Exhibitions in Manchester and the North

Viviane Sassen: Hot Mirror at The Hepworth Wakefield, 22 June–7 October 2018, free entry - Visit now

Renowned fashion photographer and contemporary visual artist, Viviane Sassen’s upcoming exhibition Hot Mirror at the Hepworth promises to be one of the absolute highlights of this year’s cultural calendar.

OPAVIVARA! Utupya at Tate Liverpool, Waterfront, 27 April–24 June 2018, free entry - Find Out More

Take a precarious seat in a giant hammock-cum-social-network, surrounded by rattles; or cool your rattled temperament with a medicinal brew at OPAVIVARÁ!: Utupya, Tate Liverpool.

Material Environments at The Tetley, 4 May–8 July 2018, free entry - Find Out More

If cold, clinical, ‘do not touch’ type exhibitions are not your thing, then Material Environments at The Tetley is for you.

The National Festival of Making 2018 at Blackburn Town Hall, Blackburn, 12–13 May 2018, free entry - Find Out More

The practical act of DIY, hands-on making is full of benefits, and rapidly becoming a growing trend. Head to The National Festival of Making in Blackburn to unlock your hidden talents and discover your untapped creative potential.

Common Ground at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, 5 May–2 September 2018, free entry - Find Out More

What if trees could talk? Common Ground at YSP looks back over 35 years of radical and vital work by the grassroots arts and environmental charity.

Leeds International Festival at Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds, 28 April–12 May 2018, from £00.00 - Find Out More

Leeds International Festival, the UK’s leading metropolitan festival of new ideas and innovation, is back for its second year, this time featuring more than 50 events and 40 speakers over 15 days.

Oh, it is easy to be clever if one does not know all these questions at Castlefield Gallery, Castlefield, 18 May–1 July 2018, free entry - Find Out More

With a mouthful of a title, Castlefield Gallery’s upcoming exhibition – Oh, it is easy to be clever if one does not know all these questions – initiates a conversation between early career artists in Manchester and Prague.

Digital Natives at 34 Boar Lane, Leeds, Leeds, 28 April–1 May 2018, free entry - Find Out More

Part of Leeds International Festival 2018, Digital Natives is a unique exploration into the way in which indigenous communities in north east Brazil have been using digital technology to fight prejudice, lobby for rights, increase cultural visibility and provide a means of creative expression.

Astronaut wanted, no experience necessary at Salem Chapel, Leeds, Leeds, 5 May 2018, from £12.00 - Find Out More

Helen Sharman CMG OBE shares her experiences of being the first Briton to travel into space, aged 27, and Bas Lansdorp sets out Mars Ones’ plans to settle the first human colony on Mars in 2032. Part of ‘Astronaut wanted, no experience necessary’ at Leeds International Festival 2018.

Sonia Boyce at Manchester Art Gallery, Chinatown, 23 March–22 July 2018, free entry - Visit now

Manchester Art Gallery presents the first retrospective of work by British artist Sonia Boyce, looking back over her celebrated 30 year-long-career.

Liverpool Biennial 2018, 14 July–28 October 2018, free entry - Find Out More

The 10th edition of the UK’s largest festival of international contemporary art, Liverpool Biennial 2018 (14 July – 28 October), is drawing ever closer, and the newly announced programme suggests there’ll be little to disappoint.

Chiharu Shiota: Beyond Time at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, 30 March–2 September 2018, free entry - Visit now

Renowned for her monumental installations using thread, which completely takeover whatever space they inhabit, experience the immersive work of Japanese born artist Chiharu Shiota at Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Lakes Ignite 2018 at Rheged Centre, Cumbria, 10 January–31 July 2018, free entry - Visit now

A giant, fluorescent pink and orange striped inflatable, a shoal of Ice Age fish, and a VR encounter with the depths of the earth; six contemporary artists explore the less commonly-observed wonders of the Lake District.

The Game: 30 years through the lens of Stuart Roy Clarke at National Football Museum, Cathedral Quarter, 23 March 2018–17 March 2019, free entry - Visit now

Since 1989, photographer Stuart Roy Clarke has been on a mission of epic proportions. Its goal: to capture the very heart, soul, sweat and tears of British football.