Exhibitions in the North

Maja Lorkowska, Exhibitions Editor

This month’s exhibitions picks offer close encounters, whether it’s with the artist’s innermost thoughts or the material qualities of their work.

In Yorkshire, William Kentridge: The Pull of Gravity is the legendary artist’s new exhibition of (mostly) sculpture that cannot be missed. It’s big and bold while offering lots of space for reflection. 

In Merseyside, Ellie Hoskins’ charcoal drawings capture the awkwardness of small talk and the longing for a deeper connection. Coupled with being an homage to Caravaggio, this show is truly one of a kind. Drawing pops up again at Bridewell Studios in the Drawing (Paper) Show ‘25, a delightful, something-for-everyone display of over 50 artists’ work from around the world.

In Manchester, texture presents Duel, a show made all the more memorable for its minimalism, while in Leeds, Adorned examines the lasting allure of gold.

Our top picks

William Kentridge: The Pull of Gravity at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

William Kentridge: The Pull of Gravity at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Yorkshire, Until 19 April 2026, From £0.00 - Book now

William Kentridge’s new solo exhibition at YSP showcases rarely seen part of his practice – sculpture.

In a dimly lit gallery, three visitors observe large screens displaying monochrome animated figures. Two people sit on wooden benches, while a third stands, all captivated by the striking visuals. Studio lights illuminate the scene.
William Kentridge, More Sweetly Play the Dance, 2015, © William Kentridge. Courtesy the artist, Goodman Gallery, Galleria Lia Rumma and Hauser & Wirth, Photo © Jonty Wilde, courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Duel – Lily Bunney + Rachel Clancy at texture

Duel – Lily Bunney + Rachel Clancy at texture mcr, Manchester, Until 9 August 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Duel at Texture pairs painters Lily Bunney and Rachel Clancy in a minimalist show that invites quiet reflection.

Photo by Maja Lorkowska-Callaghan

Ellie Hoskins: what we talk about when we don’t know what to talk about at Bridge Cottage

Ellie Hoskins: what we talk about when we don’t know what to talk about at Bridge Cottage, Liverpool, Until 14 September 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Ellie Hoskins’ drawings at Bridge Cottage blend dark humour and raw honesty in charcoal scenes.

Ellie Hoskins : What we talk about when we don’t know what to talk about, Bridge Cottage, Port Sunlight. Credit: Benjamin Nuttall

Drawing (Paper) Show ‘25 at Bridewell Studios and Gallery

Drawing (Paper) Show ‘25 at Bridewell Studios, Liverpool, Until 31 July 2025, Free entry - Visit now

The Drawing (Paper) Show at  showcases the diverse power of drawing in a celebration of this indispensable artistic practice.

Lucy Wilson - Drawing of an unknown sitter
Lucy Wilson

The Art Court: Adorned at Eye Room

Adorned, Until 30 August 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Adorned brings the striking works of Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva and Lorna Johnson into the surprising surroundings of one of Leeds’ independent opticians.

Artwork by Lorna Johnson that shows a lack and white photo of a rock containing fools gold, this has been drawn on with an elaborate net of gold pen that covers all contours of the rock.
Image supplied by Leeds Inspired

The Songs The Morning Sang at the Portico Library

The Songs The Morning Sang at The Portico Library, Manchester, Until 27 September 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Blending poetry, photography and the quiet wonder of early mornings, the collaboration between Ian McMillan and Andrew Brooks invites us to see the everyday as extraordinary.

Two birds sit on a telegraph wire against a blue sky
Andrew Brooks/ Ian McMillan

Caroline Walker: Mothering at The Hepworth Wakefield

Caroline Walker: Mothering at The Hepworth Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Until 26 October 2025, From £11.00 - Book now

Tender, vibrant and utterly captivating – Caroline Walker pays homage to mothers and women who care for children, in every capacity.

A painting called Daphne, 2021, by Carolien Walker. The painting features Caroline’s own daughter as a toddler.
Caroline Walker, Daphne, 2021. © Caroline Walker. Courtesy the artist; Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York; GRIMM, Amsterdam / New York / London; and Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh

Wild Uplands at Penistone Hill Country Park

Wild Uplands at Penistone Hill Country Park, Bradford, Until 12 October 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Four newly commissioned large scale public artworks can be found at Penistone Hill this summer as part of Bradford City of Culture 2025.

Wild Uplands at Penistone Country Park
Courtesy of Bradford 2025 - UK City of Culture. Image credit: Nida-Mozuraite.

Independents Biennial 2025

Independents Biennial, Until 7 September 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Large art festivals may be getting a little out of hand with the amount of exhibitions hosted in one go, but we’re not complaining. Wherever you are in Merseyside, you’ll find some art that’s part of this year’s Independents Biennial.

Amy Flynn, 'Technofossils'

Stockroom

Stockroom, Stockroom Merseyway Shopping Centre , Stockport, SK1 1PR - Visit now

Stockport’s newest cultural spot has a large library, IT facilities, an event space with a regular programme and a place for children to learn and play too. There’s quite literally something for everyone.

A projected image of the Stockroom.
Stockroom Stockport

Visual Arts at MIF25

From indigenous wisdom in paint and performance to immersive sound installations, MIF25 returns with a unique visual arts programme.

FaleSaSacred House
FAFSWAG

MIF25: Football City, Art United. at Aviva Studios

Football City, Art United. at Aviva Studios, Manchester, Until 24 August 2025, From £0.00 - Book now

Artists and footballers come together in ‘Football City Art United’, a MIF25 exhibition that showcases the best of both worlds.

Multiple floating footballs inside a green room with white goalpost markings on the walls. The perspective and reflections create an illusion of depth, making it appear as if the balls are suspended in mid-air.
Factory International

Liverpool Biennial 2025 – BEDROCK

Liverpool Biennial 2025, Until 14 September 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Liverpool is ablaze with art – visit exhibitions, take part in talks, workshops, tours and performances as part of the Biennial, with thought-provoking offerings inspired by the theme of ‘BEDROCK’. 

Katarzyna Perlak, Broken Hearts Hotel, 2021. Photography by Hicham Gardaf
Hicham Gardaf

PINK

PINK, Hilton House, Lord Street, Stockport , Greater Manchester, SK1 3NA - Visit now

PINK is a true grassroots art organisation, dedicated to collaboration, artistic experimentation and genuine creative exchange.

View of PINK meeting area and exhibition space, with a table, chairs and white walls
Credit: Ella Wheatley (2024)

BD Walls in Bradford

BD Walls, Until 31 December 2025, Free entry - Visit now

An outdoor exhibition which will be evolving over the whole year. Watch as Bradford is transformed by some of the best international voices in contemporary street art.

BD Walls
Courtesy of Bradford 2025 - UK City of Culture. Image credit: David Lindsay

ORIGIN at Dunham Massey

ORIGIN at Dunham Massey at Dunham Massey, Manchester, Until 2 November 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Art, wellbeing and nature’s cycles combine in this immersive experience by A Right/Left Project, inspired by Dunham Massey’s gardens.

Experience a unique deep listening art installation inviting audiences to lay down and be bathed in sound and light.
© Stephen Dobbie

YOU:MATTER at National Science and Media Museum

YOU:MATTER at National Science and Media Museum, Bradford, Until 22 February 2026, From £2.00 - Book now

Everything is connected but we rarely get a chance to really see it – YOU:MATTER is a spectacular audio-visual experience that explores our place in the universe and the invisible links between us and the cosmos.

Małgorzata Mirga-Tas at the Whitworth

Małgorzata Mirga-Tas at The Whitworth, Manchester, Until 7 September 2025, Free entry - Visit now

The celebrated Polish-Roma artist Małgorzata Mirga-Tas sews together vibrant, patterned fabrics to create images of Roma life – previously on show at Tate St Ives, this is an unmissable display.

A painted and collaged artwork, showing three women standing together one holds a baby, they are all wearing clothes made from bright or patterned fabrics.
Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, Trzy Gracje / The Three Graces 2021. Presented to Tate by the artist in 2022. Photo Marek Gardulski. © Małgorzata Mirga-Ta

Laura Ellen Bacon: Into Being at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Laura Ellen Bacon: Into Being at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Yorkshire, Until 7 September 2025, From £0.00 - Book now

Laura Ellen Bacon’s nest-like sculptures challenge traditional assumptions about craft, its scale and potential. The artist draws in space using willow weaving, to create organic, flowing forms.

Laura Ellen Bacon, Into Being, 2025. Photo © India Hobson, courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Laura Ellen Bacon, Into Being, 2025. Photo © India Hobson, courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Energy House 2.0: Mishka Henner and Emily Speed at Castlefield Gallery

Energy House 2.0: Mishka Henner and Emily Speed at Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, Until 20 July 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Following an 18-month artists residency at a Salford University’s environmental research facility, Mishka Henner and Emily Speed present their new work at Castlefield Gallery.

A woman lies on the floor under a structure made of white arches
Emily Speed, Rooms Designed for a Woman (film still), 2017. Commissioned by Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Image courtesy of the artist

Commons at SODA

Commons at SODA at School of Digital Arts (SODA), Manchester, Until 14 August 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Throughout spring and summer, Abandon Normal Devices brings us ‘Commons’, a new a programme of openly accessible, interactive events led by digital artists, from immersive games to new ways of sharing knowledge.

Commons at SODA
Keiken, at Amos Rex, photo by Niclas Warius

JMW Turner: In Light and Shade at the Whitworth

JMW Turner: In Light and Shade at The Whitworth, Manchester, Until 2 November 2025, Free entry - Visit now

The Whitworth celebrates the 250th anniversary of Turner’s birth with a new exhibition showcasing 71 prints alongside painted works, showcasing a different side to one of the best known landscape artists.

A stormy landscape scene, in watercolour, painting by JMW Turner
JMW Turner, Storm in the Pass of St. Gotthard, Switzerland, 1845. JMW Turner © the Whitworth, The University of Manchester.

The Boy with a Leg Named Brian: Memoirs by Pete McKee at Weston Park Museum

The Boy with a Leg Named Brian: Memoirs by Pete McKee at Weston Park Museum, Sheffield, Until 2 November 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Pete McKee is a much loved artist and cartoonist born and working in Sheffield. Don’t miss his colourful show at the Weston Park Museum – a walk down memory lane, capturing precious moments and cultural events from the 70s and 80s.

A painting of a young child being bathed in a sink of a 197s style kitchen. Around the sink are a rubber duck, a bottle of  washing up liquid, a jug, a kettle and a mug.
Pete McKee, Bath Time © Pete McKee

Bees: A Story of Survival at World Museum Liverpool

Bees: A Story of Survival at World Museum Liverpool, Liverpool, Until 28 September 2025, From £0.00 - Book now

Take a closer look at the lives of bees and their vital role in human existence, in this immersive exhibition created in partnership with artist Wolfgang Buttress.

Bees: A Story of Survival at World Museum Liverpool
© Photo by Pete Carr - Render by Battlecat and Wolfgang Buttress Studios

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