialist display furniture. We have also sponsored exhibitions, and, through subscriptions and fund raising activities, raised over £250,000 for the most recent refurbishment and extension of the Gallery.
2. We can meet with like-minded people in the 'Café in the Trees', perhaps the coolest destination in South Manchester, & bring our existing friends too-and receive a 10% discount on your purchases. You can also claim a 20% discount on your purchases in the Gallery shop and a 10% discount in the shop at the Manchester Art Gallery.
3. Being a Friend takes the hassle out of keeping up with what's happening in the art world -- we get lots of opportunities throughout the year to visit other galleries,...and
4. Attend previews and curator talks. You soon feel like an art-insider after listening to our knowledgeable speakers. We run a monthly Look Club which is free to Friends.
5. The Friends events team also search out which other places would appeal...historic houses, beautiful gardens, artists' studios, private collections, open-house events & hidden art spaces. In every programme we also try to include a skills workshop, open to everyone. including beginners, so you will have the opportunity to try your hand at screen printing, Chinese brush painting, felt making, water colours, patchwork, lino printing and much more
6. Every year art stars such as Grayson Perry, Andrew Graham Dixon and Dr Bendor Grosvenor come & talk to us at our prestigious Pilkington lectures.
7. If that isn’t enough the team will also arrange your holiday. Who doesn’t want their travel niggles taken care of? Sweden, South Africa, Dessau & Dresden have all been destinations in the last few years, with pioneers sailing across to Belfast & Derry; even a bold group venturing into Iran in 2010 and Kosovo and Montenegro in 2018!
8. Shorter trips in the UK are too numerous to mention. From time to time we also organise short trips abroad to visit important "block buster" exhibitions.
9. And as the icing on the cake, we have the stunning new spaces in a most loved gallery at the heart of Manchester's cultural life!
10. Come & join us & have fun while raising very necessary funds for the next exciting stage in the life of this wonderful cultural institution.

Our commitment to you: Your confidentiality is protected by various Acts and Regulations including, from 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation. The Friends of the Whitworth keeps the minimum of personal information supplied by members, that is name, postal and email addresses and telephone number(s). This information is encrypted and stored securely. We do not share this information with any other organisation, including the Whitworth Gallery, and use it only to communicate with you about the activities of the Friends of the Whitworth. Please ask us at any time for details of the information we hold about you, or if you would like your name to be removed from any mailing list.

Click here to join.