MIF17: What Is the City but the People? in Piccadilly Gardens

Polly Checkland Harding

Visit now

MIF17: What Is the City but the People?

Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester
29 June 2017

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

Webb Aviation
Book now

The opening event of MIF17, Artistic Director John McGrath’s debut festival, will be a unique portrait of the people of Manchester. Conceived by artist Jeremy Deller, What Is the City but the People? will see residents parading on a specially designed walkway stretching more than 100 metres across Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens to live music from Graham Massey, assisted by an unexpected mix of local musicians. Capturing the city through its outfits and attitudes, audiences of What Is the City – both in-person and online – will be treated to a varied performance, including high-fashion statements and moments of deep intimacy.

What's on at Piccadilly Gardens

Rock and Goal
Until
ActivityManchester
Rock and Goal Tour

Join Joe Feeley a Mancunian through and through, who guides you into Manchester’s two pillars of cultural excellence with his Rock and Goal tour.

From £9.99

Where to go near MIF17: What Is the City but the People? in Piccadilly Gardens

ABode Manchester
Manchester
Hotel
ABode Manchester

ABode Manchester is a boutique hotel. With a signature restaurant and bar. Conveniently situated Near Piccadilly Station.

Manchester
Restaurant
Niwa Yakitori

Charcoal grill yakitori supper club held in a beautiful Tokyo-style backstreet cafe in the North Quarter.

Brownsfield Mill building in Manchester
Manchester
Tourist Attraction
Brownsfield Mill

Now a Grade-II listed building, Brownsfield Mill in Manchester was constructed in 1825 as a power mill, and later housed the A.V. Roe and Company aviation factory. The former mill forms part of the Piccadilly Basin and is to undergo refurbishment for potential use as flats or office space.

Roby 1844
Manchester
Bar or Pub
Roby 1844

Roby 1844 is a new canalside terrace bar and restaurant based on Aytoun Street in the heart of Manchester.

Bundobust Manchester
Manchester
Restaurant
Bundobust Manchester

Head to Bundobust Manchester for fantastic and endlessly original Indian street food, all vegetarian (and often vegan).

Manchester
Bar or Pub
Kampus

Kampus is a multi-purpose destination, offering accommodation, places to socialise, eat and drink and a whole lot more.

Manchester
Restaurant
Tariff & Dale

Tariff & Dale is a bar and kitchen in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, taking its name from its location on the corners of both Tariff Street and Dale Street.

Beatnikz Republic
Manchester
Restaurant
Beatnikz Republic

Beatnikz Republic Brewing Company is a microbrewery based in Manchester which has focused on innovative and high-quality beer since 2017.

Asap Coffee Interior/ Counter
Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
ASAP Coffee

If you’re looking for quality coffee and a decadent brunch in a setting that nails the Northern Quarter brief, you’d struggle to do better than ASAP Coffee.

Manchester
Restaurant
Store Street Exchange

Large open plan restaurant on the ground floor of DoubleTree by Hilton, near Manchester Piccadilly. The food is high quality, with a variety of menus, including a la carte and afternoon tea.

What's on: Exhibitions

Until
Exhibitions
The Vessel at PINK

Chris Thompson transforms PINK into an uncanny, interactive cabinet of obsessions, inviting visitors to uncover its shifting, unstable narratives.

Free entry
Until
ExhibitionsCity Centre
Just Browsing at the Bluecoat

Please DO touch – Bluecoat’s new exhibition ‘Just Browsing’ allows audiences to get closer to the artworks and engage beyond looking.

Free entry

Culture Guides

Music in the North

Manchester’s starting the new year with a run of gigs from some of the country’s best underground exports.

Textured portrait image of Jarman
Theatre in the North

Theatre across the North West splits between festive escape and sharp, urgent work exploring politics, power and resistance.

Food and Drink in the North

Hear ye, hear ye. Take some eating-out tips from our wintertime guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.

A doll with makeup peeks out of a hanging wall of butter yellow fabric. Red and black threads descend and cascade around the doll.
Exhibitions in the North

This season, exhibitions across the North West feel attuned to the world beneath the world – the forces and stories shaping how we see, feel and imagine.

A performer in a bright red costume sits on a snowy stage set, holding a large snowball between their legs with a surprised expression. The colourful winter backdrop features snowflakes, hills, a snowman, and a traffic light with glowing lights.
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.