Culture Guides
Destination Guides
Seasonal Guides
As the restrictions upon life brought about by Covid continue, many organisations are finding further innovative, non-screen-based ways to engage with audiences outside of the traditional gallery space. Among these, Proforma has actively embraced the challenge, hosting a day-long outdoor programme of new artist commissions along Chapel Street in Manchester and Salford. Titled LOITER, the mini festival is about reclaiming the harmless act from its often-negative connotations, asking what’s to be gained from a good linger, laze or loaf on a street corner?
Equally attentive to the world around us, Dark Days, Luminous Nights at The White Hotel offers audiences a highly immersive audio-visual meditation on the changing soul of Manchester and Salford through a journey along their ruined waterway, the River Irk. Navigating urban hinterlands and featuring a haunting music score from Manchester Collective, this is a unique experience not to be missed.
Over in Liverpool, where galleries are currently open (at the time of writing), Open Eye Gallery has curated an uplifting trio of exhibitions dedicated to the people of its city, including a set of photographs that have not been seen for over 40 years. Meanwhile, Bluecoat presents a series of paintings by locally-based artist Josie Jenkins which seek to highlight the constructed nature of how we view the world. And OUTPUT has gone postal, launching a new programme of exhibitions sent straight to people’s doors. Here’s to the end of a very strange year.
Here are our picks
-
1. Manchester Collective: Dark Days, Luminous Nights at The White Hotel, Salford – POSTPONED
Simon Buckley Dark Days, Luminous Nights - POSTPONED at The White Hotel, Salford, 26–30 January 2021, from £5 - Book now
A highly immersive audio-visual experience that meditates on Manchester & Salford’s changing soul via a journey along their ruined waterway.
-
2. LOITER around Chapel Street, Manchester, and Online
Jessica Loveday PROFORMA presents LOITER at Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art, Manchester and online, 30 January 2021, free entry - Find Out More
Proforma presents LOITER, a one-day-long live art festival that offers new perspectives on the urban environment.
-
3. L– A City Through Its People at Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool
Three lads on bikes, Maud Street and Elaine Street, L8 1979. Ian Clegg, as part of Tell It Like It Is L– A City Through Its People at Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool, Waterfront, Until 7 March 2021, free entry - Visit now
Open Eye Gallery pays tribute to the proud city it calls home with three exhibitions about the people who live there.
-
4. Postal Exhibition Print Programme from OUTPUT
Jon Edgley Postal Exhibition Print Programme at OUTPUT in Liverpool, City Centre, Until 1 June 2021, free entry - Visit now
OUTPUT in Liverpool launches a new programme of mail-based exhibitions, sending original artwork directly to your home.
-
5. 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.
-
6. 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.
-
7. 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, Until 21 February 2021, free entry - Visit now
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.
-
8. 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, 31 January–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.
-
9. 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, Until 28 February 2021, free entry - Visit now
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.
-
10. Obstructions at Castlefield Gallery & Online
Sabrina Fuller, Away (2020). Video still Obstructions at Castlefield Gallery, Castlefield, Until 7 March 2021, free entry - Visit now
Castlefield Gallery presents ‘Obstructions’ – a rather unconventional group show about the freedoms within restriction, and rules that are sometimes there to be broken.
-
11. Pakui Hardware at BALTIC in Gateshead
Pakui Hardware, Underbelly, 2019. Installation view at MdbK Leipzig, Germany. Photo: Ugnius Gelguda. Courtesy the artist -
12. 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.
-
13. 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.
-
14. 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, Until 27 June 2021, free entry - Visit now
International portrait artist Aliza Nisenbaum will present a new painting at Tate Liverpool this winter, depicting members of the city’s key workers.
-
15. 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 -
16. Huma Bhabha: Against Time at BALTIC, Gateshead
In the Shadow of the Sun, 2016, courtesy of the artist and Salon 94, New York -
17. 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.
-
18. 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.
-
19. 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.
-
20. 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.
More in Exhibitions
Trading Station: how hot drinks shape our lives at Manchester Art Gallery
Trading Station at Manchester Art Gallery charts the history and changing social role of hot drinks in our lives.
Utopias at the Whitworth
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.
Posters from the Irish civil rights era – Online with the Working Class Movement Library
Working Class Movement Library presents an online exhibition of powerful posters made by young activists fighting for civil rights in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
The Living Planet – Online at FACT, Liverpool
FACT’s year-long programme, The Living Planet, seems even more timely than first imagined – and has been created for people to interact with and enjoy remotely for free online.
What it is to be here: Colonisation and Resistance – Online at The Portico Library
The Portico Library marks 250 years since British explorer James Cook first landed on the shores of what we now call Australia with an online exhibition that explores the history of violence and resistance that followed.
The Gardener Digs in Another Time – Online at the Whitworth
the Whitworth in Manchester invites you to step into the garden as subject with an online version of its 2016 exhibition, The Gardener Digs in Another Time.
Life Drawing Manchester Online Classes
The popular Northern Quarter community, Life Drawing Manchester, have migrated to zoom, opening up their classes to models and artists from all over the world.
Swallows and Amazons For Ever! at Windermere Jetty Museum
Celebrate the spirit of adventure, learn more about the Cumbrian landscape and uncover the inspiration behind Arthur Ransome’s classic tale.
Omid Asadi: Autopsy of a Home at Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art
For his exhibition at CFCCA, Omid Asadi explores the diasporic experiences and domestic spaces of migrants.
Culture Guides
Cinema in Manchester and the North
Our guide to cinema features brand new streaming films, classic favourites and a look back at the year’s cinematic highlights.
Literature
Lockdown may be looming large, but Live Literature Land has you covered: from book launches and literary salons to online open mics and full-on festivals, activities and events continue virtually.
Classical Music in Manchester and the North
We preview the standout classical music events and venues in Manchester and the north.
Food and Drink in Manchester and the North
For the December guide, we’re looking at the best delivery options in Manchester, whether it’s for alcohol or food.
Online events
Discover the best things to do online from the organisations we love in Manchester and the North.
Tours and Activities
Embrace your creative side or find the time to unwind your mind in this month’s guide of Tours and Activities.
Related Guides
Food and Drink in Manchester and the North
For the December guide, we’re looking at the best delivery options in Manchester, whether it’s for alcohol or food.
Art Galleries in Manchester & Salford
Here’s a list of our favourite art galleries in Manchester and Salford, and what to look forward to when they reopen.
Museums in Sheffield
Sheffield has more than its fair share of weird and wonderful museums housed within its seven hills. Check out our favourites.
Art Galleries in Sheffield
A contender for the UK’s largest practicing community of artists and designers outside London – there’s a pretty impressive number of top art galleries in Sheffield.
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.
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
Powered by
