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This month sees the opening of two long-awaited shows at Castlefield Gallery in Manchester. The Annotated Reader is a touring project by artist Ryan Gander and art critic Jonathan P Watts described as an ‘exhibition-as-publication and publication-as-exhibition’, featuring a vast body of life-changing texts selected by nearly 300 leading artists, thinkers and creatives. Showing alongside, The Naming of Things – a group show curated by Bryony Dawson – asks, if language were unhooked from the task of conveying ‘truth’ or accuracy, could it carve out a more generous space, that actively invites fluid, speculative and multiple perspectives?
Over in Liverpool, Bluecoat presents Practice Makes Perfect – an urgent new body of work by artist Rosa-Johan Uddoh that examines the impact of the new National Curriculum that was launched in schools in England in 2014. Emphasising a nationalistic celebration of ‘Our Island Story’ and removing any explicit focus on racial or ethnic diversity from this, what impact does this have on children’s sense of what it means to be British or how the country was forged? Uddoh’s work is paired with A Look Inside – the first major solo exhibition of work by award-winning American artist Deborah Roberts to be presented in the UK, challenging notions of the body, beauty, race and identity.
Dubbed one of the country’s greenest cities, whilst also bearing the nickname of ‘steel’, Sheffield reflects on its long history of working with the natural environment and the impact that the landscape has had on its development in Earthbound – an exhibition of stand-out contemporary works by artists including Etel Adnan, Mirosław Bałka, Phyllida Barlow, Theaster Gates and Richard Long from the Roberts Institute of Art (RIA) and Sheffield Museums collections.
Lastly, PINK Manchester presents a new body of work by Pippa Eason exploring the impact of early childhood memories on personality. Shaped by her own anecdotes and those of others, Funny, blurry and everything hazy is a whimsical, jubilant and highly sensory investigation into the nature of memory, brimming with colour and a sense of playful delight.
Here are our picks
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1. The Annotated Reader & The Naming of Things at Castlefield Gallery in Manchester
Image courtesy Chris Scott. The Annotated Reader at Castlefield Gallery, Castlefield, Until 3 October 2021, free entry - Visit now
Castlefield Gallery presents two exhibitions that provide inspiration through words and investigate the slippery, fluid nature of language.
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2. Rosa-Johan Uddoh: Practice Makes Perfect at the Bluecoat in Liverpool
Rosa-Johan Uddoh: Practice Makes Perfect at Bluecoat, City Centre, 15 October 2021–23 January 2022, free entry - Find Out More
Rosa-Johan Uddoh’s exhibition ‘Practice Makes Perfect’ at the Bluecoat responds to the lack of Black British history taught in schools.
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3. Deborah Roberts: A Look Inside at the Bluecoat, Liverpool
Deborah Roberts, 'Let them be Children' Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London. Private Collection. Deborah Roberts: A Look Inside at Bluecoat, City Centre, 15 October 2021–23 January 2022, free entry - Find Out More
The first major UK solo exhibition of work by award-winning artist Deborah Roberts challenges notions of the body, beauty, race and identity.
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4. Earthbound: Contemporary Landscape from the Roberts Institute of Art at Millennium Gallery, Sheffield
Yto Barrada, Wallpaper - Tangier, 2001. Courtesy the Roberts Institute of Art and the David and Indrė Roberts Collection. ©Yto Barrada Earthbound: Contemporary Landscape from the Roberts Institute of Art at Millennium Gallery, City Centre, Until 31 October 2021, free entry - Visit now
Featuring work by numerous contemporary artists, Earthbound explores how Sheffield has been shaped by the landscape it exists within.
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5. Pippa Eason: Funny, blurry and everything hazy at PINK Manchester
Funny, blurry and everything hazy, Pippa Eason, detail, 2021. Image courtesy of the artist Funny, blurry and everything hazy at PINK Manchester, City Centre, Until 3 October 2021, free entry - Visit now
Investigating the role of early memories, ‘Funny, blurry and everything hazy’ at PINK Manchester is filled with a sense of childhood delight.
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6. British Textile Biennial 2021 – across Pennine Lancashire
Reetu Sattar, Queen Street Mill, British Textile Biennia. Photo by Richard Tymon British Textile Biennial at Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, Blackburn, 1–31 October 2021, free entry - Find Out More
This year’s British Textiles Biennial has an impressive list of headliners, including Maxine Peake, Lubaina Himid and fashion designer Patrick Grant.
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7. Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2021 at Victoria Baths in Manchester
Keeley Traae Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, 8–10 October 2021, free entry - Find Out More
Head along for this annual, award-winning showcase of over 150 specially selected designer-makers and craft artists, this year presented in the iconic new setting of Victoria Baths.
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8. Annie Morris: When A Happy Thing Falls at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Annie Morris studio portrait, 2021. Photo © Idris Khan When A Happy Thing Falls at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, Until 6 February 2022, free entry - Visit now
Step into a dense forest of luminous, towering sculptures by Annie Morris that reflect the fragility of life, as well as hope and creativity.
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9. Emily Speed: Flatland at Tate Liverpool
Emily Speed, Flatland, 2021 Flatland at Tate Liverpool, Waterfront, 25 September 2021–2 January 2022, free entry - Find Out More
Emily Speed’s new film uses set design, choreography and costume to depict flattened hierarchies and close-knit community structures.
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10. At Home with the Pankhurst Family at the Pankhurst Centre
Courtesy of the Pankhurst Centre At Home with the Pankhurst Family at The Pankhurst Centre, Manchester and online, Until 29 August 2024, free entry - Visit now
The Pankhurst Centre’s new permanent exhibition offers an intimate snapshot of the lives of the people behind the iconic Pankhurst name.
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11. Counter-flow exhibition & ‘Identity Feet’ family-friendly creative workshops at People’s History Museum
© Eva Mileusnic Counter-flow at People’s History Museum, City Centre, Until 10 October 2021 - Book now
Explore themes of identity and migration, and partake in a series of family-friendly creative workshops taking place throughout the summer, at People’s History Museum.
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12. Art at Manchester International Festival 2021
Art has always been at the beating heart of Manchester International Festival and this year is no different.
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13. David Nash: Return to the Forest at Grizedale Sculpture in Cumbria
David Nash, Running Table, Grizedale, 2021 David Nash: Return to the Forest at Grizedale Sculpture at Grizedale Forest, Cumbria, Until 12 December 2021, free entry - Visit now
Return to the Forest captures a seminal moment in the development of one of Britain’s most important contemporary sculptors.
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14. Rachel Kneebone: 399 Days at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Rachel Kneebone 399 Days (detail) 2012-13. Photo Stephen White courtesy White Cube Rachel Kneebone: 399 Days at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, Until 24 April 2022, free entry - Visit now
Encounter artist Rachel Kneebone’s most ambitious sculpture to date, presented in the unique setting of YSP’s 18th-century chapel.
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15. Refloresta! Maria Nepomuceno at The Portico Library in Manchester
Andrew Brooks Refloresta! Maria Nepomuceno at The Portico Library at The Portico Library, Chinatown, Until 22 November 2021, free entry - Visit now
The Portico Library presents an installation of immersive sculptural and textile works by world-renowned Brazilian artist Maria Nepomuceno.
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16. Lucian Freud: Real Lives at Tate Liverpool
Lucian Freud, Girl with a White Dog 1950-1 © Tate Lucian Freud: Real Lives at Tate Liverpool, Waterfront, Until 16 January 2022, from £5 - Book now
Tate Liverpool presents the first major display of portraits by Lucian Freud in the North West in over 30 years.
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17. Tarek Lakhrissi: My Immortal at MOSTYN in Llandudno, Wales
Tarek Lakhrissi, My Immortal, 2020 Tarek Lakhrissi: My Immortal at MOSTYN in Llandudno, Wales, Llandudno, Until 26 September 2021, free entry - Visit now
Artist Tarek Lakhrissi presents a nuanced examination of community and how it can exist as a paradoxical space of solace and tension.
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18. Sir Antony Gormley: Field for the British Isles at Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Sunderland
Antony Gormley Sir Antony Gormley: Field for the British Isles at Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Sunderland, Until 25 September 2021, free entry - Visit now
A 40,000 strong army descends on Sunderland; catch Sir Antony Gormley’s iconic Field for the British Isles at NGCA.
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19. You Belong Here: Artists Rediscovering Salford’s Green Spaces at Salford Museum & Art Gallery
Lizzie King (work in progress) You Belong Here: Artists Rediscovering Salford’s Green Spaces at Salford Museum and Art Gallery, Manchester, Until 28 November 2021, free entry - Visit now
Salford Museum & Art Gallery presents an exhibition that highlights the city’s green spaces and the stories that they tell.
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20. Tai Shani: The Neon Hieroglyph – Online with Manchester International Festival Virtual Factory
Tai Shani, The Neon Hieroglyph (still), 2021 Tai Shani: The Neon Hieroglyph – Online with Manchester International Festival Virtual Factory, online, Until 31 March 2022, free entry - Visit now
Turner Prize winning artist Tai Shani takes us on an LSD-inspired hallucinatory journey across time and space. Prepare to have your consciousness expanded.
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21. Silence – Alone in a World of Wounds at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
© Silence - Alone In A World Of Wounds, 2021. Courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park & The Oak Project. Photo © Jonty Wilde Silence – Alone in a World of Wounds at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, Until 5 June 2023 - Book now
Stop and spend an hour or two with this special creation, nestled within a stand of birch trees beside Yorkshire Sculpture Park’s Upper Lake.
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22. Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life at The Hepworth Wakefield
Hepworth carving in the Palais de Danse, 1961. © Bowness, Hepworth Estate Photo: Rosemary Mathews Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life at The Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield, Until 27 February 2022 - Book now
The Hepworth Wakefield celebrates its 10th birthday with the largest exhibition of Barbara Hepworth’s work since the artist’s death in 1975.
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23. AI: More than Human at World Museum Liverpool
Lawrence Lek 2065 (Preview). Courtesy the artist and Sadie Coles HQ, London AI: More than Human at World Museum Liverpool, City Centre, Until 31 October 2021, from £5 - Book now
Barbican’s major exhibition, AI: More than Human, comes to Liverpool, offering a tantlising look into the future.
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24. Sutapa Biswas: Lumen at BALTIC, Gateshead
Sutapa Biswas, Light Rain , 2015 (production still). Made possible thanks to the generous support of Beppu Projects, Agency for Cultural Affairs Government of Japan, the Kashima Residency 2015. © Sutapa Biswas. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2021 Sutapa Biswas: Lumen at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Newcastle, Until 20 March 2022, free entry - Visit now
Sutapa Biswas’ major solo show explores the artist’s role in illuminating the imperialist structures that still exist within British society.
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