Abandon Normal Devices

Polly Checkland Harding

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Abandon Normal Devices

Grizedale Forest, Cumbria

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Photo of children sitting on tree stumps wearing headgear
Image courtesy of Abandon Normal Devices.
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Abandon Normal Devices – “a dynamic festival of ground-breaking art, digital culture and new cinema” – is the UK’s only roaming digital festival, taking place at a different location every two years. It attracts internationally-renowned artists to work in collaboration with academics and anarchists on innovative new projects.

Where to go near Abandon Normal Devices

Brantwood, image courtesy of venue
Cumbria
Museum
Brantwood

The Lake District home of the radical social and cultural thinker, John Ruskin.

Cumbria
Gallery
Grizedale Arts

Grizedale Arts continues to explore the role of art in society from its award winning eco-base near Coniston.

Cumbria
Museum
Hill Top

Beatrix Potter bought Hill Top in 1905 with the proceeds from her first book.

LawsonParkFarm, courtesy of venue
Cumbria
Bed & Breakfast
Lawson Park Farm Cottage

Award-winning self-catering holiday accommodation that is not only beautiful but also supports the pioneering work of Grizedale Arts.

Cumbria
Museum
The Ruskin Museum

The Ruskin Museum tells the story of Coniston in Cumbria – a place of copper mines and slate quarries, Swallows & Amazons country where Beatrix Potter owned farms and Stone Age fell walkers once dwelled.

Cumbria
Restaurant
Gilpin Spice

Gilpin Spice is the two AA Rosettes Asian restaurant at the stunning Gilpin Hotel in the Lake District.

Cumbria
Bar or Pub
Baha

Baha is a stylish upmarket restaurant with a Pacific Rim-inspired menu, based in Bowness-In-Windermere in the Lake District.

What's on: Exhibitions

Until
ExhibitionsManchester
Peripheries at 1853 Studios

Eight artists explore violence, migration and shifting ideas of what it means to exist on the margins in this new group show at 1853 Studios.

Free entry
Brettel Blue
Until
ExhibitionsManchester
Black Country Type II at The Modernist

The Black Country. Not always the first place people associate with colour, design and typography – but Tom Hicks has spent years looking closely enough to challenge that.

Free entry
Jen Orpin - A Very 70's Summer. Oil on cradled panel
ExhibitionsManchester
10 x 10 at Saul Hay Gallery

Saul Hay celebrates its 10th anniversary with an exhibition that gives 100 artists just 10 centimetres to work with.

Free entry
Until
ExhibitionsMediaCityUK
Curtain Up at Lowry

Lowry presents an exhibition on group communion, featuring artists who capture the energy and anticipation of live audiences.

A poster by city of making showing images from the University of Salford Archive's
Until
ExhibitionsSalford
City Of Making at The New Adelphi

Creativity, making and innovation have long shaped Salford. City of Making traces that legacy from industrial roots to today’s artists, designers and creative technologists.

Free entry

Culture Guides

Hofesh Shechter - Theatre of Dreams at Lowry
Theatre

Dark comedy, visceral dance theatre, Fringe hits and open-air performances on a railway viaduct - try something new this season.

Exhibitions

From post-it-sized art to commissions that fill entire gallery walls, five exhibitions ask what the overlooked reveals.

Mermaid Chunky by Simon Pizzey.
Music

From manifesto-wielding DJs to bands blurring gigs with performance art, our music guide is newly stocked with artists who see live music as a place for risk.

Food and Drink in the North

It’s the early-May edition of the Food and Drink Guide and here's where to eat and drink while living out your warm-weather dreams.

Emily Lloyd-Saini as Grace in Space and Harrie Hayes as Lieutenant Strong in Horrible Science
Family things to do in the North

Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Cinema in the North

There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.