Olivia PowellBeSixth, the live experience agency that runs East London venues The Pickle Factory and Oval Space, has announced that it will be opening a new venue in Manchester.
Canvas Manchester is set to open in 2021, subject to planning permission, and will be located in the new Circle Square residential, commercial and leisure development.
BeSixth’s plans for the 400-capacity basement venue include a bi-weekly gig and club programme alongside events such as health and wellbeing sessions, social activism, networking and workshops.
Above the basement will be a ground floor restaurant, Canvas Kitchen, seating 100 people and open to the public from 7am to 4am every day, and a “unique and affordable” members’ lounge, Canvas Club.
Chairman of BeSixth, Dean James, said: “With Canvas Manchester we want to introduce a brand new lifestyle concept that will bring people together and offer something new and exciting to those living and working in the city.
“I think people in Manchester understand that we are going to get through this pandemic, we’re going to get back on our feet and the city is going to get back on its feet.
“With its people, a rich and diverse cultural scene, Manchester was always going to be the first city we said yes to when we decided to invest outside of London but we didn’t think we would find anything like the site at Circle Square.”
The new Circle Square development is a joint venture between Bruntwood SciTech and Vita Group.
Tom Renn, managing director at Bruntwood SciTech, said: “Our ambition for Circle Square was always to create a destination – a place that would bring people together morning, day and night and a place that would become part of the fabric of the city. Somewhere tourists and innovators would see as a must-visit when coming to Manchester.
“With a cluster of over 40 digital and tech businesses, an incredible collection of indie retail and social dining operators at Hatch and with Manchester’s newest outdoor event space Symphony Park, we are starting to see the neighbourhood develop at a pace never seen before in a new neighbourhood in Manchester.
“Canvas Manchester is another step change for Circle Square. The commitment from BeSixth to move this forward is both a nod to Manchester’s rich history and is a sign of confidence in our city’s future cultural scene.
“The live music industry has understandably suffered as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, but where better to drive its resurgence than in the city that thinks a table is for dancing on?”