Art & Exhibitions
Manchester Gets £25 Million “Multi-Art Complex”
![Home, artist's impression Courtesy Home Home, artist's impression Courtesy Home](https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/08/2014-08-12-Home.jpg)
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Next Spring, Manchester will unveil Home, the largest multi-art complex since the opening of London’s Barbican in the 1960s, The Independent reports.
Funded by the City Council to the tune of £19 million, Home will feature a 500-seat theatre, five cinemas, and art galleries, as well as restaurants. The complex, which is expected to welcome up to 1 million visitors every year, includes the relocation of the city’s much-loved Cornerhouse and Library Theatre.
The opening is understood as a rebalancing act of the UK’s cultural economy, which has long been criticized for its London-centricity.
Manchester earned its place on the art map thanks to the Manchester Art Festival, which commissioned large-scale pieces from the likes of Steve McQueen and Marina Abramovic.
“It’s a project that’s happening because Manchester has a vision in which, economically, arts and culture have a part to play in economic regeneration,” Home’s chief executive Dave Moutrey told the Independent. “They are backing that, and the fact there is potential for growth – you can’t just chuck money at an area and say have some great art.”