Places in Stockport to get creative
In the Stockport area you'll find a thriving network of studios, community spaces and creative hubs running all kinds of different art classes for adults and providing a place for you to unleash your creativity on to the world.
Pink MCR
Hilton House, Stockport SK1 3NA
At first glance, Hilton House looks like a fairly unremarkable office block just off the roundabout between Stockport Station and the town centre. Step inside however, and you'll find one of the most exciting creative spaces in the region. Pink MCR occupies four floors with a dedicated events and performance space, and a community of over 30 artists and creators experimenting across different disciplines.
They host everything from film screenings and performances to public workshops and community gatherings, and operate internationally with partnerships in Denmark and Norway. It really is a unique space.
Merseyway Workshop
Tucked in between all your major high street stores just off the main shopping street, Merseyway Workshop is a DIY-style community hub built around making, learning and creating. They run regular creative workshops, drop-in sessions and skill exchanges, specialising in clay and ceramics and host throwing classes for anyone who's keen tohave a go at the wheel. They also host the Stockport Ceramics Fair, and the space serves as a pop-up gallery throughout the year and even occasionally as a bar.
ARC Centre
Based at the iconic Hat Works building in Stockport town centre, ARC , which stands for ‘Arts for Recovery in the Community’ is a charity using the arts to improve mental health. The first floor contains studios, a café, and a gallery space that is open to the public at the same time as the museum. Their workshop programme is open to everyone, including a wide range of different creative disciplines to try including ceramics, drawing, painting, glass fusing, screen printing and textiles. It's a warm, welcoming community-rooted space inside the historic Hat Works. If you've never been in, the gallery alone is worth the visit.
Art Club
Set on Shaw Road in the heart of Heaton Moor, Art Club is a creative community café run by artist Angela Lock. A permanent home for her classes and workshops, it's a mixed-use space as a café, art space, and bar housed in a former dress shop, and the programme includes life drawing and painting classes through to talks and exhibitions. The walls are covered in work, the beer garden is a good one, and the atmosphere is exactly what you'd hope a neighbourhood art café would be.
MakeSpace High Peak
90-92 Albion Road , New Mills SK22
If you're willing to venture a little further into SK22 territory, MakeSpace is a beautiful light and airy new studio space and workshop in the heart of New Mills, and Amy who runs it describes the concept as an open invitation to pause, play, experiment, and try something new. They run regular yoga and movement sessions alongside a packed schedule of creative workshops: mindful painting, customisation, and photography walks that make the most of their Peak District setting.
It really does feel a world away from real life.
