Canvas, a new music, entertainment and wellness venue for the community, is set to open its doors on Circle Square on the 8th June 2022.Canvas will feature live music, club nights, a members’ lounge with a programme of events, a late night bar and restaurant, and a digital platform.
The new venue comes from the team behind two of London’s most prolific music establishments; The Pickle Factory and Oval Space and has been founded by the team behind MAMA Group, which owned and operated Lovebox, Wilderness and Great Escape festivals as well as Hammersmith Apollo, Jazz Café, Forum, Manchester Ritz and G-A-Y venues.
Friendly and welcoming, the three-floor site will bring inclusive music and hospitality to the fore, while also offering progressive learning and wellness opportunities. The 600-capacity subterranean space will host a series of live gigs from both national and international acts, album launches and listening parties. Canvas will boast cutting-edge sounds and visual technology including video mapping and projectors to surround audiences and propel experiences to new heights.
Those who are part of Canvas’ membership programme are invited to participate in events, panel discussions and wellness classes; all with an emphasis on music, wellbeing, visuals, sound and the arts.
Hosting some of the city’s most enterprising young professionals, the panel discussions will offer in person Q&A events with the likes of TV commissioners and producers, philanthropists, emerging talent in the tech industry and DJs, producers and artists in the music industry.
Canvas’ Managing Your State programme will provide a focus on wellbeing. Wellness Sundays will be hosted by Manchester’s own Flow With Fran. Late summer will see the arrival of a plunge pool and sauna as part of membership access.
At Your Beat classes will make dance and fitness inclusive and accessible to all. Set in a dark room that features colourful lights and pumping tunes, these classes promise a calorie-burning endorphin rush to increase your general fitness.
Canvas membership will be held in the form of a Canvas token (an NFT) which will give members benefits such as free access to gigs and clubs, discounts on food and drinks and will give them part-ownership of the members’ club platform.
Canvas’ memberships will be available from £15 a month for under 30s, with a £25 per month membership option for the over 30s.
Canvas will also be home to a food and beverage lounge and late-night bar. The restaurant will serve global small plates across breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a menu curated by Miam Miam Glou Glou, the hospitality consultancy behind Peru Perdu.
The Canvas breakfast menu will feature fresh juices, health shots and global breakfast plates, such as ‘Persian’ - with Merguez sausage, hummus, spinach, harissa, soft-poached egg, ‘Cali’ - with avocado, chilli, lime, soft-poached egg and ‘Hunan’ - with fried rice, dumplings and chilli-fried egg. There will also be vegan options, such as ‘Planta’ - spinach, bell pepper, tomato, avocado, mushroom and tofu, as well as breakfast cocktails and speciality hot drinks, to enjoy in the venue or take away.
The Canvas all-day menu includes sumac lamb chops with chickpeas, pomegranate and mint yogurt, Korean chicken with peanut and Asian salad, and disco fries with truffle, parmesan, garlic butter, and saffron aioli and jalapeños. Sandwiches will be available from 12-5pm every day.
Large plates include chilli butternut squash with hazelnut, watercress and agave; slow chicken with corn-fed thighs, sweetcorn fritters and collard greens; bavette steak with roast tomatoes, garlic mushroom and chimmi, and duck leg, with sweet and sour roast plum, pickled cucumber and salad pancakes.
The restaurant will offer natural wines and cocktails. The Canvas wine list (red, white, sparkling, pink & orange) includes a mix of classic and lesser-known varieties from Australia, Austria, Argentina, Chile, France, Italy, South Africa, Portugal and US.
Cocktails and drinks will also take international influence, and will include aperitifs, such as the ‘Jasmine Margarita’ - with El Jimador Blanco, Muyu Jasmine, silver needle and citrus; sundowners, such as the ‘Jungle Bird’ - with Bacardi Cuatro, Appleton 8, Campari, pineapple, galangal and tamarind cordial; and highballs, such as ‘Cafe Torino’ - with Mr Black Coffee Amaro, Martini Rubino and soda.
Dean James, co-owner and co-founder, said; “We’re thrilled to finally open our doors at Canvas. With authenticity at the forefront of everything we do, our key ambition is to provide the most innovative space where emerging music and new talent can grow.
“By giving people a platform to share and collaborate, Canvas has a unique way of bringing together artists and audiences from underrepresented backgrounds. Through the development of Canvas membership programmes, our long-term vision is to forge an environment that young creatives and grass-roots talent are not only excited to be a part of, but we also hope that they share in a sense of ownership with us too.”
Canvas is also proud to support charitable musical organisations that give back to the community. There will be regular fundraising events and workshop collaborations to support the Marcus Intalex Music Foundation - a platform to support and nurture talent in many aspects of music development and the culture that surrounds it.
Canvas is set to open its doors on the 8th June 2022.
Canvas Unit 5, Building 4, Circle Square, Oxford Road, Manchester, M60 7HB
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