Unnatural Borders at MediaCityUK

Polly Checkland Harding

Visit now

Unnatural Borders

20-29 May 2017

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

Bear.
Book now

How do you bring four endangered animals to the largest media hub in Europe for public viewing? A polar bear, whale, red squirrel and bee, for instance? Not, as it turns out, by turning MediaCityUK into an ice flow, and the Manchester Ship Canal into a giant tank. No: instead, Quays Culture have commissioned multi-disciplinary creative production company Sober Industries to create four huge sculptures, bringing these animals to what was once an industrial dock in a humane way.

Which is really the point of Unnatural Borders: the sculptures, which will tower above audiences on four large plinths, are all about raising awareness about the impact of human civilisation on the animal kingdom. They are also – in typical Quays Culture style – sculptures that transform after dark: at 9pm each day during the run, when the sun has set, the giant polar bear, whale, red squirrel and bee will be illuminated with stunning visual projections. Visit Unnatural Borders for free and, as the earth turns away from the sun, watch four majestic, endangered creates come to life.

Where to go near Unnatural Borders at MediaCityUK

squipsoup commission at mediacity create festival salford
Manchester
Event venue
MediaCityUK Piazza

Open air square – notably not a Public Square  – owned by Peel Holdings who are the developers behind the Media CityUK project as a whole. It’s a fairly large…

Ice Rink
Manchester
MCUK Ice Rink
at Media City

Embrace that most Christmassy of activities and get your skates on outside of the chaotic city centre this winter. The Ice Rink at Media City will be serving festive fun till January 5th.

Manchester
Shop
Booths Media City

The Booths branch at Media City, Salford Quays is much appreciated by TV, radio and media executives who work in the area.

Salford
Uswim
at Salford Quays

Jump into waters of dock 9 at Salford Quays with Uswim, they bring the benefits and freedom of open water swimming to the convenience of a central location.

The Quays
Restaurant
The Alchemist Mediacity

The latest offering from the UK-conquering Alchemist has an energetic vibe similar to others in this highly-regarded chain of restaurants.

Manchester
Shopping Centre
Lowry Outlet Mall

The Lowry Outlet Mall in The Quays district of Manchester sits opposite both The Lowry and MediaCityUK, Europe’s largest media hub and the home of BBC North.

What's on: Exhibitions

I Am The Fly by Georgie Edwards.
Until
ExhibitionsCity Centre
I Am The Fly at The Refuge

This free exhibition brings 1980s posters that survived against the odds, from when Manchester was becoming a global music city.

Free entry
Until
ExhibitionsManchester
ADORN at Waterside

12 contemporary jewellers show new work across metal and glass, as part of Manchester’s very first Jewellery Week.

Free entry

Culture Guides

Exhibitions

Summer isn’t usually a high point in the exhibitions calendar, but Greater Manchester’s small galleries seem to have made a pact to change that this year.

Food and Drink in the North

Squeeze the most out of these final weeks of summer thanks to our mid-August guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.

Woodhill by LUNG Theatre.
Theatre

Contemporary performance, verbatim theatre, dark comedy and a bold vision of Gaza - an eclectic mix for the start of autumn.

Matt Spratt.
Music

Aphex Twin-endorsed electronica, an eight-hour organ marathon and the most exciting band in Ireland's current folk revival all feature this month.

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.