Culture Guides
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Have you ever visited an exhibition that also offers introductory wrestling workshops? If not, that’s all the more reason to head over to Site Gallery in Sheffield where Welsh artist Phoebe Davies’ first solo exhibition, Points of Rupture, explores how contact sports such as boxing and rugby can serve as sites of compassion, tenderness, touch and connection.
Over in Leeds, The High Dam at The Tetley explores the sense of ‘inherited nostalgia’ artist Emii Alrai feels for a place she has never visited before, as a result of growing up in Scotland as part of an Iraqi family. The show features a series of ‘invented artefacts’ of the Middle East presented in a display vessel based on the ‘demon lures’ used in Ancient Akkadian gravesites to trap and distract demons from pillaging graves, and spans outward into an incisive critique of western appropriation of cultural objects, artefact and language.
Another strong female solo show also opens at Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool. Amy Romer’s photographic series The Dark Figure* confronts visitors with the pervasive though often overlooked presence of modern slavery in the UK, revealing the issue to extend far beyond nail bars, carwash forecourts and factory floors, into residential settings and potentially even neighbouring homes.
Back in Manchester, Other Transmissions: Conversations with Outsider Art at the Whitworth explores the theme of ‘Outsider Art’ from the perspective of six learning disabled and non-learning disabled artists, raising a series of thought-provoking questions around labeling, categorisation and the power dynamics of the art world. And lastly, Mark Making at Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre offers a focused look at one of the most primary and universal building blocks of visual art, drawing upon example from around the world and opening up fascinating new perspectives on humanity’s innate drive to leave its mark.
Here are our picks
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1. Phoebe Davies: Points of Rupture at Site Gallery in Sheffield
Spiral Holds # 2 Phoebe Davies. Phoebe Davies: Points of Rupture at Site Gallery in Sheffield, City Centre, 20 February–17 May 2020, free entry - Find Out More
For her first solo exhibition, Welsh artist Phoebe Davies presents a new body of work inspired by her time spent with a group of teenage female wrestlers training in a local club on the outskirts of Oslo.
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2. Emii Alrai: The High Dam at The Tetley in Leeds
House of Teeming Cattle, 2019 Two Queens Leicester. Photo Jules Lister Emii Alrai: The High Dam at The Tetley, Until 10 May 2020, free entry - Visit now
Combining demon lures and invented artefacts, ancient mythology and family lore, The High Dam at The Tetley in Leeds is the latest new work by upcoming artist Emii Alrai.
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3. Amy Romer: The Dark Figure* at Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool
Image: Peckford Place, Brixton, Lambeth, London. TQ 312 760. From the series The Dark Figure* by Amy Romer The Dark Figure* at Open Eye Gallery, Waterfront, 20 February–22 March 2020, free entry - Find Out More
The Dark Figure* at Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool confronts us with the pervasive though often overlooked presence of modern slavery in the UK.
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4. Other Transmissions: Conversations with Outsider Art at The Whitworth
Other Transmissions: Conversations with Outsider Art at The Whitworth, Manchester, Until 14 June 2020, free entry - Visit now
A new exhibition at the Whitworth in Manchester explores the theme of ‘Outsider Art’ from the perspective of six learning disabled and non-learning disabled artists.
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5. Mark Making at Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre
Mark Making at Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre, Manchester, Until 2 May 2020, free entry - Visit now
Mark Making at Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre opens up fascinating new perspectives on humanity’s innate drive to leave its mark.
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6. Visual Rights at Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool
Restricted Zone: Temple Mount. Hagit Keysar, Barak Brinker, Animation by Moshe Zilbernagel Visual Rights at Open Eye Gallery, Waterfront, Until 22 March 2020, free entry - Visit now
What does power look like? Six artists from Palestine, Israel, and the UK offer their own answers in ‘Visual Rights’ at Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool.
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7. Richard Bartle: Nomadic Tales at Millennium Gallery, Sheffield
© Richard Bartle Richard Bartle: Nomadic Tales at Millennium Gallery, City Centre, Until 13 April 2020, free entry - Visit now
Richard Bartle: Nomadic Tales at Millennium Gallery in Sheffield explores the modern-day city of Istanbul, viewed through a series of 14th-century miniature illustrations.
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8. Suzanne Lacy: We Are Here at Manchester Art Gallery and the Whitworth
Suzanne Lacy: We Are Here is also on show at the Whitworth. It was co-organised by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA), San Francisco. Suzanne Lacy: We Are Here at Manchester Art Gallery, Chinatown, 27 March–23 August 2020, free entry - Find Out More
Suzanne Lacy: We Are Here marks the only UK stop of a major touring retrospective dedicated to the American feminist artist.
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9. Syd Shelton: Rock Against Racism at Gallery Oldham
Specials Fans. Potternewton Park, Leeds, 1981. Courtesy of the artist and Autograph, London Rock Against Racism at Gallery Oldham, Manchester, 14 March–30 May 2020, free entry - Find Out More
Gallery Oldham presents a nationally touring exhibition of photographs by Yorkshire-born Syd Shelton capturing the legendary Rock Against Racism movement.
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10. People Play by Alice Irwin at The Piece Hall in Halifax
People Play by Alice Irwin at The Piece Hall, 28 February–1 June 2020, free entry - Find Out More
Alice Irwin’s giant sculptures at The Piece Hall embody a spirit of play, early innocence and imagination. Yet, People Play also has a more serious side.
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11. New Digital Experiences at People’s History Museum
Image © People’s History Museum New digital experiences for 2020 at People’s History Museum, City Centre, Until 23 December 2020, free entry - Visit now
Can cutting-edge tech bring us closer to the events of the past? People’s History Museum unveils a series of digital experiences that shine a light on key moments in the history of democracy.
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12. Joana Vasconcelos at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Joana Vasconcelos, Pop Gallo, 2016. Courtesy Lui's Vasconcelo / Unidade Infinita Projectos and YSP Joana Vasconcelos at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, 7 March 2020–3 January 2021, free entry - Find Out More
Yorkshire Sculpture Park presents the monumental work of celebrated Portuguese sculptor Joana Vasconcelos.
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13. Yelena Popova: The Scholar Stones Project at The Holden Gallery
Yelena Popova, Keepsafe (detail), 2019 Yelena Popova, The Scholar Stones Project at The Holden Gallery, Manchester, Until 27 March 2020, free entry - Visit now
After growing up in the closed city of Ozyorsk – the birthplace of the Soviet nuclear weapons programme – Yelena Popova’s work reflects a fascination with nuclear history.
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14. Utopias at the Whitworth
Gilbert & George, Race Hate (2011) Utopias at The Whitworth, Manchester, Until 31 October 2020, free entry - Visit now
How have visions of utopia and the visual culture that helped form it impacted upon the Brexit debate? A new exhibition at the Whitworth explores.
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15. Ho Tzu Nyen: The Critical Dictionary of Southeast Asia Volume 10: N for Nameless at CFCCA
Ho Tzu Nyen, The Critical Dictionary of South-East Asia: The Nameless film still (2014). Image courtesy of the artist. Ho Tzu Nyen: The Critical Dictionary of Southeast Asia Volume 10: N for Nameless at Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art, Manchester, Until 12 April 2020, free entry - Visit now
CFCCA presents Singapore artist Ho Tzu Nyen’s alternative ‘A to Z’ account of Southeast Asia, focusing on the region’s neglected histories.
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16. Theaster Gates: Amalgam at Tate Liverpool
Still from the film Dance of Malaga, 2019. © Theaster Gates and courtesy of the artist. Photo: Chris Strong Theaster Gates: Amalgam at Tate Liverpool, Waterfront, Until 4 May 2020, from £8.5 - Book now
Marking his UK debut, Theaster Gates responds to the little-known history of Malaga – a small island off the north east state of Maine, USA.
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17. Vivian Suter at Tate Liverpool
Vivian Suter, Nisyros (Vivian’s bed) 2016–17 © Courtesy of the artist and Karma International, Zurich and Los Angeles; Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels; House of Gaga, Mexico City; and Proyectos Ultravioleta, Guatemala City Vivian Suter at Tate Liverpool, Waterfront, Until 16 March 2020, free entry - Visit now
Drenched in the rich beauty of the Guatemalan rainforest, Tate Liverpool presents the first UK solo exhibition of work by the Swiss-Argentinian artist, Vivian Suter.
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18. Thumbs Up at Castlefield Gallery
Frances Disley, Tripleflex, 2019, Performed at Bluecoat as part of LEAP Dance festival, Image_ George Ellis Thumbs Up at Castlefield Gallery, Castlefield, Until 28 March 2020, free entry - Visit now
Castlefield Gallery’s current exhibition explores how the conditions of the gallery space affect our encounter with art. It certainly gets a thumbs up from us!
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19. Use Hearing Protection: The Early Years of Factory Records at the Science and Industry Museum
Use Hearing Protection: The Early Years of Factory Records at Science and Industry Museum, Castlefield, 3 July 2020–10 January 2021, from £5 - Book now
Use Hearing Protection tells the story of Factory Records’ formative years from 1978-1982, when the label made waves with its innovative work in music, technology and design.
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20. Edward Allington : Things Unsaid at the Henry Moore Institute
Edward Allington, Things Unsaid, 1990, pen, ink and emulsion on ledger paper. Courtesy Leeds Museums & Galleries (Leeds Art Gallery) Edward Allington: Things Unsaid at The Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, Leeds, Until 23 February 2020, free entry - Visit now
An artist who believed that we often know more than can be spoken, Edward Allington’s restaging at the Henry Moore Institute offers a poetic response to the complexity of the world.
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21. Judy Chicago at BALTIC, Gateshead
Judy Chicago Purple Poem for Miami, 2019 Fireworks performance © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Photo © Donald Woodman/ARS, New York -
22. Alexis Teplin: It’s My Pleasure to Participate at Bluecoat
Arch (The Politics of Fragmentation), 20th Sydney Biennale, The Future is Already Here, It’s Just Not Evenly Distributed, -
23. you feel me_ at FACT, Liverpool
Anna Bunting-Branch, Warm Worlds and Otherwise. Installation view at Wysing Arts Centre, 2019 (c) Wilf Speller -
24. A Healthy Profit at Quarry Bank
Paul Harris A Healthy Profit Exhibition at Quarry Bank, Cheshire, Until 19 April 2020, free entry - Visit now
A Healthy Profit at Quarry Bank offers an important look at one chapter in the continuing story of capitalism’s impact on the human body.
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25. Joy Labinjo: Our histories cling to us at BALTIC, Gateshead
Joy Labinjo , Bride - to - be, 2019. Courtesy the artist and Tiwani Contemporary
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