Polly Checkland Harding

A festival that showcases the lone performer – & puts you at the mercy of the artists. “You can trust me” – it’s a statement and a promise. The words...

We take a look at the nominees for Manchester Theatre Awards 2014. The judges of Manchester Theatre Awards are faced with something of a conundrum. Evaluating the respective merits of...

Are you an art, music or theatre writer, someone who knows about the underground culture of the place they live? Are you a travel writer? Are you serious about writing?...

Hey! Manchester’s creator, Chris Horkan, tells us about the business of booking gigs – from tracking down new bands to the tension of watching their debut. Want to know a...

Three stages, over 30 performances and a plug from Maxine Peake – it could only be BBC 6Music’s new festival. If you tuned into to 6Music this week, you may...

A group exhibition at Liverpool’s Bluecoat boldly goes where few have gone before: the ‘edge lands’ around Britain’s motorway network. “Soft estate” is the Highway Agency’s term for the organic...

Sound recorder Chris Watson brings his immersive audio map of Sheffield to the Millennium Gallery. It may not be a world in a grain of sand, but the Millennium Gallery’s...

Independent Venue Week unfolds across the north at the end of the month – it’s a chance to catch bands before the hype. Have you ever seen a band before...

Axisweb, the online contemporary art resource, selects the North’s most promising new artists. Desolate playing fields, junk-filled underpasses, isolated ditches and broken fences: these are the things that fascinate artist...

For the third piece in our new series, we look at one shot from the portfolio of Australian-born photographer, Geoff Brokate. This image, part of a series called Close to...

At 23 years old, online artist directory Axisweb comes of age with a redesign of its virtual showcase. If you were looking for an artist who specialises in, say, video...

Selfridges Festival of Imagination shines a welcome, creative light during the darkest months. Festivals these days are ten a penny. Everywhere has one. Everyone is doing one, has been to...