Cultureometer

Kate Feld

Kate Feld, author of the Manchizzle (described by The Guardian as ‘the pick of Manchester culture and hub of blogging goodness’), rounds up this month’s happenings in the blogosphere.

July is all about the Manchester International Festival, which has bloggers in a (mostly) very happy whirl. And the #MIF09 hashtag is getting quite a workout on Twitter, evidence that the Northwest’s social media culterati are out there enjoying Manchester’s golden month in the national spotlight.

It’s no surprise that Kraftwerk’s festival opener drew the tech hordes in force. Writer Adrian Slatcher has recapped it on The Art of Fiction. Musician Adrian Stevenson also has a review, “Die Manchester-Maschine” up on his site The Ring Modulator, while Tim Difford was there taking pictures.

Curious about Marina Abramovic’s four-hour performance art experience? Check out Santiago’s Dead Wasp, where poet Matt Dalby gives a full account. And I, of course, couldn’t help but add my own two-penneth worth, with a review of the Anthony and The Johnsons/Manchester Camerata gig on Manchizzle.

Marina Abramovic presents

Journalist David Quinn published this early review of It Felt Like a Kiss on his blog Words Dept., and there’s another over on Electric Roulette. Journalist Sarah Hartley approved of the big love shown for the chip (and other Northern Surrealist foodstuffs) in Jeremy Deller’s Procession on Life Through Food.

Text poet and Bury Art Gallery curator Tony Trehy has a review of the Piotr Anderszewski Bach piano concert in Zaha Hadid’s scupltural space in Manchester Art Gallery. And there’s a day-by-day selection of the freesheet’s MIF coverage on the Metro Manchester Life blog.

Phew. Now we’re exhausted. Please, Mr. Poots, we can’t take any more.

Image courtesy Manchester International Festival/Joel Chester-Fildes

Image by Jonathan Schofield.
Spotlight on

Walking Tours in Manchester by Jonathan Schofield

Presenting the best walking tours in Manchester for history buffs, culture enthusiasts, and those looking to scratch beneath the surface of the city.

Take me there

Culture Guides

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Eclectic as ever. You'll find inventive reworkings, world-class contemporary dance and Greater Manchester's inaugural Improv Festival in our guide.

Image by Jonathan Schofield.
Tours and Activities in the North

We've got many a good time in store this month as we round up the best walking tours, cultural classes and makers markets in the land.

portrait of Lorsung in a dark shirt with dark hair and dark round glasses
Literature Events in the North

We've got laughs and we've got leftfield on the live literature radar this month. Something for everyone, from poets playing with form to short story writers looking long.

Sextile
Music in the North

Open air clubs, new festivals and long-awaited gigs. The North West's live music scene is heating up this spring. 

Classical Music in the North

Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.

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

Willow weaving, textile collages, digital arts and ecology - all this and more in our exhibition top picks this month

Three men sit next to each other. One's head is bandaged, one holds a torch and one wears a sleepmask.
Cinema in the North

Live scores, midnight movies and the latest from Wes Anderson are just some of our upcoming film highlights.