Curtain Up at Lowry

When we head to the theatre, the cinema or a concert hall, there is an unspoken understanding that we’re there for more than just the main attraction. We’re there to gather together, to feel together, to laugh together and even dance together. A new exhibition at Lowry explores this allure of group communion through the work of visual artists whose work captures the heightened energy and shared anticipation of being part of an audience.

Curtain Up pays homage to 25 years of audiences assembling at Lowry, where up to 1,000,000 people come together to see performances and exhibitions each year. The exhibition features a number of specially commissioned major new works, including Ulla von Brandenburg’s towering site-specific Spirits are Matter, a hand-painted stage curtain that provides a physical and metaphorical threshold to welcome visitors.

Multi-media artist Simeon Barclay, recently shortlisted for the 2026 Turner Prize, is represented here by his works Look No Hands and A Track With No Name. Drawing on his experiences of the British underground jazz dance scene and wider club culture, Barclay’s work channels the energy and improvisation of these spaces, while hinting at the hierarchies and social codes that shape them.

Manchester-based moving image artist Chris Paul Daniels has scoured the North West Film Archive for his new film Give Yourself a Round of Applause, which combines rarely-seen footage from amateur stage shows stretching back as far as the late 1920s. Also reaching into the past, Rowland Hill’s largest ever audio-visual installation Carousel is inspired by the gathering at the 805-year old Loughborough Fair. Intriguingly presented in the round, the artwork is the result of Hill’s decade-plus long documentation of the event.

Zoe Watson, Contemporary Curator at Lowry, says: “The dynamic of congregating and witnessing something collectively is a powerful stimulant that enriches any creative experience.”

The exhibition takes us through a dizzying variety of such creative experiences, considering three key elements: space, event, and audience. The importance of architecture is stressed by multidisciplinary artist Bridget Smith’s work examining the visual language of the cinema, and Abigail Reynold’s collages centred on the Minack Theatre, an iconic clifftop amphitheatre overlooking the Cornish coastline.

Ryan Mosley depicts actors and dancers at work on stage, and painters Denzil Forrester and Joy Labinjo use their medium to remind us of the euphoric power of live music and night clubs. Curtain Up runs until 21 June 2026, and within that run, look out for guided tours and artist talks if you’d like more insight into the art on display.