Exhibitions in Manchester and the North

Jonathan Baldock Facecrime at Bluecoat, City Centre, Until 1 November 2020, free entry - Visit now

Inspired by ancient forms of written communication, encounter Jonathan Baldock’s towering ceramic sculptures that stand whispering among themselves in Bluecoat’s main gallery.

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.

Gold Maria Akanbi at OUTPUT in Liverpool, City Centre, Until 27 September 2020, free entry - Visit now

OUPUT presents a solo exhibition of work by Gold Maria Akanbi – an artist whose practice is shaped by her interest in Afro-futurism and her perception of reality as a neurodiverse person, among other things.

Boundary Songs: Notes from the Edge of the Lake District National Park at Cross Lane Projects, Cumbria, 10–23 October 2020, free entry - Find Out More

Cross Lane Projects in Kendal presents a quietly deep meditation on the politics and social-environmental fabric of the Lake District National Park.

Queer Contemporaries at AIR Gallery in Altrincham, Altrincham and online, Until 19 September 2020, free entry - Visit now

Offering a vital snapshot of queer art in the UK today, Queer Contemporaries at AIR Gallery features the work of more than 30 LGBTQIA+ identifying artists in a poignant, lively and eclectic show.

International Garden Photographer of the Year - Exhibition 13 at Cannon Hall Museum, Park & Gardens at Cannon Hall Museum Park & Gardens, Barnsley, Until 22 October 2020, free entry - Visit now

Cannon Hall presents highlights from a prestigious international photography competition that celebrates the beauty and value of the humble garden.

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.

Rock Against Racism, online, Until 21 November 2020, free entry - Visit now

Gallery Oldham presents an online exhibition of photographs by Yorkshire-born Syd Shelton capturing the legendary Rock Against Racism movement.

Jerwood Makers Open at Manchester Art Gallery, Chinatown, Until 4 October 2020, free entry - Visit now

The seventh edition of Jerwood Makers Open, presented at Manchester Art Gallery, demonstrates that craft and artisanship are by no means dead.

PAPER gallery presents Ruofan Chen - Property of Neutral at PAPER Gallery, Manchester, Until 24 October 2020, free entry - Visit now

The slippery, ambiguous nature of memory imbues the work of Ruofan Chen, whose elusive drawings are about to go on display at PAPER Gallery in Manchester.

PAPER gallery presents Foday Kabba - Where Do We Go From Here? at PAPER Gallery, Manchester, Until 24 October 2020, free entry - Visit now

Where do we go from here? An apt question for our current tumultuous times and also the intriguing title of Foday Kabba’s first solo exhibition.

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.

Journeys Festival International, online, 28 September–18 October 2020, free entry - Find Out More

This year’s Journeys Festival International takes place online, exploring the experiences of refugees from around the world through art, comedy, film, music, food, sci-fi adventure and politically charged conversation.

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.

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.

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.

The Time We Call Our Own at Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool, Waterfront, Until 23 October 2020, free entry - Visit now

The Time We Call Our Own at Open Eye Gallery foregrounds nightlife and the visual culture surrounding it as a rich site for exploration.

Allegories of the Senses at The Cooper Gallery, Barnsley, Barnsley, Until 21 November 2020, free entry - Visit now

At a time when so much of life and culture seems to have migrated online, Cooper Gallery in Barnsley presents Allegories of the Senses – an exhibition centred upon the more tangible qualities of lived experience.

Mikhail Karikis: Ferocious Love at Tate Liverpool, Waterfront, Until 22 November 2020, free entry - Visit now

Tate Liverpool reopens this July with a new immersive installation by Mikhail Karikis imagining the possible future of our planet.

Lines of Beauty: Master Drawings from Chatsworth at Millennium Gallery, City Centre, Until 1 November 2020, free entry - Visit now

Drawings by artists such as Carpaccio, Poussin, Rembrandt, Rubens and Van Dyck make up this major exhibition dedicated to ‘lines of beauty’.

And Say the Animal Responded? at FACT, City Centre, Until 13 December 2020, free entry - Visit now

FACT reopens its galleries to the public with ‘And Say the Animal Responded?’ – a new exhibition that offers a fascinating window into the lives of the other animals that form part of Earth’s total population.

BAM Online, online, Until 31 October 2020, free entry - Visit now

BAM Online brings you closer to many of the most loved works within Bury Art Museum’s collection whilst its doors are closed.

Posters from the civil rights era – an online exhibition, online, Until 30 June 2021, free entry - Visit now

The Working Class Movement Library in Salford presents an online exhibition of powerful posters made by young activists fighting for civil rights in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

The Gardener Digs in Another Time – Online, online, Until 1 May 2021, free entry - Visit now

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.

The Living Planet – Online at FACT, Liverpool, online, Until 31 March 2021, free entry - Visit now

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.