With the recent news that London venues Plastic People (save Plastic People) and Ministry Of Sound may close (Joe Muggs comments) our very own man in the North reports on the closure this week of Manchester’s Urbis exhibition centre, a ’sparkling jewel in Manchester’s cultural crown’. Let us know your thoughts below.

The Urbis may look like the glass slipper left behind by a giant smurf, but inside the shiny blue greenhouse has been the best place to find groundbreaking and fascinating exhibitions over the last six years. After a shaky start it has become a sparkling jewel in Manchester’s cultural crown, its representations of popular culture and urban life appealing to all ages and giving a fresh look to the idea of exhibition centre. This however, is all set to change. On February 27th it will be closing its well buffed doors for the final time in its current guise, and when it reopens after a lengthy refurb it will be the new home of the National Football Museum.

Many of you will be thinking so what? A pretentious arty museum turns into a dull nostalgia museum. The Urbis however was as engaging and thought provoking as it was stylish and relevant. You might think going to a gallery to learn about contemporary music would be missing the point of what the music’s about, and by their own admission popular culture is something that needs to be experienced and not put in a box for people to look at. So with this in mind, how did they capture their subjects without destroying what made them interesting?

Basically, they got people involved. In the Videogame Nation exhibit the public were invited to come along and play with a hefty collection of classic and futuristic video games. At the other end of the scale, the award winning Reclaim Project went into some of the most disadvantaged areas of Greater Manchester to help young people develop a positive attitude in their community. Starting out in Moss Side they worked with 12-14 year old boys and created the Moss Side Manifesto, a statement of respect and a message to kids in the area not to let crime take over their lives.

Back in 2003 Urbis was the first gallery to bring street art inside and publicly give it its artistic credit. Protesters complained that glorifying graffiti was irresponsible, but the Ill Communication exhibit was so successful that for its second instalment in 2004 they invited 10 street artists from around the world to create something unique especially for Urbis. Now graffiti and street art exhibitions are popular all around the country.

This kind of innovative, progressive thinking will be sorely missed when the Urbis goes, and while getting a look at the actual shirt Maradonna wore when he dribbled and cheated his way through the England defence in 86 might inspire 4 seconds of passing interest, the National Football Museum is hardly going to make the same impact as the previous residents.

In a city that already has more than its fair share of football heritage, the City Council’s decision to make the switch can only be seen as a massive step back in its quest to be a modern, forward thinking centre that’s shaking off its dusty old image. When you consider that in Preston where the museum currently resides people are campaigning to keep it, and that the estimated cost of the move and refurbishment stands at a whopping £8million, the whole thing looks like a big mistake. Everyone stands to lose.

Hopefully the Urbis team will continue its work elsewhere, but if you get the chance before it shuts then head down to Cathedral Gardens, Manchester, and check it out. Entry is free, and the next couple of weeks will be the last opportunity to experience what the big blue slide has to offer. The final exhibits are Homegrown: The Story of UK Hip Hop which documents the development of the genre from its roots in the US all the way to the present day (the breakdancing videos and clips of Westwood in the 80’s are worth the trip alone); Manchester, Television & the City: Ghosts of Winter Hill, which shows the evolution of the small screen and the influence Manchester has had on it; and Urbis Has Left the Building: Six Years of the Best Exhibitions in Pop Culture, a retrospective exhibit giving some of the highlights of what Urbis has given us. Go now before it’s too late.

- Robert McCorquodale