Imperial War Museum North , Salford

The imperial War Museum is unique in it's coverage of conflicts , especially those involving Britain and the commonwealth from the first world war to the present day. They seek to provide for and to encourage the study and understanding of the history of modern war and war time experience.

The multi award winning museum opened on the banks of the Manchester ship canal on July 5th 2002 and has had over 2.5 million visitors. It is the youngest of five branches and the first one outside the south-east of England. It is the first U.K building to be designed by world renowned architect Daniel Libeskind. Clad in aluminium the landmark building is a visionary symbol of the effects of war . The design is based on a concept of a world shattered by conflict , A fragmented globe reassembled in three interlocking shards , These shards represent conflict on land , water and in the air.

2012 marked the museums 10th anniversary , Since opening .....

*They have won 30 awards

*They have held 41 special exhibitions

*They have held over 5,500 object handling sessions

*Over 600,000 visitors have had at least a ten minute learning experience with a member of the museum staff.

I think the architecture looks amazing and I like what it represents , I am looking forward to seeing the Holocaust Memorial exhibition by Manchester ceramic artist Chava Rosenzwieg this is the latest in the museums Reactions series where artists are invited to display their work showing how war shapes lives.

Peter Blake and pop music at the Lowry , Salford

Known as the god father of pop art Sir Peter Blake has been inspired by pop music since the 1950's , Many of his musical hero's including The Beatles , Elvis Presley , The Everly Brothers and Ian Dury feature in his exhibition marking his 80th birthday.

Blake has worked closely with some of the most popular influential musicians of his generation , Most famously co-creating the iconic album cover for the Beatles Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band . In more recent years his designs for albums by Paul Weller , Eric Clapton and Oasis are equally celebrated , and are shown at the Lowry against a soundtrack of killer pop music.

The Lowry is at the heart of re-developed Salford Quay in Manchester , It is an architectual flagship with a unique and dynamic identity. The Lowry opened on 28th April 2000 bringing together a wide verity of performing and visual arts under one roof , Their aim is to give everyone access to new areas of creativity and to embrace its broad community.

From looking on the Lowry website and some of the photos on there , I am excited to see the Peter Blake exhibition , his work is amazing and think I will appreciate it more by seeing it up close rather than on a web site , I can't wait to see his iconic work by such a talented designer.