Culture Guides
Destination Guides
As borders tighten and nationalism continues to spike around the world, Castlefield Gallery presents a group exhibition designed to raise questions around the nature of home, belonging, sovereignty and place. But how do such international trends in thought and mood develop? Around the corner at HOME, artist John Walter’s characteristically shonky, maximalist installation CAPSID uses virology and specifically the study of HIV as a framework for a more in-depth investigation into how culture and ideas are transmitted.
Over in Salford, a major new presentation of more than 40 Pre-Raphaelite paintings at The Lowry provides a fascinating insight into its namesake’s perhaps surprising love for the movement and particular adoration of the work of its co-founder, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, whose ‘Portrait of Alexa Wilding’ (1866) hung above his bed until his death in 1976. And in Leeds, the Henry Moore Institute devotes its autumn exhibition to a retrospective of the pioneering African-American artist Senga Nengudi whose embrace of nylon stockings as a cheap, portable, highly-loaded material helped redefine the possibilities of sculpture and representations of race and gender.
From stockings to a pair of mechanical lungs powering a crystal glass musical flute, the second edition of the Hepworth Prize for Sculpture presents the work of leading artists Michael Dean, Mona Hatoum, Magali Reus, Phillip Lai and Cerith Wyn Evan, offering a tantalising snapshot of the state of the contemporary art form in the UK today.
Here are our picks
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1. The Ground Beneath Your Feet at Castlefield Gallery
Roee Rosen, The Dust Channel (film still), 2016 The Ground Beneath Your Feet at Castlefield Gallery, Castlefield, 16 November 2018–3 February 2019, free entry - Visit now
Castlefield Gallery’s latest exhibition, The Ground Beneath Your Feet, invites a more nuanced conversation around multiple geopolitical issues that currently dominate our headlines.
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2. John Walter: CAPSID at HOME
A Virus Walks Into a Bar, HD Video (still), 2018. John Walter John Walter: CAPSID at HOME Manchester, Manchester, 10 November 2018–6 January 2019, free entry - Visit now
A virus walks into a bar… and does what? CAPSID, John Walter’s major solo exhibition at HOME Manchester, sets out to update the discussion around HIV, how viruses work and the cultural transmission of ideas.
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3. The Hepworth Prize for Sculpture 2018 at The Hepworth Wakefield
Visitors view work by Michael Dean in The Hepworth Prize for Sculpture. 26 October 2018 - 20 January 2019. Photo, David Lindsay The Hepworth Prize for Sculpture at The Hepworth Wakefield, 26 October 2018–20 January 2019, free entry - Visit now
The celebrated Hepworth Prize for Sculpture returns for its second edition featuring an exciting range of high-profile artists and offering a compelling look at the state of the age-old discipline today.
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4. Lowry & The Pre-Raphaelites at The Lowry
Dante Gabriel Rossetti The Bower Meadow 1850-72 © Manchester Art Gallery/Bridgeman Images -
5. Senga Nengudi at the Henry Moore Institute
Courtesy the artist; Lévy Gorvy, New York, London; and Thomas Erben Gallery, New York Senga Nengudi at The Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, Leeds, 21 September 2018–17 February 2019, free entry - Visit now
The Henry Moore Institute in Leeds presents a major exhibition dedicated to the work of African-American sculptor Senga Nengudi – the pioneering figure who first introduced contemporary art to nylon stockings.
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6. MACFEST 2018 – across Manchester
Leila Aboulela, the Sudanese writer, at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2015. Edinburgh, Scotland. Image courtesy of MACFEST MACFEST 2018 at British Muslim Heritage Centre, Manchester, 17–25 November 2018, free entry - Visit now
The brainchild of Manchester’s resident critically-acclaimed author and prize-winning peace activist, Qaisra Shahraz; MACFEST is a new 10-day celebration of art, literature, music, film, food and heritage relating to the Muslim diaspora, which will open in venues across the city this November.
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7. LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY at Site Gallery
Photo by Waad AlBawardi, The Hidden Life of Crystals, 2018 LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY at Site Gallery, City Centre, 29 September 2018–27 January 2019, free entry - Visit now
Site Gallery in Sheffield reopens with LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY – a glittering new exhibition that responds to the ‘crystal era’ we now live in.
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8. Leo Fitzmaurice: Between You and Me and Everything Else at Walker Art Gallery
Supplicant 101 2008 Milena Dragicevic. c. the artist courtesy Galerie Martin Janda Vienna Leo Fitzmaurice: Between You and Me and Everything Else at Walker Art Gallery, City Centre, 29 September 2018–17 March 2019, free entry - Visit now
Curated by Newport-born artist Leo Fitzmaurice, ‘Between You and Me Everything Else’ at Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool is an invitation to approach the age-old genre of portraiture through fresh, curious eyes.
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9. Stability and Survival at Speke Hall
National Trust Stability and Survival at Speke Hall, Liverpool, 26 September 2018–29 March 2019, free entry - Visit now
This autumn, learn about the inspiring life of Miss Adelaide Watt – an independent and powerful Victorian woman who fought the forces of modernity to preserve Speke Hall and all its treasures for generations to come.
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10. Site Gallery
Site Gallery, 1 Brown Street, Sheffield, Yorkshire, S1 2BS - Visit now
After a three-year long £1.7 million expansion and redevelopment project, Sheffield’s leading international contemporary art space reopens this Autumn – and everyone’s very excited to see what the new Site Gallery holds in store.
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11. Serena Korda: The Bell Tree at Speke Hall
Photo by Chris Egon Searle Serena Korda: The Bell Tree at Speke Hall, Liverpool, 8 September 2018–28 July 2019, free entry - Visit now
The Bell Tree by award winning contemporary artist Serena Korda responds to England’s alternative history of fairy-tale folklore, the ancient forest at Speke Hall and the legacy of hidden rebellion that surrounds the historic Tudor home.
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12. William Kentridge: Thick Time at the Whitworth
William Kentridge, in collaboration with Philip Miller, Catherine Meyburgh and Peter Gibson. The Refusal of Time, 2012. Film Still. 5-channel video projection, colour, sound, megaphones, breathing machines. 30 minutes. Courtesy William Kentridge, Marian Goodman Gallery, Goodman Gallery and Lia Rumma Gallery William Kentridge: Thick Time at The Whitworth, Manchester, 21 September 2018–3 March 2019, free entry - Visit now
Thick Time by South African artist William Kentridge at the Whitworth should prove to be both fascinating and mind-boggling in equal measure.
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13. LS Lowry: The Art and the Artist – An introduction to LS Lowry’s life and work at Salford Museum & Art Gallery
SMAG LS Lowry: The Art and the Artist at Salford Museum and Art Gallery, Manchester, 16 January 2019, from £10 - Book now
Head to Salford Art Gallery and Museum to find out more about the fascinating life of the somewhat-reclusive, Stretford-born artist and rent collector LS Lowry.
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14. The Hardmans’ House
More in Exhibitions
Annual Banner Changeover 2018 at the People’s History Museum
Explore the story of democracy through a special display of banners that were integral to the women’s suffrage movement, as well as other campaigns for representation at the People’s History Museum.
Annie Swynnerton: Painting Light and Hope at Manchester Art Gallery
The first major retrospective of work by the radical Manchester artist and feminist campaigner, Annie Swynnerton, opens in nearly 100 years at Manchester Art Gallery.
And Breathe… at Manchester Art Gallery
Exploring the relationship between art and mindfulness And Breathe… is an exhibition of artworks from Manchester Art Gallery’s collection that explores the relationship between art, positive mental health and wellbeing.
Exchanges at The Whitworth
Exchanges at The Whitworth sets art and artists together, sometimes in harmony, sometimes in opposition – always with insight and intention.
Bodies of Colour: Breaking with Stereotypes in the Wallpaper Collection at The Whitworth
This latest exhibition uses the Whitworth’s extensive and significant wallpaper collection to focus on how Imperial attitudes to people are reflected in wallpaper.
Speech Acts: Reflection-Imagination-Repetition at Manchester Art Gallery
What do public museums collect and why? Which works become highlights, and which lie forgotten in storage? Speech Acts: Reflection-Imagination-Repetition at Manchester Art Gallery considers how public museums reflect and shape our collective imagination.
Represent! Voices 100 Years On at People’s History Museum
As the national museum of democracy, the People’s History Museum’s headline 2018 exhibition, Represent! Voices 100 Years On, will be guided and informed by the notion of representation itself.
Fusion: Adventures in Digital Art at Eureka!
Step into a digital waterful, human-sized scanner and more in a major new exhibition of digital art created by the Lumen Prize.
The Royal Academy Takeover: The Exhibition
Salford Museum & Art Gallery and Ordsall Hall delve into their collections to present a two-part exhibition featuring significant prints, drawings and sculptures by former Royal Academicians as part of a nationwide programme marking the institution’s 250th birthday.
Culture Guides
Literature
Even more spoken word nights are joining the old faithfuls, there’s a whole lot of poetry and prose including a rare chance to catch performers from as far afield as Paris and Texas, and showcases such as Chester Literature Festival, Chorlton Book Festival and Poetry Emergency will add to your wider reading pile.
Tours and Activities
Indulge in Manchester’s rapidly growing food culture this November with our top picks of edible tours and activities.
Related Guides
Art Galleries in Manchester & Salford
Away from the buzz of London, Manchester and Salford arguably have one of the highest concentrations of fantastic art galleries in England. Here’s our pick.
Food and Drink in Manchester and the North
Discover the best food and drink that the North has to offer in our expert guide to food and drink in Manchester and beyond.
Lunch in Manchester
Whether it’s a light bite or a hefty doorstep you’re after, good lunch places (like coffee shops) are one thing Manchester is not short on.
Cafes and Coffee Shops in Manchester
Here are some of the best cafés and best coffee shops we’ve come across in Manchester – independents (almost) all.
Bookshops in Manchester
Books, what they lack in memes and GIFs, they more than make up for in being well written and worth reading. Our guide to the best places to pick them up in Manchester.
Museums in Manchester
Manchester is studded with fantastic museums – read our picks of the best here.
Places to go / stay / shop / eat / drink
Things to do right now
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