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It might be hard to believe it’s already June, but instead of looking at the calendar in fear, let’s make the most of early summer! You won’t struggle for ideas with this month’s selection of new exhibitions.
Described as a ‘once-in-a-generation’ exhibition, the Tudors have finally made an appearance up North at Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery, in the summer blockbuster The Tudors: Passion, Power and Politics. Expect the most famous monarchs’ portraits alongside some incredible objects, including what is possibly the only known surviving example of Elizabeth I’s clothing.
While we can’t guarantee good weather, we can certainly suggest some top picks that combine art with the outdoors so that you can have the best of both worlds. Yorkshire Sculpture Park is hosting an exhibition of drawings by Jaume Plensa – an artist well-known and loved for his public sculptures all over the world. Afterwards, you can visit the park grounds to seek out Plensa’s sculpture ‘in the wild’.
The Windermere Jetty Museum is hosting not one, but two shows this summer, if being in near the beautiful Windermere wasn’t enough to convince us to visit. Barbara Nicholls’ monumental watercolours explore the ways that pigments interact with water on a large scale, while Dovetailing is an exhibition born out of a collaboration between a sculptor, composer and film-maker, inspired by the art of luthiery.
Gathering Downstream is an exhibition of five videos by artist Jen Southern at National Trust’s Quarry Bank exploring environmental change and disruption as well as the legacy of the industrial revolution. The specially commissioned display takes inspiration from the flow of water, particularly the local River Bollin which lies at the heart of the estate.
BALTIC Contemporary Art Centre is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, with the Vasseur Artists’ Award – an exhibition of the winners’ work ranging from explorations of magic and ancient cultures, social projects focused on the climate and rural landscapes, to politically-charged installations.
If you’re in the mood for contemporary painting, the Walker is also hosting Refractive Pool: Contemporary Painting in Liverpool. A survey of the local painting scene, the show includes the work of 21 painters of different ages, styles and artistic concerns. If you’re expecting a room full of two-dimensional work on stretched canvas, Refractive Pool proves that painting still has the capacity to surprise and fascinate.
Here are our picks
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1. The Tudors: Passion, Power and Politics at Walker Art Gallery
Queen Elizabeth I by Unknown English artist, circa 1588 (c) National Portrait Gallery, London The Tudors: Passion, Power and Politics at Walker Art Gallery, City Centre, Until 29 August 2022, from £6.00 - Book now
The Tudors are sure to draw a crowd just as they have done for centuries – don’t miss this excellent display of portraiture, artefacts and lesser-known aspects of the Tudor reign.
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2. Jaume Plensa: In small places, close to home at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Jaume Plensa Jaume Plensa: In small places, close to home at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, Until 30 October 2022, free entry - Visit now
The much-loved sculptor’s drawings are on display in the Weston Gallery and Chapel, revealing Plensa’s preoccupation with the human condition and community.
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3. Barbara Nicholls’ watercolours and ‘Dovetailing’ at Windermere Jetty Museum
'Subsidence' by Barbara Nicholls. Image courtesy Turnpike CIC_Photo Livia Lazar Barbara Nicholls' watercolours and 'Dovetailing' at Windermere Jetty Museum at Windermere Jetty Museum of Boats, Steam and Stories, Cumbria, Until 4 September 2022, from £4.50 - Book now
Admire the lake as well as the art at Windermere Jetty Museum this summer, with two gorgeous exhibitions: watercolours from artist Barbara Nicholls; and an immersive, collaborative installation developed remotely during lockdown.
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4. Gathering Downstream at Quarry Bank
Jen Southern Gathering Downstream at Quarry Bank, Cheshire, Until 25 November 2022, free entry - Visit now
The former cotton mill is currently home to an exhibition by artist Jen Southern, exploring the site’s legacy of the industrial revolution and environmental change.
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5. The Vasseur BALTIC Artists Award 2022 at BALTIC, Gateshead
Laleh Khorromian, Egg Rig The Vasseur BALTIC Artists Award 2022 at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Newcastle, Until 2 October 2022, free entry - Visit now
Newcastle’s BALTIC is celebrating its 20th anniversary in style – with a show resulting from an international biennial award judged solely by other artists.
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6. Refractive Pool: Contemporary Painting in Liverpool at Walker Art Gallery
© Robin Clewley Refractive Pool: Contemporary Painting in Liverpool at Walker Art Gallery, City Centre, Until 8 January 2023, free entry - Visit now
Walker Art Gallery turns its focus towards the home town of Liverpool, with an exhibition of 21 local painters’ work.
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7. Sebastião Salgado: Amazônia at the Science and Industry Museum
Science Museum Group - © Amazônia at Science and Industry Museum, Castlefield, Until 14 August 2022, free entry - Visit now
Sebastião Salgado’s exhibition Amazônia has arrived in Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum, with over 200 magnificent photographs of the Amazon rainforest and its inhabitants, in areas most at risk from climate change.
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8. Radical Landscapes at Tate Liverpool
Hurvin Anderson, Double Grille, 2008 © Hurvin Anderson. All Rights Reserved, DACS/ Artimage 2022 Radical Landscapes at Tate Liverpool, Waterfront, Until 4 September 2022, from £5.00 - Book now
A fresh look at landscape as a subject for artists, this exhibition is full of surprises and explores a multitude of concerns: from the human impact on the ecosystem to land-related rituals, and questions about freedom of access to natural spaces.
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9. Sheila Hicks: Off Grid at The Hepworth Wakefield
Installation of Sheila Hicks: Off Grid at The Hepworth Wakefield, 2022. Art works L-R: Peace Barrier, 2018; Ripe Rip, 2019; Nowhere To Go, 2022. Photo: Tom Bird / Courtesy: The Hepworth Wakefield Sheila Hicks: Off Grid at The Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield, Until 25 September 2022 - Book now
Visit the major new exhibition of work from the master of textile art Sheila Hicks, with over 70 works from international and private collections revealing the multifaceted nature of her work.
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10. Gathering Downstream at Quarry Bank
Jen Southern Gathering Downstream at Quarry Bank, Cheshire, Until 25 November 2022, free entry - Visit now
The former cotton mill of Quarry Bank is currently home to an ‘Gathering Downstream’, an exhibition exploring the site’s legacy of the industrial revolution alongside environmental change and disruption.
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11. Emily Hesse: The Witches’ Institution (W.I.) at The Tetley
Emily Hesse, The Old Wife, 2019. Courtesy the artist Emily Hesse: The Witches’ Institution (W.I.) at The Tetley, Until 18 September 2022, free entry - Visit now
The experimental works, discussions and experiences in The Witches’ Institution (W.I.), create an alternative reality where a group of witches takes over a cultural institution, where the gallery becomes a space of possibility – a host to change and revolt.
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12. Bury Art Shop
Photo by Stephen Walton Bury Art Shop, Bury Art Museum, Moss Street, Bury, Greater Manchester, BL9 0DR - Visit now
The perfect place to find gifts, stationery, cards, children’s books and, most importantly, museum souvenirs if you want to take home a little reminder of your visit and the gallery’s wonderful collections.
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13. Mounira Al Solh: A Day Is As Long As A Year at BALTIC, Gateshead
Courtesy the artist and Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut/Hamburg Mounira Al Solh at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Newcastle, Until 2 October 2022, free entry - Visit now
Using a multitude of mediums to examine themes of memory and trauma as a result of forced migration, Mounira Al Solh’s exhibition amplifies the voices of people from the Middle East, displaced to Lebanon, Europe, the United States, and other parts of the world.
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14. Kunichika: Japanese Prints at Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight
© National Museums Liverpool, courtesy of Frank Milner Kunichika: Japanese Prints at Lady Lever Art Gallery, Until 4 September 2022, free entry - Visit now
The exhibition showcases the work of one of the most important printmakers of 19th century Japan, Toyohara Kunichika, who used his mastery of the medium to depict thoroughly modern subjects at a time of great social and political change.
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15. Robert Indiana: Sculpture 1958-2018 at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
© Jonty Wilde, courtesy of Yorkshire Sculpture Park, artwork: © 2022 Morgan Art Foundation Ltd./ Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY/DACS, London Robert Indiana: Sculpture 1958-2018 at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, Until 8 January 2023, from £0.00 - Book now
The Pop artist’s signature colourful sculptures are now on display at YSP, against a backdrop of green hills and woodland.
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16. 2022 Banner Exhibition at People’s History Museum
People's History Museum 2022 Banner Exhibition at People’s History Museum (PHM), City Centre, Until 8 January 2023, free entry - Visit now
Filled with striking reminders and symbols of the fight for justice, the Banner Exhibition at People’s History Museum will take you on a journey through the history of rights and equality via its dazzling collection.
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17. Still Parents: Life After Baby Loss at The Whitworth
Stacey Hill Still Parents: Life After Baby Loss at The Whitworth, Manchester, Until 4 September 2022, free entry - Visit now
This constituent-led exhbition is the first of its kind and offers an intimate snapshot of grief, life after baby loss and the importance that creativity can have in the process.
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18. Albert Potrony: EQUAL PLAY at BALTIC, Gateshead
Equal Play Environment . Alphabet of shapes for loose parts elements. Albert Potrony 2020 EQUAL PLAY at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Newcastle, Until 31 October 2022, free entry - Visit now
Artist and educator Albert Potrony sets out to explore non-gendered and non-prescriptive modes of childhood play in a major new exhibition at BALTIC.
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