Manchester Jewish Museum: Storied synagogue and gallery extension reopen in July

There are many great museums in Manchester, but the city’s institutions often don’t get the love they deserve. Manchester Jewish Museum is a case in point. Not only is it the only Jewish museum in the country outside London, but it is also housed inside the UK’s oldest surviving synagogue.

Now, after being closed for two years and undergoing a £6 million refurb, July will see the reopening of both the new-look synagogue and the museum – complete with all-new extension – as part of Manchester International Festival.


Photograph: Chris Payne

The brand-new museum extension now features a gallery, café, shop, educational space and kitchen, while the original 1874 Spanish-Portuguese synagogue has been fully restored.

And as far as exhibitions go, you couldn’t ask for a more suitable and exciting opener than Turner Prize-winning artist Laure Prouvost’s new work, ‘The Long Waited, Weighted, Gathering’, part of this year’s MIF.

The installation, in the museum’s Ladies’ Gallery, aims to memorialise the voices, lives and stories of the women who have formed part of the city’s thriving Jewish community. To create the work – which combines film, sound and textiles – Prouvost rummaged through the museum’s archive of more than 31,000 objects, many of which will go on display here for the first time. Book early to ensure you get in.

Manchester Jewish Museum reopens on Friday, July 2 2021. ‘The Long Waited, Weighted, Gathering’ runs until July 18. www.manchesterjewishmuseum.com