MINDSCAPES

Kristy Stott, Theatre Editor

Visit now

MINDSCAPES

19 April-16 May 2021

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

Mindscapes: Soundpaths
Image courtesy of Brighter Sound /SICK! Festival.
Book now

Created by SICK! Festival, MINDSCAPES is a collection of five inspirational brand-new artworks and online events happening in Manchester for free this spring.

With an exciting year-round programme of activity, SICK! Festival makes just the kind of art we crave: challenging, entertaining and always looking to change the world for the better. Working with marginalised communities, SICK! aims to tackle those subjects which are often kept hidden from public view and debate. Produced by SICK!, MINDSCAPES is the result of an exciting two-year collaboration between artists in Manchester and The Netherlands who have been working creatively with people from local communities in Manchester.

Brand-new artworks and online events happening in Manchester for free this spring.

For MINDSCAPES,  artworks will be popping up around the city – you’ll find them in public spaces like parks and Metrolink stations and also online. Perfectly accessible for everyone to enjoy and talk about, the works are set to explore how the spaces around us – the city, our neighbourhoods and our homes – affect our mental health and the way we navigate through our lives. For the last 12 months, we’ve all spent a lot more time at home – anchored to our local area – due to the coronavirus pandemic and current travel restrictions. MINDSCAPES cleverly taps into this shared human experience to open up an important conversation around mental health and the places we inhabit.

Opening up an important conversation around mental health and the places we inhabit.

Featuring a varied programme, MINDSCAPES will bring public artwork, digital games, poetry on the streets and an interactive phone app.

In addition to the five new commissions, there will also be online talks, discussions and film screenings exploring the MINDSCAPES project and its central themes around mental health and where we live.

Accessibility

  • British Sign Language
  • Captioned

Where to go near MINDSCAPES

Penistone Hill Country Park
Bradford
Park
Penistone Hill Country Park

As part of Bradford 2025’s UK City of Culture programme, Penistone Hill plays host to outdoor events that celebrate the enduring connection between landscape, identity and creativity.

Threshold is an artist-led project space for sculpture, located in the front garden of a traditional back-to-back house in Burley, Leeds. Exhibitions are open for all to view. Encounter sculpture on your daily walk, or way to work or school.
Leeds
Event venue
Threshold Leeds

Threshold is an artist-led project space for sculpture, located in the front garden of a traditional back-to-back house in Burley, Leeds.

The Engine Room Notice Board
Southport
Event venue
The Engine Room

The Engine Room is a creative community hub in Southport’s Wayfarers Arcade, offering co-working space, cultural events and collaborative opportunities for artists, freelancers and educators.

Leeds
Gallery
The Mill Gallery

The Mill Gallery is an artist-run space in Leeds, supporting emerging artists to develop and showcase their work authentically.

Church congregation at St George's Church in Leeds
Leeds
Place of worship
St George’s Church

St George’s is a lively city centre church in Leeds with three services every Sunday and a midweek programme that includes groups, courses and events. We’re here to help people

Picante
Liverpool
Restaurant
Picante

Picante is a sun-soaked Mexican restaurant at the trailblazing Cains Brewery Village in Liverpool.

Miru Mill
Manchester
Event venue
Miru Mill

Miru Mill is an event space and micro-factory based at Churchgate Mill in Stockport.

Spa
iglu sauna

An authentic and affordable sauna and cold plunge experience in Hebden Bridge, in a beautiful outdoor setting amongst the trees.

What's on: Festivals

Three men sit next to each other. One's head is bandaged, one holds a torch and one wears a sleepmask.
Until
CinemaManchester
Wes World at HOME

Take a trip back into the world of Wes Anderson this May as HOME present a series of the acclaimed auteur’s most beloved films alongside The Phoenician Scheme.

From £7.95
Four young female dancers in folk costumes, one looking at the camera
ActivityCathedral Quarter
Góbéfest

Góbéfest, Manchester’s original international urban folk music and dance festival, is back with a killer line up and the best of Central Europe.

Free entry
The Herds, The Walk Productions
FestivalsManchester
MIF25: THE HERDS

Manchester International Festival 2025 kicks off with an awe-inspiring outdoor spectacle as THE HERDS take to the streets of Manchester, Rochdale, and Wigan.

Free entry
FestivalsCity Centre
MIF25: Festival Square

Festival Square is the beating heart of Manchester International Festival 2025, returning to its riverside location once again.

Free entry

Culture Guides

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.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Experimental performance, thought-provoking new writing and our picks of Manchester International Festival - here’s what’s taking centre stage this summer.

Isabel Galleymore in conversation
Literature Events in the North

There's a lot of experimentation going on in our Literature guide, from poets playing with form to short story writers looking long.

Music in the North

Gigs are coming in hot this spring – from long-awaited returns to one-off happenings you’ll blink and miss if you're not careful.

Experience a unique deep listening art installation inviting audiences to lay down and be bathed in sound and light.
Exhibitions in the North

From city-wide art festivals to open-air sculptural installations, we have exhibitions from all around the North, both indoors and out.