The coming together of the Milennium and substantial funding from the National Lottery witnessed an unprecedented renaissance of Britain's cultural milieu with the opening of world class centres for the performing arts,new art galleries and museums.

One of the finest examples is provided for by the Lowry,one of the great landmark projects for the new milennium. It takes its name from the great painter L.S. Lowry who was a resident of Salford.


The Lowry is situated in a highly attractive waterside location at the very heart of the redeveloped Salford Quays,The new centre or the performing arts is a shiny,glittering, piece of modern archiytecture, which is clad in stainless steel It is most decidely a very impressive addition to the cultural infrastructure in north west England.

The Lowry, was constructed at a cost of 96 million pounds,with much of the funding coming from the National Lottery. It is one of the country's most significant projects for the new millennium.It is a spectacular building fit for the 21 st century


.For starters it houses not one but two theatres:the Lyric- which has the biggest stage in UK outside of London-and themore intimate Quays theatre.It has already hosted the likes of the Paris Opera Ballet and The Royal Shakespeare Company.

The art galleries house the world's largest collection of painter L.S.Lowry's remarkable works. Contemporary art exhibitions are held in the various galleries. There are shops, waterside restaurants and bars.And there is ArtWorks,an interactive creative attraction that really is a world apart.Another of its key features is a walkway-the Promenade- which skirts the perimeter of the building and gives access to the various galleries and other attractions.

Entertainment lined-up includes a stage production of Clockwork Orange,three opera productions for Opera North, concerts marking the 100 th anniversary of the late,great
,Duke Ellington,performances by the Birmingham Royal Ballet,and the Lowry Exhibition.

Set in the heart of Manchester's waterways at Salford Quays, The Lowry is open all day,every day.It iis also linked to Manchester's rapid transit system amnd only about a 20 minute journey from Manchester International Arport. GoGood information about upcoming events and exhibitions can be gleaned from its web site www.thelowry.org.uk.

A number of UK's millennium projects have,in the past been criticised as being potential "white elephants" but The Lowry opened to critical acclaim. Not only is it an architecturally stunning building but it is a superb venue for the arts and one that the city of Manchester can take great pride in.