Exhibitions

Gallery Oldham has three large exhibition spaces plus a community gallery, Gallery 4.

We take an innovative and unique approach to exhibition programming, bringing together what were once separate museum and gallery services.

Our programming incorporates Oldham’s extensive art, social and natural history collections alongside touring work, newly commissioned and contemporary art, international art and work produced with local communities.

In addition we have permanent displays around the building.

Current Exhibitions

Gallery 1 – Oldham Stories

Oldham Stories features selected objects from our extensive collections to tell and show the stories of Oldham and its local and natural communities.

From mountain hare and moorhens to banners and artwork, every object has a fascinating tale to tell. Our Collector’s Case features an array of caps, shirts and memorabilia from Oldham Rugby Football League.

The display also highlights local figures such as campaigner Marjory Lees and the popular artist Helen Bradley, as well as Sir Winston Churchill who started his political career right here in Oldham.

If you want to know more about Oldham’s unique range of wildlife habitats, you’ll find it here.

Gallery 2 – Women Portraits: Trades and Professions by Charlotte Hodes

17 January – 9 May 2026

This exhibition, by Charlotte Hodes, is engaged with the representation of trades and professions. It focuses on the contributions made by women from Oldham and Manchester regions from the late 1800s, a period of increasing demand for equal rights for women, through to the present day.

The exhibition takes the form of ornate vases and intricate large-scale papercuts, proposing alternative, imagined representations of women identified through the tools associated with their professions. Underpinning this exhibition is a call for optimism in the face of global societal and economic challenges, with the desire to celebrate women’s enfranchisement and autonomy.

Gallery 3 – Once Upon A Time

21 March – 5 September 2026

Once Upon a Time there was an amazing exhibition filled with beautiful art by five incredible illustrators:  Gillian Flint, Gillian Hibbs, Holly Sterling, Jarvis, and Sharon Davey. Together, they created a magical world to spark imaginations and celebrate the joy of storytelling.

Once Upon a Time is a family-focused, fun-filled space where everyone can enjoy brilliant books and special stories. With cosy corners for reading, colourful artwork to explore, and hands-on activities to dive into, it’s a place where creativity comes to life.

Coming Soon

Oldham Wakes!

by Sophie Tyrell

23 May – 5 September 2026

Taking inspiration from the seasonal traditions of Old Lancashire holiday festivals, rush carts and processions, Oldham based artist Sophie Tyrrell populates the gallery with a fabulously colourful and deeply political handmade carnival installation. Sophie’s giant festival-bright endangered species artworks are poised between ecological grief and hopeful imagination.

Above this weirdly joyful spectacle, a magnificent murmuration of paper starlings made by local schoolchildren signals that ‘the starlings are in trouble’. Original music from Manchester Folk Collective ‘Brown Wimpenny’ underscores the scene. You are invited to experience wonder, to dress up, and be merry, in a celebration of the radical power of collective joy.