The Whitworth's Pub Crawl: Full Event Listings

Susie Stubbs

Full listings for the Whitworth’s art-inspired, four month-long pub crawl.

Launch party, 31 January

Join us to celebrate the launch of the full Whitworth Pub Crawl programme. Get a taste of what’s to come with Manchester’s finest ethio-trad, folk-hop band, Honeyfeet. Performing against a backdrop of specially curated works from the gallery’s collection and playing new music inspired by key works. First Chop Brewery, Friday 31 January, 7.30pm

Sew Social, 15 February

Join Creative Rusholme for a sociable, textiles-based workshop inspired by the Whitworth’s world textiles collection. The Anchor, Moss Lane East, Saturday 15 February, 1pm-3pm

Sketch Kitchen, 16 February

Eat, drink and draw for an afternoon. Inspired by the Whitworth’s incredible collection of wallpaper, make your wallpaper masterpiece – by using pens, pencils, spilt soup and broken biscuits. A band of illustrators and artists led by Stephen C Nuttall will be on hand to inspire you with both accidental mark-making and expert design. Soup Kitchen, Spear Street, Sunday 16 February, 12pm-5pm

Knitronica, 23 February

Artists Sam Meech, Marie Young and Iris Cooper lead this textiles experiment, which uses live music, sampled sound and, yes, knitting machines. Together, they’ve created a “band” made up of a Tenori-on, a MacBook, a hacked knitting machine and other music-making devices. Sit back, listen and watch as music, art and knitting come together. Big Hands, Oxford Road, 23 February, 1pm

This & That Photo Workshop, 8 March

TENT hosts a participatory workshop with renowned practitioner, writer, photographer, curator and all-round cultural force, Jason Evans. Jason’s practice includes work for i-D, Arena Homme+ and Pop, he has exhibited at Tate Britain and founded online project The Daily Nice; this workshop riffs directly from the Whitworth’s collection and is your chance to create new images and edit archive material to create an original, collaborative work of art. Ultimate Holding Company, Greengate, Saturday 8 March, 11am-5pm. Limited places, booking essential.

This & That Photography Projections, 8 March

Join TENT and Jason Evans as they preview the new work that has been created during the day’s workshop (above). The Eagle Inn, Collier Street, Saturday 8 March, 5pm

Whitworth Pub Quiz, 18 March

An offbeat, art-inspired pub quiz that takes the Whitworth’s collection as its starting point, but which also rambles through an array of topics including music, fashion, TV, elicit love affairs and dead poets. Prizes include a behind the scene tours of the newly extended (and not yet open) gallery. Port Street Beer House, Tuesday 18 March, 7pm

No Man Has The Right To Own Mountains, 23 March

Industry. Nature. Physical experience. Heritage. The now. Join artists Hannah and Amy Buckley as they explore these themes through live performance and visual art in collaboration with folk singer Jennifer Reid. Peveril of the Peak, Great Bridgewater Street, Sunday 23 March, 3pm

Life Drawing, 6 April

This is life drawing – but not as you know it. Artist Sarah Sanders leads an experimental life drawing session inspired by key works from the Whitworth’s collection. Britons Protection, Great Bridgewater Street, Sunday 6 April, 12.30pm. Limited places, booking essential.

Hey! & Honeyfeet Knees Up, 27 April

Hosted by members of Manchester’s finest ethio-trad, folk-hop and barrelhouse-pop exponents, Honeyfeet, this session is an opportunity to flex your vocal muscles – while enjoying a Sunday afternoon pint. The band responds to A Rake’s Progress, Hogarth’s series of paintings which form part of the Whitworth’s collection, with a selection of specially written folk songs. Your job is to form their impromptu backing choir, and make this interactive gig one to remember. Special guests from Manchester’s music scene will also make an appearance, with Stefan Melbourne, plus Rik Warren, Ellis Davies and Ríoghnach Connolly from Honeyfeet among them. Jolly Angler, Ducie Street, Sunday 27 April, 2pm. 

Poetry & A Pint, every other Friday

A muse, a ruse, a contemplation, a chance to breathe: our poetry and a pint sessions are a chance to unwind, share, laugh and learn. Hosted by Tony Curry, performance poet. Ford Madox Brown, Oxford Road, every other Friday, 1pm, 14 & 28 March; 11 & 25 April. Limited places, booking essential.

WEA Creative Courses

The Workers’ Educational Association (WEA) is delighted to deliver three creative courses as part of Whitworth Art Gallery’s fabulous Pub Crawl events:

Master Mix: textile printing course, 6-27 February

This course is about printmaking and textile crafts such as graffiti spraying, mostly on fabrics. Starting with the old tradition of Indian wooden block printing on calico, give new life to old T-shirts with a taste of painterly screen printing. Moving on to explore linocut, a traditional form of relief block printing, we will design motifs and create surface pattern repeats that will be printed onto paper and fabrics such as a bandana or neckerchief. The Anchor, Moss Lane East, Thursdays 6-27 February (four weeks), 1.45pm-5pm. £20.15 or free if on work-related benefits. Limited places, booking essential.

Body Politic: digital photography course, 6 March-3 April

Spend five weeks behind the lens of a digital camera or iPad. Explore notions of “self” through portraits of your body/life/love/environment. You’ll also be encouraged to attend MMU’s Monday evening public lectures on Body Images. The Anchor, Moss Lane East, Thursdays 6 March-3 April (five weeks), 2pm-5pm. Digital cameras and iPads will be provided for those who do not have their own equipment. £23.25 or free if on work-related benefits. Limited places, booking essential.

Public House: creative writing course, 24 April-22 May

A former pub is bought by the parishioners of a church to provide a coffee shop and safe haven for locals… there’s got to be a story in there somewhere! Writer and tutor, Carmen Walton, will take you through a five-week course of creative writing that will look at turning something old into something new, and uses the story of a revamped building as the basis for poems and stories. The Anchor, Moss Lane East, Thursdays 24 April-22 May (five weeks), 2pm-5pm. £23.25 or free if on work-related benefits. Limited places, booking essential.

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