What makes a woman beautiful? The Greeks and the Romans had their ideal – the classical nude that still holds sway – while today’s media does its best to make us all feel insecure with its endless airbrushing and tales of celebrity dietary woe (who has put on weight, who hasn’t; a never-ending merry-go-round of blubber lost and found).

So, what does make a woman beautiful? It is a question asked by artist Samantha Donnelly, whose exhibition, Contour States, has just opened at Cornerhouse. Actually, that’s not strictly true. It’s a question that Donnelly pokes a big stick at, and occasionally rips holes in, clamps firmly closed, and then smashes into rubble.

Donnelly’s show, sprawling over two floors, comprises works that can best be described as collage-like assemblies: a series of sculptures put together from books, found objects, photographs, images torn from magazines, buttons, latex, Barbie-like mannequins and more besides. Each sculpture is unique, and unique to this show; they were pieced together in the gallery itself, their final form decided only in the days running up to the exhibition opening. “All the pieces were constructed on site into these little narrative tableaus and the work only came together at the last minute,” says Donnelly (who later praises gallery staff for not losing their nerve: there was nothing to see for a very long time).

Each one of Donnelly’s sculptures tells a tale – and punches holes in the notions of beauty that we often unquestioningly accept. “There are numerous references to classical sculpture in the work,” says the artist, “but they imply that the solid narratives about beauty and idealised form are not as solid as they once were.”

Outlining Venus (right), a towering piece made of insulating foam, latex rubber sheets and images of women taken from magazines, does just that. The title suggests classical beauty, while the rubber sheets and magazine images imply, with a wink and a nudge, sexual beauty. The Venus of the work’s title isn’t present, but there is evidence that she may have been; a body-shaped hole in the insulating foam makes you wonder whether she’s just done a runner. It is faintly disorientating, all the more so when you realise that the work is anything but the solid it first appears. Outlining Venus seems carved from stone, but up close the granite-coloured foam trembles gently on the air.

Throughout Donnelly’s show – the Manchester artist’s first solo effort – there are other attempts to unsettle. She creates narratives within narratives, leaves references to films or books that once again prod at our unhealthy relationship with the body beautiful (such as Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, which famously contains a character addicted to plastic surgery), or else places objects that deliberately jar within otherwise delicate sculptures.

Although the exhibition is posited as a reaction to the media’s portrayal of women, the show seems to be about something else, too – a reaction not just to a society obsessed with female appearance, but a society obsessed by appearances. “We reinvent ourselves and make new narratives on a daily basis,” says Donnelly, “there’s the idea that in your leisure time you are one person but at work you are another.”

And this is the point of Donnelly’s work. She responds to a distorted world. We don’t live in a simple, black-and-white society, where the good are beautiful and the bad are ugly. We don’t even live in a chronological world. Thanks to technology, multiple narratives occur simultaneously. You can be your holiday self 24/7 on Twitter, even when in real life you’re being a drudge.

Like the work on display here, our sense of self, identity and beauty is fragmented. Our relationship to our own bodies has become disordered. And so if we ask what makes a person beautiful, we are asking the wrong question. The question is who, and the answer is, of course, ourselves. Sometimes Venus has to leave the room for you to realise: she wasn’t that bad after all.

Contour States, Cornerhouse, until 25 March. Free. Words: Susie Stubbs. Images (top to bottom): Contour States (2012); Illusions of Supersaturation (2012); Outlining Venus (2012); and Method Act / City Limits (2012), all courtesy the artist and Ceri Hand Gallery.

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Chen Man’s audacious photographs occupy the knife edge separating art and fashion. It’s arguably not the most comfortable place to reside; fielding accusations of commericalism on one side and arty self-indulgence on the other must be enough to send anyone round the bend. One of China’s best-known photographers, she has been commissioned by international fashion magazines like Vogue and Elle and luxury brands including Dior and Mercedes Benz. This month, Chinese Arts Centre hosts Chen Man’s first UK solo exhibition, featuring bewitching images from her entire career.

Born in 1980, she grew up in Beijing, and cityscapes are a recurring theme in her work, which employs street culture, animation and science fiction to tweak the real into an impossible ideal. Chen’s heavily manipulated photographs both illustrate and idealise the meteoric rise of consumer culture in China; creating a level of perfection that is both unobtainable and immediately desirable.The photograph above is like many of the women who appear so often in her work: flawlessly beguiling and overtly sexual, this is surely how computer game avatars would look if they stepped out of the screen.

In the past, the celebration of some troubled modern Chinese landmarks in her work (such as the Three Gorges Dam, which famously displaced 1.3 million people) has drawn accusations of immorality, but Chen has argued that she is simply reflecting the ideals of China’s upwardly mobile post-80s generation. Wherever you come down on the issues, it certainly gives you a lot to think about while viewing these beautifully unreal photographs.

Chen Man, 10 February to 7 April, Chinese Arts Centre, Market Buildings, Thomas Street, Northern Quarter, M4 1EU. Free.

Image: Visions.sex.flower, Chen Man, courtesy Chinese Arts Centre. Words: Kate Feld.

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Your weekend starts here. We begin with a plug for Creative Tourist Boutique. This new series of one-off events and weekend-long itineraries begins on 23 February with the Boutique Weekender, a round-up of some of the art, fashion and music highlights in Manchester this month. It’s all fun, mostly free and handpicked by us for you. Part of Manchester Histories Festival. 23-25 February 2012, times and prices vary.

Bish, bash, nosh. Love him or loathe him, Jamie Oliver is about to hit Manchester – his new eatery, Jamie’s Italian, opens on 20 February. We’re not expecting culinary derring-do, but Oliver’s restaurants do pull in consistently good reviews, while the architectural grandeur of the setting, the Grade II-listed former Midland Bank, makes this place worth a punt. Apparently, the private dining room is decked out with the vault’s original, wall-to-wall safety deposit boxes – and when HSBC moved out of the building after 73 years they found over a million pounds’ worth of unclaimed treasures nestling inside. Jamie’s Italian, 100 King Street. 

Talk, talk, talk. God, the Whitworth’s boring. It’s not like it ever puts on any decent shows, or brings anyone interesting to Manchester, is it? Art lovers will have clocked  the irony in those last two lines; for anyone else, check the Whitworth’s ‘Tuesday Talks’ series, which brings Cornelia Parker and Georgina Starr to Manchester this month. Keep an eye out for future talks – the art-world’s finest are making a beeline for the Whitworth on an increasingly regular basis. Cornelia Parker, 7 February (11am), Georgina Starr, 14 February (11am), the Whitworth Art Gallery. Free (no booking required).

Scrub up. A box office smash premieres in Manchester. All New People is a ‘morbidly funny’ play written by and starring US actor Zach Braff. Cineastes will know Braff from his award-winning directorial debut Garden State; the less lofty (that’ll be us then) will recognise him as Dr. John Dorian from Scrubs. The play is Braff’s UK debut and comes first to Manchester after an acclaimed run on Broadway. The action centres on a band of misfits seeking solace in a beach house on Long Island. 8-11 February, Opera House, £12-£29.50.

Be sociable. Fancy combining the cultural and the social? Try the Whitworth’s Crafternoon Tea sessions (which combine craft workshops with a cuppa) or its Alternative Camera Club, a series of photo-related talks that ‘revel in images old and new’, led by the team at Blacklab. Crafternoon Tea, 15 & 18 February, 1pm-3pm, £5 (booking essential); Alternative Camera Club, 18 February, 11am-1pm, £5 (booking essential).

Art openings this month. February is always a bonus month for art lovers, and this year is no exception. Don’t miss the new show openings at the Whitworth (COTTON: Global Threads, from 11 Feb., and a new installation called The Devil’s Wall by Idris Khan, from 24 Feb), Cornerhouse (the UK debut by Samantha Donnelly, on now), Chinese Arts Centre (hyper-real fashion photography by Chen Man, from 10 Feb), Imperial War Museum North (kids’ fiction show Once Upon a Wartime, from 11 Feb), Manchester Art Gallery (sonic art installations by Turner Prize winner Mark Leckey, from 17 Feb) and The Lowry (dance photography by Chris Nash, from 11 Feb).

Let there be light. The Royal Exchange continues its run of new theatre with a play by the award-winning Starving Artists. Days of Light is set on a tropical island; the pin-sharp drama focuses on ex-pat Miss Pekoe, whose staid little world is about to go volcanic – literally (as the island’s volcano is about to blow) and metaphorically (as her son brings home a mysterious new man). Days of Light, 1-4 February, £10, the Studio, Royal Exchange Theatre.

Something new, something old. Manchester Histories Festival kicks off at the end of the month, a 10-day, city-wide celebration of Manchester’s rather illustrious past (honestly, the city’s history is on occasion mind-boggling; our recent feature on it gives a taste of what our forbears got up to). There is all sorts in the pipeline: comedy, film, museum sleepovers, football shenanigans, debates, bike rides, art shows… check the website for the (very full) programme. 24 February-4 March, venues across Manchester.

New film. Cornerhouse hosts exposures, the UK’s largest student film festival. Expect the usual mix of showcases by some of the country’s most up-and-coming filmmakers, as well as workshops and talks that anyone can pitch up to. If you fancy yourself the next Danny Boyle, put this on your February to-do list. Exposures, 21-23 February, Cornerhouse, times and prices vary.

Wash your mouth out. As Kate Feld reported in January, the city’s literature scene is very much live (and possibly kicking). This month’s Bad Language features a sociable mix of new and well-known writers hosted in the affable environs of the Castle Hotel. Guest of honour is Bookmunch editor Peter Wild. 29 February, The Castle Hotel, Oldham Street. Free. 

Walk on the wild side. We started with a plug and so we’ll finish with one. For our second Creative Tourist Boutique event, we’d like to invite you to come take the Hysterical Historical tour of Manchester. Part walk, part theatre, part tea-and-cakes and a 100% passionate tribute to the women who made Manchester, the tour is led by the redoubtable Audrey and Olivia, who take to the streets to meet notorious gossip Mrs Gaskell, challenge a contradictory Marie Stopes, and stage a protest with the Pankhursts. Taking in Manchester’s loveliest buildings, the afternoon tour concludes with tea at The Midland Hotel. Tickets are selling fast. Part of Manchester Histories Festival. 4 March, £15/£30.

Words: Susie Stubbs. Images (top to bottom): Aboubakar Fofana, Les Arbres à Bleu, part of COTTON: Global Threads at the Whitworth Art Gallery; Idris Khan, The Devil’s Wall, 2011. Courtesy of Victoria Miro Gallery, London and Yvon Lambert Gallery, New York; Yinka Shonibare, MBE, Boy on Globe 4, 2011 Mannequin, Dutch wax printed cotton textile and globe; still from exposures film festival 2012; Lip Service/Stephen Campbell.

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Dinner at a fancy restaurant? So unimaginative. With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, incurable romantics

1. Amélie at Cornerhouse

So it might be a cliché that French movies are romantic, but this one sure is. You’d have to have a heart of stone not to be smitten by Audrey Tautou’s heart-meltingly adorable Amélie, or won over by the quirky charms of this modern classic, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. You can take part in a discussion led by Isabelle Vanderschelden, Senior Lecturer Senior Lecturer in French at Manchester Metropolitan University, following the 15 February screening. Afterwards, treat your date to a crème brûlée and a glass of Prosecco for just £6.50 in the Cornerhouse Café Bar (show your Amelie ticket when ordering). How sweet.  Amélie, screening Sunday 12 February, 12:00 and Wednesday 15 February, 13:30, Cornerhouse, 70 Oxford Street, M1 5NH. £5.50.

2. Rainy City Roller Girls

You know those dates where you both sit gazing forlornly at your starter, trying desperately to think of something interesting to say? This won’t be one of those dates. Who could fail to bond watching the women of the city’s oldest roller derby squad take on the Central City Roller Girls? Roller Derby – a no-holds-barred game performed on skates, for the uninitiated – has found a new audience in recent years (thanks in part to Drew Barrymore’s film Whip It), and Manchester’s no stranger to the trend. Expect thrills, spills and plenty to talk about, starting with the squad’s game names, which include Nancy Ray-Gun and Whoops C. Daizee. Rainy City Roller Girls v. Central City Roller Girls, Saturday 11 Feburary, 5-8pm (first whistle 6pm), The Thunderdome, 1 King Street, Oldham OL8 1EU. £7, booking suggested.

3. Frog & Bucket

A good joke always breaks the ice, so why not let a professional do all the work for you? Set on the edge of the Northern Quarter, the Frog and Bucket was the site of some of Peter Kay’s first shows and has also played host to great alternative comics including Tim Key, Stewart Lee and Flight of the Conchords.  Monday’s popular ‘Beat the Frog’ night offers a chance to see up-and-coming acts for free, but be sure to come early. You don’t want to end up sitting at the front and having to spend your first date being picked on because of your droopy ears. Frog and Bucket, 96-102 Oldham Street, Manchester, M4 1LJ

4. Lyme Park

Just a short drive from Manchester, this Elizabethan stately home is probably best recognised as Pemberley from the BBC’s adaptation of Pride and Prejudice; home to the lake where Colin Firth re-enacted the first wet t-shirt competition of the Regency era. The lush grounds and walled gardens are ideal for getting-to-know-you walks, while a trek up to the hillside hunting tower rewards you with spectacular views of the estate. The house itself is equally impressive with a historic library, huge stone fireplaces and almost six hundred years’ worth of accumulated aristocratic knickknacks. There are some interactive exhibitions, too, including a box of period hats to try on – just make sure you don’t elbow any children out of the way to get to them. Lyme Park, Disley, Stockport, SK12 2NR

5. Ho’s Bakery

If you feel that flashing your cash is unseemly, or you just don’t have any to flash, then a trip to Ho’s could be the perfect low-key but memorable date. This authentic Chinese bakery stocks an array of delicious sweet and savoury pastries that launch a three-pronged assault on the nose, the tastebuds and the waistline. Pick out some miniature hot dog rolls and honey buns and wash them down with a bubble tea – choose the number of straws at your own discretion. Take your treats to the outdoor seating that overlooks the spectacular Chinatown arch. You’ll have taken your date to the other side of the world without breaking a tenner. Ho’s Bakery, 46 Faulkner Street, Manchester, M1 4FH

Image: Susie Stubbs.

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Samantha Donnelly: Contour States runs 28 January – 25 March at Cornerhouse, 70 Oxford Street, M1 5NH. Image: courtesy of Cornerhouse.

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What price progress? It may be the unanswerable question but it is one posed by this remarkable image – a still that shows the uncomfortable proximity of old and new, farmland and airport.

The airport in question is Narita in Japan, the country’s second largest. Today it is like any major airport: busy yet calmly efficient. But when plans for its construction on rural farmland were released in the 1960s, Narita was far from calm. Protests began that rumbled on for over a decade. Riots occurred, policemen died, burning cars and Molotov cocktails disrupted development. But it appears that you can’t stop progress and so it was with Narita. It opened in 1978, albeit with unprecedented levels of security. Today’s huge metal fences and guard towers are a reminder of a more violent time.

All of the farming families who worked this land were forcibly moved on. All except one. Today, despite constant pressure from the authorities, one family still lives at Narita; their farm at the end of the runway dwarfed by the airport on their doorstep, their conversations constantly interrupted by the overhead roar of planes.

So, what price progress then? The installation at the Whitworth Gallery from which this still is taken – a multimedia piece that combines film, sound art and scientific research – asks just that question, putting together a picture of what life must be like for the family at the end of the runway. As for the answer, well you’ll just have to work it out for yourself.

Air Pressure, the Whitworth Art Gallery, until 12 February. Free. Image: Air Pressure (2011), Rupert Cox & Angus Carlyle, courtesy the artists. Read Angus Carlyle’s blog about the project. Words: Susie Stubbs.

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Welcome to Creative Tourist Boutique, the events series brought to you by the team behind The Manchester Weekender. Looking for something to do in Manchester? Like the unusual, the off-beat, the downright quirky? Well, come join our club. Creative Tourist Boutique offers you occasional, one-off events — the walks, the tours, the music, artists and entrepreneurs, the cream teas and the after-hours — all the things, in fact, that we love best about art and culture in Manchester. Join our mailing list to be first in line when new details are released.

This March, Creative Tourist Boutique presents…The Hysterical Historical Tour

Join us on Sunday 4 March for a tour of Manchester unlike any other. Cult theatre company and comedy duo Lip Service are your guides on the Hysterical Historical Tour – an outdoor promenade that is part theatre, part walking tour, part tea-and-cakes and a 100% passionate tribute to the women who made Manchester.

Walk with the redoubtable Audrey and Olivia, stalwarts of the WI, as they take to the streets to meet notorious gossip Mrs Gaskell, challenge a rather contradictory Marie Stopes, and stage a protest with the ever radical Pankhursts. Nothing is sacred. Weaving in and out of some of Manchester’s loveliest buildings, the afternoon tour concludes with an elegant afternoon tea at The Midland Hotel in Audrey and Olivia’s exalted company.

Previous performances have (quite rightly) sold out so book now on this limited capacity tour.

There are two walks to choose from on Sunday 4 March: 11.15am or 2.15pm. Tours last around two hours (longer if you take tea at the Midland), and meet at the Royal Exchange Box Office, St. Ann’s Square. Both tours finish at The Midland Hotel.

Sunday 4 March, 11.15am (tour ends around 1.15pm, tea not included): £15

Sunday 4 March, 2.15pm (tour ends around 4.45pm and includes a posh afternoon tea at the Midland): £30

BOOK NOW FOR THIS UNIQUE WALKING TOUR OF THE CITY!

This event is one of the many highlights of the Manchester Histories Festival, a ten-day celebration of Manchester’s illustrious past. From football to Ford Madox Brown, cotton to comedy, this sprawling festival has something for everyone, from the history geek to the woman-on-the-street. Manchester’s past is what makes Manchester’s present — find out why this spring. Manchester Histories Festival, 24 February-4 March, various venues.

Be prepared. Please expect a fair bit of walking, steps, cobbles and rain, and please wear suitable clothing. We’re sorry but due to the historic nature of the buildings we visit, this tour is not suitable for buggies or wheelchair users. Commissioned by Creative Tourist. With thanks to The Royal Exchange, Waterstones, John Rylands Library, Manchester Town Hall and The Midland Hotel. Images: courtesy Lip Service and Stephen Campbell.

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Northwest artist Leo Fitzmaurice, who has exhibited extensively in Manchester, is a finalist for the high-profile Northern Art Prize. Kate Feld talks to the artist about his thoughtful and engaging work. Also, young people curate a new exhibition at Cornerhouse.

Prizes and competitions are part of the machinery that keeps the art industry running. Yes, some of the more cynical souls among us might whisper that they’re all marketing wheezes cooked up to get artists more exposure. To which we would reply: and what, exactly, is wrong with that? In our book, anything that gets good art to a bigger audience has a lot going for it. And anything that gets good Northern art to a bigger audience is more than all right by us.

In just five years the Northern Art Prize has clearly demonstrated the range and vitality of art from the North, and become something of a proving ground for edgy and intriguing artists. This year is no exception, with multimedia artist Liadin Cooke, Leo Fitzmaurice, abstract painter James Hugonin and Richard Rigg competing for the £16,500 top prize.

The sole Northwest finalist is Fitzmaurice, who lives in The Wirral but studied in Manchester and cut his teeth on the city’s art scene. He has a strong association with Castlefield Gallery, and also exhibited at CUBE last year. We’ve been fans of his work for ages here at Creative Tourist (we interviewed him in 2010, and wrote about him here ) He uses found and unlikely materials to create works that stretch our perception of the everyday, or provide an understated, wry comment on modern society. Discarded and sun-faded Coke cans ranged in a gradation of colour become suddenly interesting; flyers arranged in patterns turn litter into art. A series of playful photographs taken with his mobile phone demonstrate his keen sense for composition and also show that  art is more about who’s pressing the button than professional standard kit. For the Northern Art Prize Show, Fitzmaurice meticulously rehung 18^th and 19^th Century paintings from Leeds Art Gallery’s collection so their horizons line up perfectly, creating a landscape that never existed.

It’s actually Fitzmaurice’s third time being longlisted for the prize, and when he looked at the strength of this year’s longlist, he says, “I thought, there’s no way I’ll get through.” He may be admirably humble, but Fitzmaurice is a talented and hardworking artist who has steadily grown in stature over the last several years, and the publicity from making the shortlist and the prominent finalist’s exhibition in Leeds are most certainly raising his profile further . “I think a lot of people have seen (my work), so it’s one of those things that might have an effect in the future,” Fitzmaurice said. “It’s been good being involved in it.”

Our fingers are most definitely crossed for him as the winner is announced Wednesday. We think he has a pretty good shot at it. There’s a kind of quiet rightness about his work; it is both thoughtful and accessible, with an admirable lightness of touch. For instance, the mobile phone photographs of The Way Things Appear evolved, Fitzmaurice said, out of his work on the Detourist series (which we covered here) where he was manipulating bits of litter he found in the street. “When I did that I started seeing things better. As a part of what I was doing I started recording with my mobile phone camera, just to record my thinking, really,” he recalls. “Often these are the things you walk past and they register a few seconds later. I’m trying to capture that first glimpse.”

And now for a very different kind of first glimpse. If  you’re curious about the next generation of Northern Art Prize finalists (or judges), head to Cornerhouse for Lost is Found. The group exhibition shows work from Manchester and Liverpool artists curated by the city’s pioneering Creative Stars programme, a collaboration between Cornerhouse; music venue Band on the Wall; four city theatres and Unity Radio designed to help talented teenagers develop their creative skills. Standouts include Emily Speed, whose work (pictured left) investigates the role of buildings, photographer Jessa Fairbrother and sculpture from Andrea Booker.

Northern Art Prize exhibition, through 19 February, Leeds Art Gallery, The Headrow, Leeds LS1 3AA. The winner will be announced on 19 January. You can also vote for your favourite artist online at northernartprize.org.uk

Lost is Found, through 19 February, Cornerhouse, 70 Oxford Street, M1 5NH. Images: (From top) Leo Fitzmaurice at Northern Art Prize Exhibition, David Lindsay; from Post-match Exhibition, Leo Fitzmaurice; Emily Speed, egg, nest, home, country, universe from Lost is Found, from The Way Things Appear, Leo Fitzmaurice.

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After a soggy Christmas we’re all more than ready for a breath of fresh air. It has to stop raining sometime (doesn’t it?) and when it does you’ll be ready with this list of the best parks in Manchester for wintry days out from local writer and parks expert Kath Horwill.

1. Heaton Park. With its spectacular hilltop location four miles north of the city centre, Heaton Park (above) is an ideal place to work off your festive overindulgence. Steep paths mean that attempting even a gentle stroll can have you puffing for breath, but the payoff comes when you reach the top and take in the fantastic views. Two great playgrounds and an animal centre also make for an easy way to keep your kids occupied. With the hills, Heaton Park really comes into its own when the snow falls. And as it has its own Metrolink stop you can take your sledge on the tram.

2, Dunham Massey. For more genteel pursuits, your best bet is the picturesque National Trust estate at Dunham Massey (pictured below). The property boasts Britain’s largest winter garden, carefully planned for year-round interest. Subtle sights such as the pearly trunks of silver birches, ghostly skeletons of hydrangeas and dainty purple cyclamen, coupled with the scent of winter honeysuckle, make for a lovely stroll. If gardens aren’t your thing (or you don’t fancy paying to go in them) march off the mince pies with a bracing walk around the 300 acre deer park. Welly boots at the ready, now…

3. Wythenshawe Park. This is a place that can keep the whole family amused. A large playground and adjacent community farm will delight the young ones, whilst the safari walk and indoor gardens are ideal if the cold gets a bit too much. If you’re feeling exceptionally energetic, you can also play crazy golf, pitch-and-putt, and tennis here. Otherwise, just meander around the extensive meadows and woodland.

4. Bramall Hall and Park Heading further south to Stockport, Bramall Hall offers a lot in a fairly compact space. The black and white timber-framed hall is surrounded by hilly grounds and woodland. You can head down the bank towards the lake for some duck feeding, before crossing the bridge and exploring the woods and stream. If it starts to rain, shelter under the trees or, if you time it right, pay to take a guided tour of the historic hall. There are also tearooms and a toddler playground.

5. Tatton Park If you want a park you can spend a whole day at, Tatton in nearby Cheshire is hard to beat. There are 50 acres of gardens, stunning whatever the season, from the zen-like Japanese Garden to an African Hut and Show House (the latter handy if the heavens open). The mansion is also open for tours, while the farm is open at weekends. If you don’t fancy paying for all this (the mansion and gardens are free to National Trust members), let the kids loose on the adventure playground and then explore the thousand-acre park. Stick your wellies on and squelch your way through the mud and the orange leafy mulch on the Beech Walk – you may well see some deer and, if not, you’ll definitely get some lovely views across the mere.

And also bear in mind... The parks above are well known and popular places at weekends. If you’re still recovering from oversocialising at the holidays, or if you’re just one of those misanthropic types who likes your space, you might want to take a gander at Kath’s list of the best secret gardens in Manchester.

Kath Horwill writes about Manchester’s parks and gardens on the Parklover blog. Images:  Heaton Park, top, and Dunham Massey, Kath Horwill.

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No disrespect to the city’s worthy literary heritage, but the writers of the present could well be Manchester’s real claim to fame. All year round the city centre hosts a heady mix of poetry slams, storytelling nights, book launches, literary salons, open mike, one-off themed readings, and events that merge words and music. Kate Feld and Katie Moffat get an earful.

1. Bad Language

Run by a small collective of energetic young writers who also publish a series of anthologies, this monthly night seems to have filled the place vacated by The Deaf Institute’s popular there’s no point in not being friends, attracting a steady stream of willing readers across fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Why does it work? A great setting in The Castle Hotel’s atmospheric back room and a careful balance onstage between newcomers, regulars and talented headliners (this month it’s Manchester’s own Socrates Adams). Go early if you want a seat. The next Bad Language is on 25 January at 7:30pm at The Castle Hotel, 66 Oldham Street, Manchester M4 1LE. Free.

2. The International Anthony Burgess Foundation

Rather than existing as a quiet and scholarly memorial to the great man, the Burgess Centre aims to honour his spirit by opening its doors to a really engaging series of live literature events. It’s quickly become the go-to place in town for literary talks and panel discussions, book launches and workshops, holding them alongside events such as their upcoming A Clockwork Orange 50th anniversary programme, and doing duty as Manchester Literature Festival hub. All this and their cafe serves wonderful homemade food. We’re sure Anthony would approve. International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Chorlton Mill, 3 Cambridge Street M1 5BY

3. Manchester writing school events

The city writing schools attract heavy hitters, masters of the craft who typically read to packed houses. Literature Live is the events programme of the Centre for New Writing at Manchester University; it’s featured the likes of Hilary Mantel, Will Self and Neil Gaiman. On 27 January, five-time fringe-award winning poet Mark Gwynne Jones reads as part of the centre’s Beat The Rush Hour early evening series (5:30pm at the John Harris Studio Theatre, £5). Manchester Writing School at MMU also runs an excellent series of events, but their next one isn’t until March, when Jean Sprackland reads at The Royal Exchange Theatre.

4. Tales of Whatever

Live storytelling is hugely popular in the US, where nights like New York’s The Moth have revived interest in the most ancient art form in the world. Manchester now has its very own live storytelling night, Tales of Whatever, held on the second Wednesday of every month at The Castle. Still in its infancy, it has a rough-around-the-edges charm and a few simple rules: anyone can get up and tell a story but the story must be true, told without notes and be no longer than 10 minutes. So what’s your story? The next Tales of Whatever is on 11 January ,7.45pm at The Castle Hotel. Free. 

5. The Other Room

Experimental poetry is the focus of this regular reading night at The Old Abbey Inn, which celebrates its fourth birthday this spring. Like Bury’s Text Festival, it’s not a place to go looking for rhymes and iambic pentameter: avant garde is on the menu here, and it’s a friendly crowd that welcomes new faces and new readers. The Other Room’s website is also a great resource for news of small publishers and similarly-minded events in the area. The next The Other Room is next on Wednesday 29 February, 7pm. The Old Abbey Inn, 61 Pencroft Way, M15 6AY. Free, booking via Eventbrite.

Images: (from top) courtesy of Bad Language, courtesy of International Anthony Burgess Foundation. Creative Tourist’s top five lists (always given in no particular order) are our writers’ highly personal and opinionated selections. If you disagree, or feel we left something out, speak up in the comments.

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