An Outsider Art Weekend in the North West: Manchester and Birkenhead
The UK's biggest public collection of outsider art and its first listed outsider art environment are about an hour apart. Here's how to see both.
By The Outsider Artist editors, Editorial team, Website Studio
Published
· 2 min read
The North West of England has two of the most important outsider art sites in the UK, about an hour apart: the Whitworth in Manchester, home of the country's largest public collection of outsider art, and Ron's Place in Birkenhead, the first outsider art environment to be listed in England. With a little planning, you can see both in a weekend.
Day one: Manchester
The Whitworth
Start at the Whitworth, part of the University of Manchester, in Whitworth Park on Oxford Road. It holds the Musgrave Kinley Outsider Art Collection, more than 1,150 works by around 130 artists, given in 2010. Artists in the collection include Madge Gill, Scottie Wilson, Judith Scott and Carlo Zinelli. Works are shown in changing displays rather than all at once, so browse the collection online before you go and check what is on view.
Read our guide to where to see outsider art in the UK for background on the collection and how it came to Manchester.
The Northern Quarter
In the afternoon, walk to the Northern Quarter, the centre of Manchester's street art scene. Walls there were painted for the Cities of Hope festival in 2016 and many have been repainted since, so expect new work. See the best UK cities for street art.
Day two: Birkenhead
Ron's Place
Ron Gittins spent more than 30 years, from 1986 until his death in 2019, turning his rented ground-floor flat at 8 Silverdale Road, Oxton, into a world of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, with huge cement fireplaces, a Minotaur's head and a Roman altar in the kitchen. It was listed Grade II in March 2024 and is cared for by the Wirral Arts and Culture Community Land Trust.
Ron's Place is a small, fragile domestic space, not a museum. Visits are by arrangement or on special open days, so book through the official website before you travel, and don't turn up unannounced. Read the full story in our guide to Ron's Place.
Liverpool
Birkenhead is across the Mersey from Liverpool, so you can combine your visit with the city's galleries and waterfront.
Getting around
Manchester and Liverpool are linked by frequent trains, and Birkenhead is a short journey from Liverpool by Merseyrail or the Mersey ferry. Check timetables and opening times before you travel, as both change.
More ideas
If you have more time, the Bethlem Museum of the Mind in south London and the Collection de l'Art Brut in Lausanne make excellent next trips. See outsider art museums in Europe and the US.
