News
Curator Talks via Zoom
Join our new Curator talks online from the comfort of your own home.
Tags: Online events, talks

Counting down our top blogs of 2020
Although our galleries were closed for much of last year, we welcomed more visitors than ever to our website. We hope that many of you will continue to enjoy our […]
Life Drawing goes digital!
Have you always fancied trying life drawing but haven’t had the opportunity to take part? We have the perfect solution. Join our new digital life drawing classes, guided by an […]

Oldham’s Lockdown Museum: writing
Since May, you have been sending us your photos and words to help us capture life in Oldham during the pandemic. Here, David Ryder shares a poem he wrote during […]
Explore local history with Oldham Historical Research Group
Oldham Historical Research Group is pleased to announce its first meeting of 2021 will be held using zoom. This friendly group always welcomes new members with an interest in local […]
Tags: Oldham Historical
Window Wonderland and Reindeer Parade Trail
This year we’re celebrating Christmas with a difference at Gallery Oldham with a Window Wonderland installation and Reindeer Parade Trail.
2020 Pandemic: A Personal History by Joan Stott
Joan Stott shares her personal experience of living through the first part of the pandemic. He went to bed last night muttering and complaining but it’s not as if you […]
Tags: history, lockdown life, lockdown museum, oldham, pandemic
Join us as we #GoCosy this winter
Why not join us as we wrap up warm and #GoCosy at Gallery Oldham this winter
Lockdown Update
Following the latest Government lockdown guidance, we will be closed from Thursday 5th Nov and we look forward to welcoming you back soon.
Tags: Lockdown
Artist Commissions: Window Wonderland
10 artists sought to create a magical Window Wonderland trail in Oldham Town centre.
Len Johnson: Black history Month
We take a look at Len Johnson and the Pan African Congress which took place in Manchester, 1945.
Tags: Black History Month, Len Johnson, Pan African Congress
Cotton Connection: Black History Month
We take a look at our shared histories as part of Black History Month. This guest blog is by Matthew Dean of The Cotton Connection podcasts.
Tags: Black History Month, local history, Matthew Dean, The Cotton Connection
Black History Month: Ajit Medtia
One of a series of blogs looking our shared histories as part of Black History Month we focus on Ajit Medtia, vice-chairman of the Oldham Asian Business Association.
Tags: Ajit Medtia, Black History Museum, Oldham Asian Business Association
Legacies of Biafra
Join curator Rebecca Hill as she explores Legacies of Biafra, an exhibition of artists’ responses to the 1976-1970 Nigeria-Biafra War.
Black History Month: Fighting to end apartheid
Throughout October we’re marking Black History Month by high-lighting collections and stories held by Gallery Oldham and Oldham Local Studies and Archives.
Tags: apartheid, Black History Month
Reopening Oldham Local Studies and Archives
We’re very pleased to announce that Local Studies and Archives will be able to welcome visitors back into their search room from Wednesday 7 October. This will initially be a […]
Surprising Connections: Oldham Lockdown Museum
We launched Oldham’s Lockdown Museum https://galleryoldham.org.uk/exhibitions/oldhams-lockdown-museum/ back in May, and Oldham’s Lockdown Letters in August, with the aim of collecting your photos and written responses to life in our area […]
Tags: oldham lockdown museum
Announcing our reopening
On Wednesday 2 September Gallery Oldham opens to the public for the first time in over five months. During the month of September this opening will be on a part-time basis.

Holiday At Home: Tiny Tourist Guide
Be inspired by the history and nature of Oldham’s fantastic parks and create your own unique “tiny tour” guide book to show all the best spots.
Tags: families, family activity, family friendly, family fun, Holiday At Home
Oldham and the ‘Forgotten Army’
Join Gallery Oldham to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of VJ day, when the Second World War finally came to an end.
Tags: Far East, Second World War, VJ Day

Holiday At Home: Postcards from Oldham
To kick off our Holiday At Home activities we’re creating Postcards from Oldham with freelance artist Fay Buchanan. Long before texting and WhatsApp, postcards were a fun and cheap way […]
Tags: family friendly, family fun, Holiday At Home, postcards

Holiday At Home: Anyone got a stamp?
At Gallery Oldham we’re celebrating Holidaying At Home, take a look at some of our comic postcards with Social History Curator Bill Longshaw.
Tags: Holiday At Home, postcards, social history, summer
Early Years Adventure – Faces
This week we’re taking our inspiration from ‘Portrait of Two Sisters’ by artist Aneela Majid, this is an oil painting in the galleries art collection. Majid, a former student of […]
Early Years Adventure – Story Festival
This week’s early years adventure is brought to you by the fantastic Oldham Theatre Workshop as part of their new Summer Story Festival. This sizzling summer special story festival features […]

How a baby got her name!
Learn how Oldham botanist Thomas Rogers named his daughter Linnea after a beautiful alpine plant.
Tags: botanist, botany, Natural History, thomas rogers

Nextwavearts micro commission – OPEN
We are delighted to announce that our first young person’s micro-commission programme is now open for applications. NEXTWAVEARTS has been created by Gallery Oldham and Oldham Arts Development to support […]
Early Years Adventure – Dens
We’re so thrilled to be bringing you this week’s early years adventure featuring one of our original practitioners, Leonie! Families old and new will know Leonie for her singing and […]

Remember When? Retail therapy
As we all dash to the shops for some retail therapy, we’re taking a look at some of the shopping incentives used in Oldham.
Tags: market, oldham, remember when, shopping
Natural Connections
Natural connections: Oldham and Stepney Museums are 230 miles apart but were connected for more than one reason in the early twentieth century.
Tags: Natural History, oldham, stepney museum
Making plans for reopening
In line with the updated UK Government guidance we are starting to make plans for reopening Gallery Oldham as soon as we can. We still have some work to do […]

Remember When? Toe Tapping Beats
During this week’s Remember When? we take a look at the toe tapping beats created in Oldham.

Waiting for our ship to come in….
Join us for a journey of discover as Bill Longshaw our Social History Collections Assistant puts the wind back in the sails of a beautiful model ship.
Tags: Model Ship, social history

Return of sport
We’ve all being missing sport. For this week’s Remember When? we’re stepping back in time to look at football and cricket in Oldham.
Tags: archive, cricket, football, photograph, sport
Early Years Adventure – Storytelling Festival
During lockdown we have really missed all of our families who come to play with us on a weekly basis at GO Baby and GO Explorers. We adore having mini […]

Oldham’s Lockdown Museum is open. Welcome!
Oldham’s Lockdown Museum is collecting a snapshot of life during the Covid-19 pandemic. This week we are collecting photos or drawings of objects which represent the lockdown period to you.
Tags: oldham lockdown museum

Tell us what you think? Complete our digital survey.
Gallery Oldham want to better understand our digital audiences. Can you help us by completing our short online survey?
Tags: audiences, digital offer, visitor survey
Super Saturdays: Colouring our collection
We’ve created some amazing colouring sheets to inspire artlovers. This colouring fest uses popular artwork from our collections and are free to share.

Super Saturday – Go Wild! Mini Beast Scavenger Hunt
We’re celebrating National Scavenger Hunt Day, we’ve created our very own mini-beast hunt that you can do in your garden. Go Wild! with Gallery Oldham.
Object In Focus: Rothwell Car
One of the most popular items in our collections was unveiled this time last year, the Rothwell Car, as part of the Oldham Accelerate Festival.
Accelerate – Oldham’s Festival of Transport Goes Digital
Accelerate goes Digital…Buckle up and join us as Oldham Festival of Transport goes digital this Saturday. This weekend we should have been welcoming you all to Gallery Oldham […]
Oldham Lockdown Museum Launch
Today we’re launching Oldham’s Lockdown Museum, a new digital project to collect a snapshot of what life is like during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Early Years Adventure: Printing At Home
Our activity this week is inspired by ‘Now the Mill Has Gone’ by Peter Stanaway. Artist Fay will be helping you to explore printing at home using found materials. Using […]
#GetCreativeAtHome: Chippy Tea
Gallery Oldham’s getting involved with #GetCreativeAtHome to provide some great ideas of how you can get creative at home all based around the Chippy Tea.
Painting reveals a hidden Oldham Story
The Naturalist by George Henry Wimpenny has always been a great favourite with visitors. We investigate the person, place and specimens in this painting.
Family History at Your Finger Tips
Have you always fancied finding out about your family history? Then we have got some great suggestions of how to make a start.
Early Years Adventure: Tram on Union Street
Welcome to this week’s early years adventure with the the team at Gallery Oldham. We’re delighted to bring you this next activity inspired by the work of Cliff Murphy, an […]
Remember When? The Albion
Every Monday, join us as we delve into the Archive to bring to life Oldham’s past. For this weeks Remember When? we take a look at The Albion pub.
Super Saturdays: Sausages and Potatoes drawing tips
In this week’s Super Saturday adventure we’re helping you to perfect your drawing of figures….using sausages and potatoes.
Object in Focus for VE Day anniversary
We are marking the 75th anniversary of VE Day by choosing one object from our collections to look at the links between Winston Churchill and Oldham.
Remember When? Elk Mill
Join us as we bring to light Oldham’s past. In this Remember When? we celebrate our industrial history and take a look at Elk Mill.
Great Science Share – Dawn Chorus
Dawn Chorus – Great Science Share The Great Science Share is an annual science festival across Greater Manchester. This year the festival has taken a digital turn an we are […]
Walking through a rainbow
We’ve got all sorts of rainbows at Gallery Oldham. Some in paintings whilst others are light installations where you feel like you’re walking through one.
Remember When? The Mighty Mannequin
In this weeks Remember When? we look back at celebrity, Joan Rhodes. Oldham Local Studies and Archives holds many amazing stories about remarkable people. None more so than that of Miss Joan Rhodes.
Early Years adventure: Morning in a Wood by Harry Watson
Our third early years adventure this week is inspired by an oil painting in Gallery Oldham’s collection called ‘Morning in a Wood’ by Harry Watson.
Super Saturdays: Be Kind Activities
The best thing you can do to make the world a better place is to create a culture of kindness in your own home. Be the shiny example to your family this week and pass a bit of kindness on to the ones that you love.
Exploring GO Explorers
Since our early years programmes began in 2013 we have had the privilege to work with hundreds of parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, carers and everyone else in between.
Remember When? Druid Arms Pub
Every Monday we’ll be stepping into Oldham’s past for Remember When? Today we’re focusing on that great British establishment…the pub.
Super Saturdays: Spring Surprise
Get ready for Spring. We are all in our gardens watching as the flowers open…Take a look at our latest Spring arty activities sheet.
Remember When? Belgrade Hotel
Join us every Monday as we explore Oldham’s history in Remember When? Take a look at the Belgrade Hotel.
Super Saturdays: Easter Activities
We’ve come up with some brilliant Easter ideas for some festive fun over the holidays. You may not be gathering around the dinner table with extended family and friends this Easter but here are some creative fun things to do to celebrate instead.
Andy Pandy: Things we miss or don’t miss
Our Social History expert Bill Longshaw takes a look at favourite TV character, Andy Pandy….who celebrates his 70th birthday this year.
Remember When? Co-op in Oldham
Today, our corner shops and food stores are working hard to make sure we can buy essentials. Take a moment to look back at the Coop… one of our most familiar and oldest established retailers.
Super Saturdays: What to do to keep the kids busy?
With schools closed and the kids at home, the question becomes what can I do to keep them busy? Help is on hand. We’ve put together some fabulous crafty ideas to keep your young ones busy.
Fun Fact Friday: Oldham Athletic Football
It’s been a trying season for Oldham Athletic with the season suspended so it’s nice to look back on happier times with Gallery Oldham’s collection.
Rock Against Racism: Online Exhibition
Now you can enjoy an online version of our Rock Against Racism exhibition at Gallery Oldham. See photographs by Syd Shelton.
Oldham Local Studies and Archives achieves National Accreditation
Oldham Local Studies and Archives has been awarded the prestigious Archive Service Accreditation.
Coronavirus update: 19 March 2020
The Gallery will be closing at 5pm today and will not reopen until there is a change in UK government advice. Oldham Local Studies and Archives is also now closed. […]
Happy Global Recycling day!
Happy Global Recycling day! At Gallery Oldham we don’t just recycle, we up-cycle! Our Social History Curator, Bill Longshaw, has found several objects that are no longer appropriate for use in the Gallery but instead of just getting rid of them we’re giving them to artists who are turning them into art!
Coronavirus update: 16 March 2020
Coronavirus Public Information Update: 16 March 2020 We want Gallery Oldham to be a safe place for visitors, staff, and volunteers. We are following the advice of Oldham Council and UK […]
Rock Against Racism
Our latest exhibition opens on Saturday 14 March. Syd Shelton: Rock Against Racism explores the musical movement through the key years between 1976 and 1981. Syd Shelton spent time capturing […]