Unit 1.1: Salford Museum and Art Gallery Review

Salford Museum And Art Gallery Review

I went to visit this museum on the same day I visited The Lowry, and must say that Salford Museum and Art Gallery was far superior. While the two may be roughly similar in size, Salford Museum had its very own remade Victorian Street, some large valuable paintings and even a musical Quiffs, Riffs and Tiffs section! The Lowry had about a hundred pictures, a twenty minute video, a brief dancing section and an also rather short upstairs exhibition. I’m sure you can at least guess now why I preferred Salford Museum.

Firstly, lets talk about the paintings section of the museum. Once you have entered the museum and walked up the stairs past some small but rather interesting modern artworks, you will notice a room to your left. This is the first of two medium sized rooms covering two very different but fascinating topics- paintings and music. Once inside the room, you will no doubt notice about 25 brilliant and rather large paintings, some pottery and rather fine furniture. Don’t just think that this section is for adults though, as there are plenty of activities for children too, including replicas of olden day’s hats to try on and some activity sheets to keep them busy.

Moving on into the second room, the Quiffs, Riffs and Tiffs musical section, you will find that your surroundings have changed dramatically. The paintings have been replaced with a fascinating collection of memorabilia spanning the decades.The pottery replaced with album art covers and photographs, and the fine furniture with a rather large juke box and a piano. The exhibit starts with the 1950’s and ends with the 2000’s with lots of colourful album art, gold discs, a teddy boy outfit and a juke box also adds to the musical feeling with songs from bands spanning from the 50’s all the way to modern day.

Finally, downstairs the Lark Hill Place or Victorian Street is an enchanting attraction, with original shop fronts and some authentic noises to add to the effect. Children will love this part, as it contains plenty of Victorian style costumes they can try on. There’s a horse drawn carriage at the far end, the Blue Lion pub and a chemists shop window. The street has apparently been used for filming television programmes.

Overall: A genuinely worthwhile and interesting place which tries it’s hardest to keep the adults and children happy. A great morning out for the whole family especially the Quiffs Riffs and Tiffs if like me you’re interested in music.

8.5/10

By Patrick Johnson 10S1