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With the second national lockdown in force, galleries are closed once again. Hopefully we’ll be allowed back out of our houses in early December (though who really knows what Borris will decide). For now, though, there’s plenty on the horizon to look forward to. Here’s this month’s top pick of exhibitions to see next month and beyond.
Among our latest highlights is Turner Bursary artist Sean Edwards’ Undo Things Done, which started out life in the Santa Maria Ausiliatrice at Venice Biennale in 2019 and is now to go on show at Bluecoat in Liverpool. The exhibition offers a poetic enquiry into place, politics and class, using the artist’s experience of growing up on a council estate in Cardiff in the 1980s as its starting point.
Fun & Games might not be quite what the last year has been, but The Portico Library’s upcoming exhibition (also available to view online) sounds well worth a visit. The display looks back on the evolution of games, play and recreation throughout the ages and features new work by contemporary artists in response.
Continuing the historic turn, Lady Lever Art Gallery in sunny Port Sunlight looks back on the turbulent years of the German Revolution and the art that came out of it, while The Hepworth in Wakefield celebrates its 10th birthday with an exhibition about the 100-year-old contemporary art collection it grew out of.
For now, though, it would be remiss to not mention how more-than-a-little excited we are for the launch of Grayson’s Art Club at Manchester Art Gallery. Based on the popular Channel 4 series that helped countless viewers through the boredom, loneliness and confinement of the first lockdown, this promises to be a fitting – and also uplifting – show to end a very rocky year.
Here are our picks
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1. Fun & Games: Playtime, Past & Present at The Portico Library and Online
Fun & Games Playtime past & present at The Portico Library, Chinatown and online, Until 24 May 2021, free entry - Visit now
Fun & Games at The Portico Library explores the evolution and traditions of games and play throughout the ages up to today.
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2. Grayson’s Art Club at Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester
Grayson's Art Club at Manchester Art Gallery, Chinatown, Until 18 April 2021, free entry - Visit now
Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry presents a major exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery featuring work made by the nation during the initial weeks of lockdown.
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3. Sean Edwards: Undo Things Done at Bluecoat in Liverpool
Installation view of Undo Things Done, 2019, Sean Edwards. © Jamie Woodley Sean Edwards 'Undo Things done' at Bluecoat, City Centre, 5 December 2020–21 February 2021, free entry - Find Out More
Undo Things Done, a poetic inquiry into place, politics and class intertwined with personal histories, takes as its starting point Sean Edwards’ experience of growing up on a council estate in Cardiff in the 1980s.
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4. Vision & Reality: 100 Years of Contemporary Art in Wakefield at The Hepworth Wakefield
A visitor views Come (II) by Cerith Wyn Evans, on display at The Hepworth Wakefield. Photo: Danny Lawson/PA Wire. Vision & Reality: 100 Years of Contemporary Art in Wakefield at The Hepworth Wakefield, 5 December 2020–25 April 2021, free entry - Find Out More
100 years of contemporary art in one sitting? Feast your eyes at The Hepworth Wakefield and discover the story behind its remarkable collection.
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5. German Revolution Expressionist Prints at Lady Lever Art Gallery
In the Man's Brain, 1897, woodcut by Edvard Munch German Revolution Expressionist Prints at Lady Lever Art Gallery, 3 December 2020–28 February 2021, free entry - Find Out More
Schiele, Munch, Picasso, Kollwitz – Lady Lever Art Gallery’s latest exhibition brings together some of the most influential European artists and printmakers of the early 20th century.
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6. Obstructions at Castlefield Gallery & Online
Sabrina Fuller, Away (2020). Video still Obstructions at Castlefield Gallery, Castlefield, 6 December 2020–7 March 2021, free entry - Find Out More
Castlefield Gallery presents ‘Obstructions’ – a rather unconventional group show about the freedoms within restriction, and rules that are sometimes there to be broken.
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7. Pakui Hardware at BALTIC in Gateshead
Pakui Hardware, Underbelly, 2019. Installation view at MdbK Leipzig, Germany. Photo: Ugnius Gelguda. Courtesy the artist Pakui Hardware at Baltic, 6 January–18 April 2021, free entry - Find Out More
Lithuanian artist duo Pakui Hardware presents an immersive art installation about the future and ethics of virtual health care.
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8. Multiplicities in Flux at Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art, Manchester
Eelyn Lee, still from Britishness (2019). Courtesy of the artist. Multiplicities in Flux at Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art, Manchester, Until 31 January 2021, free entry - Visit now
CFCCA presents a two-person exhibition that challenges ideas of Britishness, belonging, identity and citizenship.
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9. The Sheffield Project at Weston Park Museum, Sheffield
Anna Fox, Regeneration 1, 1988 © the artist The Sheffield Project at Weston Park Museum, Sheffield, Until 3 May 2021, free entry - Visit now
Commissioned in the mid-1980s, The Sheffield Project focused a lens on a unique chapter in the city’s history, when it embarked on a journey of radical change.
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10. Aliza Nisenbaum at Tate Liverpool
Nimo, Sumiya, and Bisharo harvesting flowers and vegetables at Hope Community Garden, 2017. Courtesy of the artist and Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, Anton Kern Gallery, New York / Aliza Nisenbaum. Aliza Nisenbaum at Tate Liverpool, Waterfront, 15 December 2020–27 June 2021, free entry - Find Out More
International portrait artist Aliza Nisenbaum will present a new painting at Tate Liverpool this winter, depicting members of the city’s key workers.
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11. The Making of Husbands: Christina Ramberg in Dialogue at BALTIC in Gateshead
Christina Ramberg, Willful Excess, 1977, Copyright the Estate of Christina Ramberg, Courtesy Sammlung / Collection of Karin Tappendorf -
12. Huma Bhabha: Against Time at BALTIC, Gateshead
In the Shadow of the Sun, 2016, courtesy of the artist and Salon 94, New York -
13. Augmented Empathy at FACT, Liverpool
Keiken, Sakeema Crook and Ryan Vautier, Augmented Empathy, 2020. Photo by Drew Forsyth. Installation view at FACT, 2020. -
14. White Psyche at the Whitworth in Manchester
Cupid and Psyche Scene 11, Reconciliation of Cupid and Psyche 1815 Hand block-printed wallpaper. Made in France. The Whitworth, The University of Manchester White Psyche at The Whitworth, Manchester, Until 31 January 2021, free entry - Visit now
White Psyche at the Whitworth examines the aesthetics of white supremacy through the story of Cupid and Psyche – a classical tale of love and good looks.
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15. Art Comes HOME at HOME, Manchester
HOME Art Comes HOME at HOME Manchester, Manchester, Until 3 January 2021 - Book now
HOME reopens its main gallery with three simultaneous exhibitions of new work by Nick Burton, Joy Yamusangie and duo Mike S Redmond & Faye Coral Johnson.
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16. Aid Workers: Ethics Under Fire at Imperial War Museum North
© ICRC: Hussein Baydoun AID WORKERS: ETHICS UNDER FIRE - Exhibition at Imperial War Museum North (IWM North), Manchester, Until 31 May 2021, free entry - Visit now
Aid Workers: Ethics Under Fire at Imperial War Museum North takes a close look at the moral dilemmas surrounding overseas aid.
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17. Olivia Bax: Off Grid at Cross Lane Projects in Kendal, Cumbria
Olivia Bax - Kingpin, 2020, steel, polysterene, foam, chicken wire, newspaper, glue, paint, plaster, funnels, powdercoated steel stands Olivia Bax: Off Grid at Cross Lane Projects, Cumbria, Until 12 December 2020, free entry - Visit now
Cross Lane Projects presents ‘Off Grid’ – a solo exhibition of new work by Olivia Bax, winner of the Mark Tanner Sculpture Award 2019/20.
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18. Jamie Crewe: Solidarity & Love at Humber Street Gallery in Hull
Installation view, 2020. Jamie Crewe, Solidarity & Love. Courtesy of Humber Street Gallery and the artist, 2020. Photo by Jules Lister Jamie Crewe: Solidarity & Love at Humber Street Gallery, Hull, Until 13 December 2020, free entry - Visit now
Humber Street Gallery in Hull presents Solidarity & Love, an exhibition by artist Jamie Crewe that spans subjects of heartbreak, transphobia and LGBTQIA+ solidarity.
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19. Paloma Varga Weisz: Bumped Body at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds
Paloma Varga Weisz: Bumped Body at Henry Moore Institute. Photo: Stefan Hostettler Paloma Varga Weisz: Bumped Body at The Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, Leeds, Until 3 January 2021, free entry - Visit now
Paloma Varga Weisz: Bumped Body continues the Henry Moore Institute’s programme of exhibitions dedicated to contemporary sculptors yet to receive full exposure in the UK.
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20. What is Manchester Art Gallery? at Manchester Art Gallery
Photography Andrew Brooks What is Manchester Art Gallery? at Manchester Art Gallery, Chinatown, Until 31 January 2023, free entry - Visit now
Manchester Art Gallery reopens with a thought-provoking new exhibition that delves into the history of the public institution and its role within the city.
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21. Images of protest: Black Lives Matter at People’s History Museum
Jake Hardy Images of protest: Black Lives Matter at People’s History Museum in Manchester, City Centre, Until 31 December 2020, free entry - Visit now
People’s History Museum presents a powerful selection of images taken by photographer Jake Hardy documenting one of the peaceful Black Lives Matter protests that took place in central Manchester during May 2020.
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22. 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, Until 31 December 2020, free entry - Visit now
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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23. Don McCullin at Tate Liverpool
Don McCullin, Liverpool 8 Neighbourhood c. 1970 © Don McCullin Don McCullin at Tate Liverpool, Waterfront, Until 9 May 2021, from £11 - Book now
Tate Liverpool presents a major retrospective of work by Don McCullin, widely considered to be one of the greatest photojournalists of our time.
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2020 Banner Display at People’s History Museum
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Utopias at the Whitworth
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New Digital Experiences at People’s History Museum
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Wait I’m From Wuhan with HOME
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Joana Vasconcelos at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
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Anthony Burgess on Tape
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Posters from the Irish civil rights era – Online with the Working Class Movement Library
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